DALI Katch One soundbar, Iron Black

Product Information

By using a specially designed chassis, an inverted membrane and spider suspension, this shallow woofer has the same top excursion as a similar sized traditional woofer. The internal depth is turned into true low-frequency reproduction generating bass with as little help from the DSP as possible. The outward turned aluminium membrane cone is constructed with a soft fabric dust cap and allows the woofer superior air flow even at mid-range frequencies while lowering surface resonances, and retaining detail and clarity. Performance You’ll want to think about how you plan to use your soundbar and make sure the model you get has the connectivity options to support the devices you plan to use with it. For example, do you want to use HDMI or optical audio, and Bluetooth or Wi-Fi? If your TV has HDMI ARC or eARC, consider getting a soundbar that supports this feature, as it allows for better audio and control over a single HDMI cable.

Delivering Dolby Atmos from a small chassis is no mean feat, but the 2023 What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sonos Beam Gen 2 achieves a convincing, immersive performance without so much as a vertical speaker in sight. Instead, when watching Atmos content, two of the soundbar's five front-facing arrays are dedicated to reproducing overhead and surround sounds. With its hefty processing power, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 uses psychoacoustic HRTF (head-related transfer function) technology to give the impression of height without needing to get vertical. It’s not the biggest soundbar around, but the Beam is still a winner for most living rooms. Low enough to fit beneath the majority of TVs, the second-gen Sonos is set apart from its predecessor only by the polycarbonate grille which replaces the fabric finish of the first edition. Otherwise, it’s visually the same understated slab. Delivering Dolby Atmos from a small chassis is no mean feat but the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sonos Beam Gen 2 achieves a convincing, immersive performance without so much as a vertical speaker in sight. Sonic services are provided by a pair of 19mm tweeters, four 55mm full-range drivers and three passive radiators. Like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), none of these point upwards, so the Home 550 relies on algorithms to produce a 3D effect. This is impressive, up to a point: the bar delivers a big sound with noticeable height, showing good dynamic potency and plenty of detail across the frequency range. Bass is deep but controlled, too. Designed to enhance music from any source, Katch One can perform as your main audio system exhibiting a 40-year legacy in high-end audio production.It is clear that a soundbar must be designed in such a way that it can be integrated into the living space and connected to the TV as harmoniously as possible with the least amount of effort and expense. Speaker specialists in particular sometimes overshoot the mark here and subordinate some things to the best possible sound. Dali Speaker A/S claims to combine excellent sound with elegant appearance, and to do this in the most compact dimensions possible. The 21mm ultra-light weight soft dome tweeter is incredibly compact but retains a large membrane area, ensuring it will reach deep down into the mid-range without any breaks or drops. The strong neodymium magnet delivers high power handling and a high sensitivity for detailed, accurate and fast high frequencies. Woofer

Driving the KATCH ONE are 4 x 50 watts peak, closed loop Class-D amplifiers. Utilising DSP for the active crossover, the amplifiers are directly connected to the drivers, maximising the performance.The two different sound modes "Wide" and "Focus" are designed to let the KATCH ONE perform with the widest selection of movies, documentaries, news and music. "Focus" offers a focused and very linear audio reproduction, while "Wide" offers a wide, impressive and very dynamic audio rendering - bringing a room-filling, surprisingly powerful experience. MOUNTING OPTIONS The Kubik One has a crisp, biting tone without going overboard, so you can happily listen at loud volumes without wincing as cars get smashed into pieces. The soundstage is laden with detail but it’s not too clinical or forced, resulting in a natural and absorbing sound. The HDMI input (ARC) on the KATCH ONE is an audio only input. The HDMI connection supports the use of the TV remote control to adjust the volume, mute and power on/off. Kubik One is undeniably expensive, but justifies the outlay with outstanding build quality, fresh, modern aesthetics and fantastic sound quality. It’s a versatile performer that makes music and movies sparkle, while its wide range of connections makes it easy to access your music. Both the casing and the front baffle of the KATCH ONE are moulded from a glass fibre reinforced ABS compound. This material enables us to construct a platform for the drivers that optimises the flow of air, widens the stereo image, and guides the sound towards the listener. This forms the base for an extremely rigid structure that ensures that the movement of the drivers does not cause unwanted resonances in the cabinet structure that could result in distortion of the audio signal.

DALI is no stranger to music and home theatre lovers around the world, but the Katch One is the first of its loudspeakers to incorporate an HDMI input. Yet the company's CEO Lars Worre says that it's more than just a regular soundbar. “It is in fact a music system, in the sense that it holds a neutrality and musicality as a standalone system”, he explains. Connecting a subwoofer is easy and rewarding. It sends all deep bass directly to the SUB Out by the DSP. This leaves the amplifier more headroom, allowing the KATCH ONE to extend even further up the volume scale. This soundbar will make a delightful addition to your TV set up. The crisp, dynamic audio is far beyond what you’ll get from your flat panel and this is sonically superior to all of its similarly priced rivals. Just make sure you’ve got the space and inclination to position it properly.

Can a soundbar be used as a hifi?

Although soundbars are typically designed with film and TV in mind, we also put them through their paces with music too, testing out a range of streaming options with a variety of genres, both classic and modern, enduring that we listen in the highest quality that the soundbar is capable of.