Now, it’s time to turn our attention to the original Katch, a portable Bluetooth speaker that shares its design aesthetic with the newer Katch One. But does it also share its performance characteristics with the soundbar?
Features
The Katch and Katch One look very similar, with the same super-slim oval cabinet. The only obvious differences are the grille—crosshatched plastic on the Katch, cloth on the Katch One—and the fact that the Katch One is more than three times longer than the Katch (5.8 x 33.9 x 2.7 inches for the Katch One versus 5.4 x 10.6 x 1.9 inches for the Katch, HxWxD). Also, the Katch weighs in at 2.4 pounds, which is less than a third the weight of the Katch One. Finally, the Katch is available in five colors, while the Katch One comes only in black or white.
Derived from DALI’s Fazon series, the cabinet incorporates an extruded-aluminum body that is said to allow a thin structure that maximizes internal volume without compromising rigidity. According to the company, matching the aluminum body with a composite front and rear baffle eliminates any potential internal resonance, so the cabinet does not add unwanted acoustic energy to the sound generated by the drivers.
Speaking of drivers, the Katch uses the same ones as the Katch One, just not as many. The smaller model includes two 0.8-inch soft-textile dome tweeters with neodymium magnets, and two 3.5-inch aluminum-cone woofers with a textile cap. In addition, there are two 3x2-inch steel-cone passive radiators in the otherwise closed cabinet. The shallow woofers are said to allow the full excursion of a conventional woofer by using a specially designed chassis, inverted diaphragm, and custom spider suspension.
One tweeter, woofer, and passive radiator face forward, while the other trio of drivers face backward. I suspect this configuration is intended to distribute sound evenly throughout a room or outdoor space. If you place it near a wall or other large surface, the bass will be boosted, which might or might not be a good thing, depending on your preference.
Two 25W Class-D amplifiers power the drivers, and the specified frequency response extends from 49Hz to 23kHz (±3 dB) with a maximum output of 95dB SPL. In addition, the DSP (digital signal processing) provides two sound modes: Clear and Warm. Clear is said to offer a neutral frequency response, while Warm boosts the bass.
The primary input is Bluetooth 4.0 with support for the aptX high-quality codec. Plus, you can pair a Bluetooth source with the Katch wirelessly using NFC (near-field communication) if the source device supports it. A 3.5mm stereo analog-audio input lets you connect non-Bluetooth devices, and the Katch automatically switches to that input when it senses a signal there. Fortunately, you can manually toggle between Bluetooth and the analog input. Finally, a USB Type-A port lets you charge a USB device (5V/1A), and you can also connect a Chromecast dongle to the USB port, which is a nice feature.
The rechargeable battery is rated at 2400mAh, which allows the Katch to play for up to 24 hours on a single charge. Even better, charging takes only two hours, and the included power cord includes adapters for various AC outlets in different parts of the world.
Control is simple using the five buttons on the top of the unit. These include power on/off, volume up, volume down, sound-mode selection, and Bluetooth pairing; that last button also toggles between the Bluetooth and 3.5mm input. The power button is surrounded by four quarter-circular LEDs that indicate battery-charge status, volume, selected sound mode, and Bluetooth pairing status.
Performance
For most of my listening, I placed the Katch on a table far from any wall or other vertical surface. As usual, I played tracks in the Tidal Master library of uncompressed, high-resolution music from my iPhone XS via Bluetooth.
If you appreciate Danish design and clean, bright sound from a portable speaker—and you have the budget—the DALI Katch is a good choice. But if you prefer a warmer, fuller, richer sound, I’d look elsewhere.
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