When unboxing, the first thing that caught my eye was the high quality packaging. Gave me directly a very positive first impression. On closer inspection, the very limited contents were surprising: In addition to the Dali Katch, only the power supply with three travel adapters, a two-page Quick Start Guide and a transport bag are included.
First of all, some short remarks about the equipment: The handling of the power supply is simple, and the adapters can be exchanged several times without any problems. It's just a pity that Dali didn't follow the current trend of mobile devices and equipped the power supply with a micro-USB connector. In the whitepapers for the product, the included transport bag is described as a "high-quality carrying bag. The material itself is of high quality, but a stable transport bag, like the ones for mobile navigation devices or cell phones, would have fit better in my opinion. The Quick Start Guide comes as a flyer printed on both sides. Explains the operation of the Katch in Ikea style by means of symbols without any text. What looks a bit meager at first, turned out to be practical after all.
Hardware
The Dali Katch itself has an elegant design with a sleek exterior. The solid aluminum case makes a very stable impression, and I like the feel of the control buttons on the top very much. To this end, every keystroke is also confirmed with a visual display by the LEDs on the top side. At the beginning, I was a bit unsettled by the fact that the plastic side covers of the loudspeakers can be pushed in a bit. Why the USB and line-in ports on the side have a dust- and splash-proof rubber cover, but the power supply port does not, is not quite clear to me. The carrying strap can be fitted snugly to the device, so it doesn't interfere visually or mechanically when the Katch is used upright. I really like the charging function of a cell phone via the USB port, that's a really nice feature. The first connection of the Dali Katch to my Apple iPhone 6S. A Samsung Nexus 10 via Bluetooth worked perfectly. Also later device couplings were always very fast and problem-free possible. The connection via an analog audio cable with jack plug also works well. However, there is a lot of noise when the cell phone is connected to the EDGE network. This could not be avoided completely even by increasing the distance by longer cables. With an existing Bluetooth connection, this interference noise only occurs when the cell phone and the Katch are in the immediate vicinity of each other.
Operation
The operation of the Katch is very easy, the response times are very good. Since the output control is primarily left to the audio end device, the Katch also gets along very well with the few control buttons. Through confirmation sounds when switching on and off and when successfully pairing via Bluetooth, the user gets a good feedback. Volume adjustments on the Katch itself are transmitted to the cell phone when a Bluetooth connection is established and are also indicated there by the LEDs. This also works without problems in the opposite direction. When connected via an analog jack cable, this unfortunately does not work.
Sound and quality
The room-filling sound of the Katch is simply great. I use the device for the playback of various audio signals and I'm really enthusiastic about it. In addition to podcasts and MP3 music, I listen to web radio over it again and again and have also used the Katch for sound output when playing on the tablet or PC. Both the voice output of the podcasts and the music playback are excellent, and the Katch has enough reserves to turn it up a bit. The even sound reproduction on both sides creates a pleasant sound. To do this, the Katch must of course be placed upright. Since we have two small children in the house, I was a little skeptical at first about the stability of the car. But so far, despite various attempts by our children, the device has not yet fallen over.
I have also used the Katch outdoors, in the office and even in the car and have had no problems or any limitations with it anywhere. I think you can also easily use it to provide sound for a small spontaneous garden party thanks to its 2 x 25 watts.
Jens' conclusion
The scope of this device is very specialized in the high-quality reproduction of audio content of another terminal, and this task performs the Dali Katch excellent. Besides that it offers a charging function for the audio end device. The Dali Katch is a mobile Bluetooth speaker, but its size and weight make it less suitable for ultra-mobile use, where the device can be carried "just in case" in a handbag or briefcase. Nevertheless, the device is called "mobile" not only because of the very long battery life, because it can be easily moved to any location and has enough "steam" to play at a barbecue. We have another joy-bringing family addition to report.