Creative Sound Blaster Katana V2 Multi-Channel Gaming Soundbar Review

The design of the Katana V2 looks great right out of the box with a more traditional sound bar shape than the angular original.  The new Woofer design is also very similar with a right side orientation and the port moved to the bottom.

The Sound Blaster branding is a tasteful white text on both the soundbar and the woofer. I do admit I was a fan of the angular design invoking more of the Katana image but the new design feels more mature if a bit too traditional to support the Katana’s namesake.

The Katana V2 is powered by an upgraded set of three amplifiers providing a total of 126RMS/252W peak power.  That is an increase of about 68% over the original design! One stereo amp powers the upward firing midbass drivers, another stereo amp powers the tweeters and a third powers the subwoofer.

The Katana V2 is also a certified Dolby Audio decoder when correctly configured.  Coupling the improved Dolby decoder with Creative’s Super X-Fi UltraDSP chip provides some of the most powerful and versatile sound processing on the market.

The front of the Katana V2 is covered in a black metal mesh that conceals the two 3/4” (19mm) tweeters down from the  1.3” (34mm) found in the BlasterX model.  The new fabric dome tweeters may be smaller but they are capable of cleaner and more refined highs. The two 2.5” (63.5mm) midbass drivers are mounted behind more protective mesh on the top surface.

A new larger plastic LED display can be found in the center of the sound bar to provide information directly from the device.  This 8 digit display makes it possible to change or monitor your settings independent of the software.

Creative has moved the audio or SXFI-out to the front addressing one of our issues with the BlasterX nicely.  I still find myself pining for a Mic input but the dual onboard beamforming microphones work well when used for Bluetooth calls or as a conference call device.

The remaining connectivity options are hidden away on the back. Complete connections are: Bluetooth 5.0, HDMI ARC, Optical-in, AUX-in, USB-C and the front SXFI-out.  Gone is the USB flash drive port made mostly obsolete by Bluetooth connectivity.

A set of 6 buttons across the top provide control: the power button, volume up, volume down, source, mode and a SXFI toggle.  The power button can also be held down to activate Bluetooth v5.0 connectivity making the Katana V2 a very competent Bluetooth speaker system and a capable WFH partner.