The iDome SW510 subwoofer
Unlike most high-end PC speaker sets, the iDome DS500s don't come with a subwoofer. Depending on how much you like bass to punch you in the chest, you might not need one, either. However, for those who want to feel their music as much as hear it, Abit has created the iDome SW510.
The SW510 follows the same aesthetic as the DS500s, but at 320mm deep, 200mm wide, and 350mm tall, it's quite a bit larger. (12.6" deep, 7.9" wide, and 13.8" tall for those of you who would rather water freeze at 32 degrees as opposed to 0.) As one might expect, the subwoofer weighs in at a heftier 5.2kg, too.
Like the DS500s, the subwoofer's controls are located at the front of the unit, this time along the top edge. There isn't much to control beyond the subwoofer's power button and bass and volume knobs, though. Subwoofer volume and bass control are independent of the left and right speakers, which is either a great feature or an annoying inconvenience depending on how you like to tweak playback settings.
From the rear, we can get a good look at the subwoofer's 6.5" driver. The sub's exhaust port is located at the bottom of the unit, and Abit says its design equalizes airflow to prevent distortion. Showing its motherboard maker roots, Abit calls this design DBX, or Digital Bass eXhaust. You know, because the speaker world doesn't have enough oddly-capitalized Xs.
Abit says the SW510 pumps out 50W of RMS power with a 16-160Hz frequency response and signal-to-noise ratio of 93dB. The subwoofer isn't limited to working with just the iDome DS500 satellites, either. You get standard analog and digital input and output ports, and since all the sub's controls are independent, you can use it with any other speaker system, but again, no coaxial S/PDIF ports.
As with the DS500s, the SW510 comes with RCA and optical cables. The optical cable is of the thin, flimsy variety you find bundled with some sound cards and motherboards, so it feels a little cheap next to the solid construction of the iDomes. That shouldn't affect the cable's ability to deliver a clean digital signal, though.
