Atohm GT-SW2-HD Subwoofer, $3200

{15h, 12.1w, 14.7d, 55 lbs, 500w amp, 23-150Hz}

Available in Piano Gloss Black or White

Atohm’s new GT-SW2 HD powered sub is my new fave of all subs! Atohm has achieved uniquely deep and CONTROLLED bass response that makes this piano aficionado extremely happy.

I will call this the SW2 for the duration of this listing.

Since I first heard subs in the early 70s, they’ve been a blessing and a curse. How much bass is enough? How much is too much? They’re almost always too much for me.

In the early days you had to buy a passive woofer in a box, then add an outboard electronic crossover and power amp to make the bag of cats fly. Results were OK if you spent real money on each link in the chain. But even then, by the time you heard the sub, it obfuscated bass detail. For RNR or theater fans, it doesn’t much matter. For those of us that love the piano and acoustic instruments, at best adding a sub was an expensive proposition and ultimately- probably not worth the harm it imposed.

We moved on to self powered subs which have been quite affordable- and less sophisticated. The best of breed were made by JL Audio in Florida. Virtually all competitors are Chinese thumpers in a highly resonant box. Again, that’s fine for theater and RNR animals- not us renaissance men of the new millennium.

This brings me to the new Atohm SW2. Atohm has made a number of choices to achieve spectacular sound- despite the fact that some of these choices will distinctly undermine their ability to SELL to a more widespread client bass.

Atohm’s Thierry Comte breaks from the pack at the outset. Rather than going for the quick sale with a large diameter thunder boomer driver in a woolly box, Thierry has determined that he gets the best response when using smaller, 9.1” metal alloy drivers with long throw excursion capabilities- in a more modest cabinet size.

Further, the cabinet uses different thicknesses at various places in the sub’s wall to provide optimal rigidity. The cabinet is also contoured adroitly to deliver the most solid support for the sub drivers to work within.

This basic choice means your average Joe won’t buy it- because he wants a 15” or 12” driver in a huge box. More bass is better, right?

Um, no. The key is to augment your great L&R main (wing) speakers. Let’s extend bass without making the rest of the music plodding or muddy. Don’t intrude on the beauty of the wings. Since Thierry also designs all the Atohm speakers, he’s keenly aware of how to handshake with state of the art resolution.

SW2 hits the nail on the head.

Atohm runs a pair of these alloy 9.1” woofs in an opposing face configuration. The opposing drivers create taut bass and cancel the cabinet’s propensity to ring. Further, they’re employed within a SEALED box, which is endemically the best way to keep bass tight.

Driver excursion can reach an inch when you’re working out the SW2. Atohm runs a dedicated 500w amp to deliver plenty of horsepower.

Atohm has created X-Guard technology to control the drivers’ movement, to insure they don’t exceed safe levels of travel.

Atohm has created U-Guard technology to control the amplifier’s behavior with smooth clipping contouring to avoid massive saturation.

Thierry has achieved deep bass, down to 23Hz. He has done so while keeping the sub system sounding cleaner than fatter and in an enclosure you will find easy to place.

If you’re a piano and acoustic instruments snob, um I mean FAN, as I am, SW2 is the ideal sub at a fair price!