Subwoofers — B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) ASW610

The ASW610 is the middle model of three Bowers & Wilkins ASW subwoofers, positioned between the ASW608 and the ASW610XP and described in a shared manual dated May 2013. It pairs a 10-inch driver with a compact sealed cabinet, and together with the ASW608 it is one of the two subwoofers listed for the 600 Series S3 line-up announced in August 2023.

Key specs that matter

The ASW610 uses one 250 mm (10-inch) long-throw driver, its cone made of paper and Aramid fibre, driven by a 200 W Class D amplifier. With the EQ switch in position A, response reaches 27 Hz at ±3 dB and 20 Hz at -6 dB, and the upper limit is set between 40 and 140 Hz. The cabinet measures 310 x 310 x 347 mm (HxWxD). Height becomes 322 mm on feet or 338 mm on spikes, and depth with grille is 375 mm. The weight is 12.5 kg. Black and white cabinets are offered, each with a choice of black or grey grille.

Engineering and use context

There is no port in this sealed design, and the long-throw construction gives the cone room to move in a compact box. Compared with the ASW608, the larger cone extends the ±3 dB limit lower with the same amplifier power. Connections consist of RCA stereo line inputs, binding posts for speaker-level signals and a 12 V trigger on a 3.5 mm jack. Each input type has its own volume control. Bypassing the low-pass on the line input leaves bass management to an AV processor. Bass extension is selected at A, B or C, from most extended to least, and the EQ switch offers two alignments, A and B, where A gives the lowest extension. A phase switch covers 0 and 180 degrees, and the power switch has On, Auto and Standby settings, with Auto going to sleep after around 5 minutes without signal and Standby responding to the trigger. Class D amplification keeps the unit efficient. The kit includes spikes and rubber feet, and the fabric front is detachable.

Pairing

The ASW610 matches the 603 S3 floorstanders or the 606 S3 stand-mounts in a 600 Series system. Stereo amplifiers without a sub output connect through the speaker-level terminals, and AV receivers through the line input. With the power switch in Standby, a trigger signal from the receiver turns the ASW610 on along with the system, and in the 600 Series S3 line-up the ASW610 is the larger listed sub.

Alternatives

The Bowers & Wilkins ASW610XP keeps the driver size and adds a 500 W Class D amplifier, reaching 25 Hz at ±3 dB in an 18.65 kg cabinet.