The Marantz SW7001 subwoofer is actually a nice looking subwoofer that we found to be a surprisingly easy addition to most home theater speakers. Designed to match their popular ES7001 SSX Front Surround Speaker System, the SW7001 physically is a throwback to the 80s style of metal-meets-speaker-grill. It even has an old-school power button on the lower left corner -- complete with red LED. Continuing with the retro theme a horizontally-oriented volume dial (not knob) is present on the front of the unit to control output levels.

The subwoofer is ported (a bass-reflex design) and has a footprint of around 9-inches square, but extends a full 12-inches in depth. The 6-1/2 inch driver is small compared to most subwoofers, but Marantz doesn't intend this for use in larger rooms or at excessive volume levels. The amplifier is a 50W model, which provides plenty of punch for the small driver but doesn't allow it to push itself to extremes. On the back of the sub, there are three AC outlets and connections for a line level input and a unique. This sensor allows the sub to be powered down when not in use. Specifically, this trigger is for use with the matching ES7001.

Setup on this subwoofer is about as easy as it gets -- you connect the line level cable from the dedicated subwoofer preamp output of your AV receiver and plug in the sub. After that you simply turn it on and dial the volume control up to about three quarters of the way to start. We found that setting the volume past three quarters resulted in overdriving the sub -- even when we weren't trying to push it too hard. The presence of three AC outlets on the back might be useful for those looking to keep the front of their room looking neat and trim -- especially if your power outlet isn't exactly where you need it.

We put a couple of bass-heavy movies into the system to see what would happen when the SW7001 encountered some hard-hitting tracks. During U-571 the poor sub choked completely and ended up making almost no audible noise below 40Hz. In this movie there is a lot of information at and below 30Hz, so the results was a boomy sound that couldn't get very loud. Cranking this subwoofer up beyond its capability resulted in a boomy mess, so we'd caution anyone against using this model if they want to play movies loud or if they want to fill a room larger than 960 cubic feet. During music the sub sounded a bit one-notey and really didn't do a fantastic job of articulating all the frequencies we expected to hear.

In terms of blending with our satellite speakers, the system did fine and we noted that its location really changed the sound -- so positioning this sub is critical. Since our satellites crossed over at 120Hz, the SW7001 made a good blend and music occurring in that critical junction seemed to travel smoothly across the audible threshold.

Overall, the Marantz SW7001 is an acceptable subwoofer for small rooms. We do not recommend it for anyone who is a movie aficionado or who wants to play their content at high volumes. For moderate playback it's a great little unit -- and certainly one that will nearly hide itself in any room. Its also a good match to the ES7001 sound bar.

Warranty
3 year, limited