Subwoofers in Ottawa: A Buyer's Guide
A subwoofer is a dedicated low-frequency speaker that reproduces the deepest octaves your main speakers struggle to deliver. It is worth adding even to large floorstanders: by taking the hardest bass work off the mains and amplifier, a well-integrated sub gives you cleaner midrange, more dynamic headroom, and a more immersive soundstage — for both two-channel music and home theatre.
Key Takeaways
- A subwoofer frees your main speakers and amplifier from deep bass, giving cleaner midrange and more headroom.
- Two subs smooth bass across the room far better than one by evening out room modes.
- Sealed = tighter (music); ported = deeper and louder (home theatre). Our Dynamo range is sealed.
- Range: Dynamo 800X $999, Dynamo 1100X $1,699, Dynamo 1600X $2,199.
The hard part is not the sub itself — it is integration. This guide covers how to blend a subwoofer with your speakers, why two subs often beat one, how sealed and ported designs differ, and where our current MartinLogan Dynamo models fit.
How Do You Integrate a Subwoofer With Your Speakers?
Good integration comes down to three settings: crossover frequency, phase, and level. Set the crossover where your main speakers naturally roll off, match phase so the sub and mains reinforce rather than cancel, and dial the level so the bass never draws attention to itself. Done right, you hear one cohesive musical presentation, not a speaker plus a separate box of bass. Our team specialises in dialling these parameters in for your room — and room correction such as MartinLogan's ARC makes the process repeatable.
One Subwoofer or Two?
Two subs are often the bigger upgrade. A single sub excites room modes unevenly, so bass varies seat to seat; a second sub fills the nulls and smooths response across the whole room. Working together, the pair also reaches reference levels with less effort each, which lowers distortion. If budget allows, two smaller subs usually beat one large one.
Sealed or Ported: Which Subwoofer for Your Use?
All three of our current Dynamo models are sealed designs, which is why they suit music-first systems so well while still hitting hard for film.
Our Subwoofer Selection at a Glance
Not sure which size suits your room and mains? Talk to our team and we will match the sub to your speakers and set it up to disappear.