Creative
Sound BlasterX Katana
Creative Sound BlasterX Katana (2016): 2.1 under-monitor gaming soundbar with wired subwoofer, optical, USB audio, AUX, Bluetooth and Dolby Digital.
Released 2016
MSRP $299.99
Check price on AmazonShop prices can differ.
- 2.1 speaker setup
Overview
The Sound BlasterX Katana is a 2016 gaming soundbar from Creative, designed to fit under a computer monitor. The bar is 600 mm wide, 60 mm high and 79 mm deep and comes in black. A separate subwoofer connects to the bar with a cable.
Creative describes a five-driver, tri-amplified design: two 2.5-inch up-firing midbass drivers and two 34 mm tweeters in the bar, and a 5.25-inch long-throw driver in the subwoofer, each driver type powered by its own DSP-controlled amplifier. Creative rates the system at up to 75 W RMS.
There is no HDMI connection. Sources connect over optical, USB, 3.5 mm AUX-in or Bluetooth. Over USB the Katana works as a sound card for a PC, with virtual 7.1 surround on Windows and 24-bit/96 kHz playback according to Creative, and it can play music files from a USB flash drive. The bar also has a headset output and a microphone input.
The base of the bar is lined with what Creative calls the Aurora Reactive lighting system: 49 programmable LEDs with up to 16.8 million colors. The box contains the subwoofer, the power adapter, the remote control with batteries and the manuals.
What the specs mean
- 2.1 speaker setup: two main channels plus a subwoofer channel. The ".1" is the wired subwoofer in the box. There are no centre, surround or height channels, and the system cannot be expanded with extra speakers.
- Optical instead of HDMI: the TV sends its sound over an optical (TOSLINK) cable. There is no HDMI ARC, so the TV remote cannot control the Katana over HDMI-CEC; the included remote control does.
- Audio formats: Dolby Digital. Creative states that over optical-in the Katana decodes Dolby Digital and plays it as virtual 5.1 surround.
- No HDMI passthrough: the Katana has no HDMI ports, so consoles and streaming boxes connect to the TV.
Which soundbar is right for you?
| CreativeSound BlasterX Katana (current soundbar)MSRP $299.99Check price on Amazon | TCLS60KMSRP $299.99Check price on Amazon | SamsungB550DMSRP $299.99Check price on Amazon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall value A rough features-for-the-price score, compared with every soundbar listed. Bars gain points for things like Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi and room tuning, and lose points without them. Dolby Atmos with up-firing speakers earns more than virtual Atmos. Cheaper bars lose fewer points, or none, for missing premium extras (Dolby Atmos, HDMI eARC, up-firing speakers). 100 is the best deal listed. Based on specs only, not on how it sounds. | 9 | 74 | 38 |
| Price-band value Like Overall value, but each soundbar is compared only with soundbars in its own price band: up to $300, $300–500, $500–800, $800–1,200 or over $1,200. 100 is the best deal in that band. Based on specs only, not on how it sounds. | 12up to $300 | 100up to $300 | 52up to $300 |
| Speaker setup | 2.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Virtual | No |
| Form factor | Bar + sub | Bar + sub | Bar + sub |
| Audio support |
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| Available inputs |
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| HDMI inputs | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Streaming support | None | None | None |
| Virtual assistants | None | None | None |
| Soundbar dimensions | 600 × 60 × 79 mm | 850 × 64 × 90 mm | 860 × 59.4 × 75 mm |
Specifications
Overview
- Overall value
- 9
- Price-band value
- 12up to $300
- Speaker setup
- 2.1
- Dolby Atmos
- No
- Form factor
- Bar + sub
Expandability
- Is extendable
- None
- Has wireless surrounds
- No
- Has wireless subwoofer
- No
Connectivity
- Available inputs
- Aux
- Bluetooth
- Optical
- USB
- Streaming support
- None
- Virtual assistants
- None
- Controllers
- Remote Control
- App required
- Not stated
- Same-brand TV features
- Not stated
Audio & video
- Audio support
- Dolby Digital
- Room correction
- No
- Dialogue enhancement
- Not stated
- Night mode
- Not stated
- Passthrough
- No
- HDMI inputs
- 0
Design
- Soundbar dimensions
- 600 × 60 × 79 mm
- Wall mountable
- No
- Colors
- Black
- What's in the box
- Batteries
- Booklets
- Power Adapter
- Remote control
- Subwoofer
Sources
Updated 2026-10-13