Measurements with different settings
Let's get back to the presets and the resulting sound, as well as our slight discomfort with the delivery state. The bathtub that opens up here is not only a little roller coaster ride of emotions as a curve, but also on the ear not really the bringer. Basses are touted together indiscriminately and generally one finds a fat porridge up to the upper middles rather than a finely tasted jam to the overture. Let's tick that off and just forget about it right away.
Because it's also much, much nicer – always assuming you use USB and the software on the PC or at least a decent equalizer along with analog input. But then the Katana rewards you with an amazingly mature, well-tuned and quite warm sound, which one would not have expected! Even the subwoofer is setting new records, at least as far as its physical limitations allow.
The DSP now comes to his aid with a good low-cut. Because what you can't radiate, you don't have to reward uselessly with amplifier power. So nothing is thrown into deep holes, which could be used much better elsewhere! This then audibly benefits the maximum level, which is not a bad one. Neighbours beware, it can get a bit louder!
Of course, the Katana never becomes an analytical speaker even in the rinsing process, but the playback is now almost neutral over large frequency bands, at least in some beginnings.
So let's get to the detailed analysis and start as usual in the basement. The subcontraoctave is missing, which is clearly due to the subwoofer, the driver and its control. This can be painful, even if it remains rather weak up to the contraoctave. From approx. 50 Hz the subwoofer is then present and you can talk about bass again. Since the large bass drum is usually mixed far too pamphpy and dominant, the slight level drop is easy to hurt. What remains after the cosmetics, however, is a very painless, almost dry bass, which you can really listen to. Not as deep as Lake Constance, but almost crystal clear.
Why is this? In the original sound, the upper bass is too greased to distract from certain deficits in the design and to fake more volume than is really present. On the surface, this may even fit in movies or games, but it sounds rather awful if you listen more closely to properly produced music. Cardboard sound like from Aunt Helga's disco cellar with the 100 Euro PA from eBay. After the correction, this nasty dent is gone and even the seamless transition from soundbar to subwoofer works almost excellently.
The basic frequency of most instruments is well mapped and also vowels do not have to hide. Since you sit very close to the soundbar, you would hear every error in the near field immediately. It's not hi-fi, but it sounds pleasant and acceptable. From the lower middles to the high-pitched range, everything stays very balanced and nothing plays out in the foreground. The design remains warm and pleasant up to the super high tone. Sibilants come clean, but not too dominant, and various pieces of drums, right up to the painted jazz brooms, remain exactly where they placed the musicians.
The spatial location is not brutally good due to the design, there is simply missing the base width, but still acceptable if one does not sit too far away. The stage is therefore rather mediocre, but it is and remains a soundbar and not an ideal listening equipment. What is of no use, however, is the whole 7.1. Surround manipulation. For such gimmicks the base width is missing and you get nothing else except the muddled sound that could shock you. But at least no space, because that's right there.
Summary and conclusion
After so long deployment, we are still more torn than torn in terms of a final verdict under the most diverse conditions. After weighing up the (rather small) effort for their own sounding (everyone will still play on the sound controller, even with expensive systems), the very convincing level resistance, as well as the good overall performance and the really excellent workmanship, it is enough, albeit wafer-thin, for an award.
Let's leave the silly presets for the sound out and tolerate the too small feet, then a rather clean appearance and a surprisingly good sound for a soundbar of this price range and size remain on the credit side. The rest are painful little things and you can confidently access, if you have just about 300 euros loose.
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