5.0 out of 5 stars
Really impressive for PC gaming.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2018
For the last 10 years or more I've had my PC hooked up to a number of different AV receivers for 5.1 audio in gaming in the living room, and sometimes hooked up to the TV instead of a monitor. I usually have the audio output in DTS 5.1 via optical, or through the HDMI from my nVidia GPU.
Now I'm married I have to be all grown up and let my wife use the 5.1 setup and TV for watching stuff on Netflix. Currently we use Wharfedale Jade 3 front LR, a Wharfedale DX1 5.1 setup for atmos front height, and the remaining channels and sub, and a Denon AVR X2300W
So, for the last few months when I've not been using my 5.1 setup or my Astro A50 headset, I've had my Creative Labs Roar2 bluetooth speaker handling my PC audio. It actually didn't do a bad job for its size, but it definitely isn't what I would call an ideal solution (it's designed mostly as a mobile phone or iPod speaker).
I've been thinking of getting the X Katana soundbar for a while and read a LOT of reviews over a few weeks, checked out lots of vids on Youtube and they all said more or less the same thing. Great quality, gimicky RGB lighting but great if you like that kinda thing, tacky remote, curious lack of HDMI input, and surprisingly good audio once you tweak it a bit, and maybe ok for using under the TV.
After using this for a week or so, I absolutely agree with all the points I read about and saw on the Youtube vids (except for TV/movies as I will never use it with our TV anyway).
The build quality is typical of Creative Labs, who's kit I've been using since my first Sound Blaster 16 purchase about 23 years ago. It's very sturdy, looks really smart with a great finish. The sub woofer looks just like a black plywood box, but it's hidden behind my PC so I don't really care too much.
The remote control is the same as you would find in most RGB lighting kits. The buttons are awkward to press but it does the job I guess.
No optical cable is included, but I didn't personally need one because I hooked it up to my PC via USB. I might eventually try and hook it up to my Sound Blaster ZS card using Optical to try out the true Dolby processing, but so far I don't feel the need.
One big reason for me buying this instead of discrete speakers is because I have a full simrig set up a bucket seat, Fanatec racing kit, with my monitors permanently mounted, using a Rocat lapboard for the keyboard and mouse, and some Buttkicker LFE transducers. Basically I don't have much space for discrete speakers, and when I'm driving in Assetto Corsa or Project Cars it's in VR on the Oculus Rift so I don't necessarily need another PC specific 5.1 setup. The Katana is small enough to fit my lack of available space, and powerful enough for any non-VR gaming and music listening duties.
The kit comes with detachable feet and wall mount brackets. My monitor is on a floorstand, so I have no desk to place the Katana on, so I used some strips of Velcro to create a pair of loops and hung the Katana off my monitor mount at the necessary height below the monitor. It looks slighly odd, however its perfectly secure and saves me trying to attach the wall mounts to the back of my curved monitor.
After connecting everything it took me a bit of googling to locate the Sound Blaster Connect 2 software and the related X Katana firmware update. If you are using this on PC you definitely must use the Connect 2 software to tweak the audio, otherwise the default stereo separation is really narrow, limited and disappointing.
Once I tweaked the software by enabling the Crystaliser to liven up the sound, and use the Concert mode to expand the stereo separation, the X Katana sounds really lively and impressive. Even the sub woofer does a pretty decent job, and there have been no occasions when I've been tempted to switch it off and go back to my Denon kit and Wharfedale kit.
That's not to say this is better, or anywhere near as good and detailed as my living room setup (it's not), but it isn't supposed to rival a full setup. The major reason I've not gone back is partly because I would have basically wasted £230, but also because this setup does a genuinely great job with my games and music for the price.
The volume is ear-splitting and painful if you are feeling insane and jack it up to the maximum. I accidentally set it to full volume and deafened myself and scared the hell out of my wife when I tried Spotify. I won't make the same mistake again! At normal human listening volumes the sound is expansive, detailed and bassy without sounding like such a small unit. Even the pseudo 7.1 processing is fairly convincing at times.
Most of my gaming has been The Division since I got the X Katana, which involves a lot of dialogue, shooting, explosions and ambient sound, and it's all handled excellently. I've had no problem using the audio to pinpoint where shots are coming from. All the detail and performance I want is there with zero complaints.
Music also holds up really nicely. I listen to a lot of gaming related soundtracks, Hans Zimmer OST's, and a mix of music from Depeche Mode to Prodigy to NiN. Basically anything electronic, moody and bassy. On my living room setup I limit most music to the highest quality Spotify tracks as Youtube tracks sound dull, mushy and compressed by comparison. The X Katana however is a lot more forgiving for Youtube listening as you can't really pick up the same level of detail, and its not really possible to tell the difference between Youtube and Spotify high quality.
My review was going to be 4 stars originally because I was comparing this to my living room kit, but that's really unfair as my Denon AVR and Wharfedale front speakers, mass loaded stands, and sub probably cost close to £1k. The fact I've not been very tempted to go back to that setup speaks volumes about how decent the X Katana really is for mainstream music listening, and some action heavy gaming.
I would easily recommend this to anyone who is either short of space, or wants something better than a bog-standard desktop 2.0 or 2.1 setup.
49 people found this helpful
