Creative’s Super X-Fi technology makes for a noticeably good virtual surround experience when used in the right atmosphere. Let it be pairing the right pair of headphones to one of the company’s Super X-Fi amps or using a soundbar in the appropriate size of space (room). Usually, when it comes to soundbars, though, the price can be a little much. But not so much when it comes to the new Creative Sound Blaster Katana SE.
This new soundbar comes with a price of just $299, which is much more affordable by most consumers when compared to the company’s flagship SXFI CARRIER Atmos soundbar ($999). Although the Katana SE isn’t an Atmos solution, it does promise to offer a 5.1-channel experience without the need for a sub.
Inside, you will find 0.75″ fabric dome tweeters and dual up-firing 3″ mid-bass drivers. All tucked away into a surprisingly small profile for a soundbar with 5.1 capabilities. Although we haven’t listened to this one ourselves, if it has anything close to the performance of the CARRIER, it should hit pretty well.
It offers USB audio, HDMI ARC, 3.5mm aux-in, optical-in, and Bluetooth 5.0. It also has a few outputs, including headphone out and SXFI out. The latter of which makes for an interesting spec. If it offers SXFI-out, that would mean that you should be able to get SXFI-out performance out of your headphones as well.
Of course, the company is known for catering to the gaming community. So there is a number of modes and features for gamers to help dial in their favorite games, along with RGB control as well (because, of course, it has RGB lighting built-in).
To take things a little further, it has a built-in beamforming microphone. So that would be one less thing you need on your desk. Allowing you to use it when taking phone calls or conference calls.
Good for computers, gaming consoles, and more, this should make for a solid product coming from this company. It is currently available for that $299 MSRP (links below). If we wind up testing one ourselves, we will come back with a full review.
