Overall and Final Verdict

The original Sound Blaster Katana has been great to us both for PC use and being used with our game consoles/TV. Everything I loved about the original Katana still applies today to the new Katana V2, Sound Blaster has just improved in a few areas. The new design has significantly more power which combined with a slightly larger subwoofer the setup has a lot more kick than it had before while still having good sound quality. Being a smaller sound bar it is compact and fits perfectly up under your monitor which is often unused space and you only have to worry about the wiring running to the sub, not multiple speakers and a sub. While larger, the sub is still compact as well as far as floor space goes. But it’s the smaller details that I’ve been enjoying. The display is no longer hidden behind the mesh housing and is a lot easier to see and the RGB lighting is better diffused and combined with the app you have a lot of flexibility to get the lighting to match your office or living room setup. Sound Blaster moved the headphone jack to the front which makes it usable now meaning you can take advantage of the DAC built into the Katana V2 for your headphones as well. Then for living room use, they added HDMI ARC for easier setup if your TV supports it and the new remote is usable now.

The complaints I had with the original were the remote and that the bass fell off at higher volumes but both of those issues have been addressed and the new design hasn’t introduced any complaints. The only downside to the Sound Blaster Katana V2 is its price. The changes have raised the price to $329.99 which is $100 more than they are now selling the original design though only $30 over what the original was listed for at launch. While I haven’t been able to test the main competitor, the Razer Leviathan V2 the Katana V2 does still stand out with its remote which the Razer doesn’t have and the sub has a much more workable footprint. The Katana is also well above the Razer when it comes to overall wattage and power. If you liked the original Katana would this be worth the upgrade? If you are using it somewhere other than at the PC or would put the remote to use it is well worth it and it is the most powerful PC-focused soundbar out there so I would say yes.

fv5tophonorseditorschoice

 

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Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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