Sound Blaster Katana V2X gaming soundbar review

Unlike the Creative Labs Stage Pro, Creative has leaned into the Sound Blaster branding with its Sound Blaster Katana V2X soundbar. That’s a smart move, given how many PC owners associate the name with quality audio. Thanks to the Sound Blaster AWE 32, I still freeze when I hear Doom’s Cacodemon hiss. So I’m happy to report that, showy as its RGB features may seem, the Sound Blaster Katana V2X soundbar knocks it out of the park when it comes to audio quality.

That’s not to say the Sound Blaster Katana V2X soundbar is a PC-exclusive soundbar. It supports connections via Bluetooth, USB audio, line in, optical and HDMI ARC, so you can easily use it on a TV or connect your Bluetooth music devices to it. Though if you really want to make the most of its surround sound features, you’ll want to connect via either optical or HDMI.

Between its soundbar and hefty subwoofer, the Sound Blaster Katana V2X belts out 90 Watts RMS, with a peak of 180W. I’ve yet to take it all the way to the top, for fear of the neighbours kicking down my door, but it took my games and music to ear-bleedingly loud levels without a hint of muddiness.

But before I delve further into the Sound Blaster Katana V2X’s audio chops, how does it look? Absolutely gorgeous is the answer. Kudos to Creative Labs for covering the front display and top button panel with a thin film, so in-transit scratches should be a non-issue. I was a little concerned that the soundbar’s RGB light would be a little intrusive, but I haven’t found it distracting at all — and you can tweak it to suit your own preferences.

What is disappointing is that Creative expects you to track down a pair of AAA batteries for the included remote. It seems a little stingy not to include any, given that the bar is priced at £279.99. At first glance, the remote control is missing key features, such as bass and treble adjustment. But while those are initially relegated to the Creative app, you can assign them to any of the six blank buttons at the bottom.

When it comes to gaming, the Sound Blaster Katana V2X is a dream (or a nightmare, depending on which game you’re playing). The subwoofer has some serious range, meaning the title you’re playing doesn’t have to be belting out heavy metal. It took the bass tones of Captured‘s subtle soundtrack, and amplified them so I could feel the vibrations in my bones.

Creative makes a big deal of the Katana V2X’s “immersive spatial audio”, and while results vary between games and platforms, I had few problems determining which direction I was about to be murdered from. My chief complaint with the Creative Labs Stage Pro was that its spatial audio was lacking, but that’s a non-issue here. The Katana V2X also delivers on the detail front, serving up every single sound, from footsteps through to gunshots and booming explosions.

As for its non-gaming use? Fire up a movie or video that supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and the Sound Blaster Katana V2X will knock your socks off. Is it as immersive as sitting in a cinema, with speakers all around you? No, but it’s still extremely impressive, offering directional audio without the need to set up speakers behind you. For example, the Sound Blaster Katana V2X took Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s opening space battle to the next level. There’s still no saving Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, though.

On top of its room-filling 3D audio, the Katana V2X boasts a rather cool feature, Super X-Fi, that outputs 3D audio through any pair of headphones. Plug the headphones into the socket on the front of the soundbar, tap a couple of buttons on the remote and away you go.

More so than regular 2D audio, it creates the illusion of being in a 3D space, a huge boon when it comes to games. Should you buy the soundbar exclusively for this feature? No, but it’s a welcome bonus and I appreciate not having to fiddle around plugging and unplugging my headphones. You can, in theory, customise Super X-Fi to the shape of your head, but I gave up after five minutes of the app failing to scan my face.

The Katana V2X does feature various modes – movie, games, music and so on – though I didn’t find the change in audio to be that dramatic. You can, however, tweak each of these via the Creative app, which allows you to make the differences more pronounced. Between the remote and the app, you’ve got a major degree of control over how your games sound.

The Sound Blaster Katana V2X isn’t cheap, but you’re absolutely getting what you pay for, offering outstanding audio performance across gaming, movies, and music. The £279.99/$299.99 price puts it in premium PC audio territory, but its quality, features and sheer power make it a worthy investment.