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Add to SafariWhen comparing Samsung HW-K650 vs Creative SoundBlasterX Katana, the Slant community recommends Creative SoundBlasterX Katana for most people. In the question“What are the best soundbars?” Creative SoundBlasterX Katana is ranked 6th while Samsung HW-K650 is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Creative SoundBlasterX Katana is:
While the device seems small, it can actually get really loud, without distortion. It uses good quality speakers and external components to maintain this quality. The soundstage is quite good and the subwoofer provides a deep rumble.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Powerful sound, best suited for movie watching
This soundbar delivers sharp, aggressive mids and highs while the wireless subwoofer creates powerful bass frequencies. These combine to make action-packed scenes in movies and shows a joy to watch. Additionally, the dedicated center channel ensures that dialogue is always clear and distinguishable.
Pro Multi-room audio streaming
Samsung has included an application that you can use to stream music from your phone, online streaming services and even media servers in your home network to the soundbar via Wi-Fi. It’s also possible to set up a multi-room system with other Samsung audio products that are compatible with the app.
Pro Can be turned into a surround system
It’s possible to upgrade this soundbar to a full surround system, using its smart Wi-Fi features. All that's needed is a Samsung speaker (such as one from the Radiant series) that supports the Samsung Multiroom app, so it can be used as a surround speaker. It only requires a one-time setup via the Android or iOS app, and the whole setup permanently becomes a full surround system.
Pro Prepared to be wall mounted
This soundbar comes with wall mounts.
Pro Can be connected wirelessly to Samsung Smart TVs
If you have a Samsung Smart TV, it’s possible to easily connect it to this soundbar, wirelessly. All that's needed is the touch of a button on the remote.
Pro Supports HMDI ARC
If your TV has an HMDI ARC (Audio Return Channel) input, this soundbar can receive sound directly through the HDMI cable and, at the same time, it allows you to control it via the TV remote.
Pro Capable of overwhelming sound levels
While the device seems small, it can actually get really loud, without distortion. It uses good quality speakers and external components to maintain this quality. The soundstage is quite good and the subwoofer provides a deep rumble.
Pro Wide variety of PC-oriented ports
As a PC-oriented soundbar, the Katana has an optical input, a USB input for external storage, a micro USB port, and a microphone and headphone port.
Pro PC soundcard bypass
To take full advantage of this soundbar's capabilities, when it is connected to a PC via USB, it bypasses the computer's onboard soundcard.
Pro Has a programmable RGB lighting system
This soundbar has a programmable lighting system called Aurora Reactive, which features 16.8 million colors.
Pro Handy companion software
If the soundbar is connected with a USB cable, you can use the downloadable SoundBlaster Connect software to tweak with some sound enhancing settings. You can choose from different presets or manually control the equalizer. The soundbar's RGB lighting is fully controllable via the app, letting you choose between various effects and more than 16 million colors.
Cons
Con HDMI connections are hard to reach
The HDMI connections are hard to reach, because of the cramped layout, so you may need to get a slim HDMI cable to circumvent this.
Con Too aggressive sound for pleasant music listening
This soundbar's aggressive approach to sound is not suited for proper music listening, as the high frequencies can become too overwhelming and lose detail. The preset music mode helps a bit, but doesn’t eliminate the issue.
Con Soundstage tapers off with distance
Since it’s designed to be used up close, the Katana's soundstage tapers off as you sit farther.
Con Software is Windows-only
The Katana's companion software only works with Windows operative systems.
Con Subwoofer cable is too short
The subwoofer's cable is only 2 meters long, which can be too short for some setups.
Con No HDMI support
The Katana doesn't support HDMI.
Con Subwoofer isn't capable of handling low frequencies well
Due to its small size, this soundbar's subwoofer doesn’t handle the lowest frequencies very well.
