I've owned the SB X Katana for over 21 months, and have used it everyday, its more than a soundbar speaker, it's a complete sound system (sound card) built within a speaker. The sound is quality high, it's clean, clear, crisp, in both the treble and bass ranges. The speaker system excels at being a versatile speaker for you tv, game console, bluetooth smart phone/tablet, headphones(not a headphone amp) and also works at a higher level on a PC computer as an external usb sound device with clean sound similar to an external sound Dac/Amp with internal sound card processing built in this speaker with added software to control to fine tune sound options , and to also note all the sound presets work without being connected to a PC in the other connectivity options. I ... MoreI've owned the SB X Katana for over 21 months, and have used it everyday, its more than a soundbar speaker, it's a complete sound system (sound card) built within a speaker. The sound is quality high, it's clean, clear, crisp, in both the treble and bass ranges. The speaker system excels at being a versatile speaker for you tv, game console, bluetooth smart phone/tablet, headphones(not a headphone amp) and also works at a higher level on a PC computer as an external usb sound device with clean sound similar to an external sound Dac/Amp with internal sound card processing built in this speaker with added software to control to fine tune sound options , and to also note all the sound presets work without being connected to a PC in the other connectivity options. I currently have it setup connected to 4 devices at once tv, console, pc, and bluetooh smartphone. The speaker comes with a remote control to control all the settings independently and swap connectivity settings, and to change sound and or RBG presets. The Speakers are loud enough with the sub woofer to fill a small to med size room in a house, and possiblity of a large room dependent on your listening perfernce to your sound on a quieter level than loud for a large room. It also does a good job simulatioin of 5.1 surround sound and beats any built in tv speakers and most tv soundbars hands down by a country mile! Cheap soundbars and tv speakers are really no comparisons to the high end quality sound of this speaker sound system! RGB lights are icing on the cake and you can change colors setup and make custom settings and use preset strobing and effects, and by the way my lights have been blinking strong over 21 months plus! This is my independent non paid reveiw of this great product.

Amazing quality at the right price

Probably one of the best sound bars for the price! The sound quality is great and the LEDs add a nice touch. I have mine connected to my computer for gaming and music and also Bluetooth connected to my phone so I can listen to music when I’m doing other things without having to have my computer running. This is by far one of the best additions to my gaming setup

Creative Labs Sound BlasterX Katana

The Creative Labs Sound BlasterX Katana is great! Only have used it with the PC so far, but the sound quality is excellent for music as well as gaming. Bass can boom and sounds come out crystal clear. Was debating about purchasing the newer V2, but this original version is great (and cheaper). Not a huge fan of RGB in general, but it does add a nice touch. Replaced a 5:1 system because of the amount of wires and space. B&H, as per usual, provided a timely delivery. System arrived safely and undamaged. Would highly recommend for your PC sound needs.

Defective and what the heck on age of product?

I had traversed a ton of reviews before this purchase and finally decided to give this a shot. I received this via drop ship, I'm assuming directly from the manufacturer on 8/2/2019. The first thing I noticed is that the date code on the box of 9/2018, almost 1 year ago. I went ahead and set the unit up and immediately noticed that firmware from Feb. 2019 had not been applied. Why would you send an old-dated product out and not update the firmware and test? Makes no sense. So, I updated the firmware and spent about 3 hours tweaking it to sound like I wanted. I thought I was happy until all of a sudden, the tweeters cut out and all I was hearing were bass and mid-bass. I turned off the unit, disconnected, rebooted the computer, reconnected everything, and viola, ... MoreI had traversed a ton of reviews before this purchase and finally decided to give this a shot. I received this via drop ship, I'm assuming directly from the manufacturer on 8/2/2019. The first thing I noticed is that the date code on the box of 9/2018, almost 1 year ago. I went ahead and set the unit up and immediately noticed that firmware from Feb. 2019 had not been applied. Why would you send an old-dated product out and not update the firmware and test? Makes no sense. So, I updated the firmware and spent about 3 hours tweaking it to sound like I wanted. I thought I was happy until all of a sudden, the tweeters cut out and all I was hearing were bass and mid-bass. I turned off the unit, disconnected, rebooted the computer, reconnected everything, and viola, tweeters were back. Then they cut out again and 20 minutes later, cut back in. This happened repeatedly through the day through various attempts to correct, like different cables, settings, variations of connections, etc. Nothing worked. Really disappointed as I wanted to like this so bad. In its defense, it sounded great when it worked correctly, but that was about 10% of 2 days of listening and trying to correct the problem. Of course, you can't reach anyone on the weekend for support or exchange. This is horrible QA on a Chinese made product. Shame on Creative. I found that another reviewer on Youtube had the exact same experience, but his second bar was OK. Really not happy that I waited 5 days for this to come and will now be waiting another 10-15 days to get this corrected.

Fantastic Sound

Lots of features and input options. The sound is fantastic. The only thing more I could ask for is a knob to control the volume. Y'know that time early in the morning when you forgot you left the volume up high and scare yourself half to death when the music comes on real loud and you want to turn it down quickly? That isn't an option without a knob. It takes a few button pushes to back the volume down. I supposed the knob would be annoying because it wouldn't control the audio for the first five or eight seconds when the sound bar boots up right after power being applied. Definitely would get it again despite this.

Great sound in a small package

Aside from the anxiety inducing firmware update process (followed all instructions and still failed, thought I bricked it for a minute), everything is working great with this unit. I bought this to get more immersive gaming sound, replacing a 2.0 Bose setup. This fits the bill perfectly. Great simulated surround sound, full and rich audio across the board, and surprisingly fun lighting underneath. Excellent product overall.

Great sounding speakers

Absolutely Awesome sounding speakers. A little expensive but all in all worth the money. Honestly I would have been happy with just a simple usb speaker like my old Dell speaker but with usb 3/C on most PCs now, it no longer suppports the old tech. The Katana system is unbelievable quality, easy to set up and ultra flexable in terms of connection options. I usually try and avoid Harvey Norman but lately I think they have proved themselves worthy of a look again.

Sharp look, good sound, fun lighting - but...

So I like this device quite a bit. I've had it for a while now, and I am glad I bought the extended warranty on it. When I first brought it home, I would often get fooled by the nice stereo sound it puts out and would think something was making noise outside. Very cool. However, my right speaker has begun to cut in and out. You can definitely tell when it's not working properly, it's excellent sound becomes instantly less exciting. I'll have to bring it back and get it replaced. The price tag is high, but it's a neat product for sure.

This Katana is dull and not a live edged sword!

Do NOT bother. While these speakers are well built and look the part, they have a constant crackle/popping when hooked up via USB to replace your onboard sound. Its been a known issue since these released via MassDrop and if you look on the Soundblaster Official subreddit you will see this has STILL not been fixed. Creative released a Firmware in April to "fix" it, which does nothing. They said there's a software update forthcoming, and we are STILL waiting. Love spending $250 on a product that doesnt do what it is intended.

Wow, I'm rarely impressed

I've purchased some highly rated computer speakers before, only to be HIGHLY disappointed once they were hooked up. Maybe I'm a sound snob, or just maybe, I just grew up listening to booming bass enhanced speakers, and couldn't live with anything less. I was just about to give up on my search for outstanding sounding speakers but, I remembered how I was never disappointed by spending a few extra bucks for quality. After reading review after review on this sound bar, I dicided to give it a go, and holy Moses, I couldn't be happier! The sound is rich, and the bass deep. You can discern every single note in any song, and these puppies are good and loud! The very pretty rgb led's are an extra bonus if you're a visual person, and I love the variety of light dances. All ... MoreI've purchased some highly rated computer speakers before, only to be HIGHLY disappointed once they were hooked up. Maybe I'm a sound snob, or just maybe, I just grew up listening to booming bass enhanced speakers, and couldn't live with anything less. I was just about to give up on my search for outstanding sounding speakers but, I remembered how I was never disappointed by spending a few extra bucks for quality. After reading review after review on this sound bar, I dicided to give it a go, and holy Moses, I couldn't be happier! The sound is rich, and the bass deep. You can discern every single note in any song, and these puppies are good and loud! The very pretty rgb led's are an extra bonus if you're a visual person, and I love the variety of light dances. All around great experience with these. 2 thumbs up.