Subwoofers — Audes Llc. SW U4

The SW U4 is an active subwoofer from Audes, an Estonian maker whose history starts in 1935, when a group of enthusiasts set up the RET radio receiver factory in Tallinn at Kopli 80. Loudspeaker driver production and system assembly moved to the Jõhvi branch in 1985, and in 1992 the company took the Audes name, short for Audio from Estonia. The SW U4 is the larger of two subwoofers in the Universal Line, or U-Line, next to the SW U2, and Audes offers it as an addition to any U-Line model.

Key specs that matter

A 10-inch woofer designed and manufactured by Audes itself fires downward from the cabinet. The built-in amplifier delivers 225 W into 6 ohm. The subwoofer crossover can be set between 40 Hz and 120 Hz with a 12 dB per octave slope. According to Audes, the amplifier is proof against short circuits, load mismatch and open circuits. The cabinet stands 461 mm high, 325 mm wide and 443 mm deep, and the unit weighs 24 kg. The basic finish is black, silver or white paint, while real wood veneer and high-gloss surfaces are available as options.

Engineering and use context

Because the driver points at the floor rather than into the room, Audes says the low frequencies spread evenly and the box can go in many positions around a room. The U-Line itself was planned for flexible installation, so that owners could choose a placement or mounting method without giving up performance. Its main speakers are built as thin panels that can hang on a wall, sit partly recessed into a wall, or stand on the floor or a shelf on stands. There are six of them, the U10, U30, U40, U70, U80 and U100, and each is offered in on-wall and in-wall versions, with or without a grille, plus high-gloss variants. Audes positions these panels together with LED, LCD or plasma screens and projectors as home theatre sets for HD DVD and Blu-ray material.

Pairing

The magnetically shielded U80 is aimed at large rooms such as big home theatres, hotels, halls and conference rooms, where the extra amplifier power of the SW U4 is useful. The U100 is the newest model in the line, built with European-made components, and can be partly sunk into a plasterboard wall for a low-profile finish. Since its crossover reaches fairly high, the subwoofer can take over bass from the smaller U-Line panels as well.

Alternatives

The Audes SW U2 is the smaller subwoofer of the same line, with an 8-inch woofer, a 120 W amplifier and a weight of 16 kg.