MartinLogan Abyss 10 Subwoofer Review

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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
MartinLogan’s original Abyss subwoofer was released in 2006 and was designed to be a larger and more powerful subwoofer than the original Dynamo subwoofer at that time. It was a sealed 12” sub with a 300-watt RMS amp, as opposed to the original Dynamo’s 10” woofer and 200-watt RMS amp. In 2024, MartinLogan resurrected the Abyss name, but this time, the sub plays a very different role. In its modern incarnation, the Abyss subs are actually a bit smaller than the current Dynamo subs, and they use a dual passive radiator design rather than a sealed enclosure. The Abyss 10 also has the same amount of amplifier power as the Dynamo 12. So, the Abyss is not just a smaller sibling to the Dynamo, but rather a different design that should yield greater deep bass output. I believe the more powerful deep bass of this sub is the reason that MartinLogan brought back the “Abyss” name, for the association with depth. As a 15” cube, it’s not large, yet its name suggests deep bass. But how can deep bass be generated from a small enclosure? Isn’t that contrary to physics? On paper, MartinLogan has made some smart choices for getting deep bass out of a small package, but will it play out in the real world? Read our full review tofind out...

READ: MartinLogan Abyss 10 Subwoofer Review
 
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luis1090

Audioholic Intern
Wow guys no love for the Martin Logan subwoofer? Not a single comment, no crazy theories about sonic boom in a home subwoofer? Well I'm poor my setup is a Yamaha integrated amplifier driving ironically Martin Logan F20's and a U-Turn Orbit Plus. Well I guess this sub in a small setup should serve low notes well, but at the current price of $1900.00 I will keep my SVS.
 
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XaVierDK

Audioholic Intern
It seems to be a compelling little solution for most people's needs, and definitely a more compelling option for deep bass than, say, the 3000 Micro or similar compact subs, but I'd be interested to know how the relatively high distortion (within CEA-2010 limits) affects output or perceived quality of sound in-room.

In my personal experience, after having to move around my seating arrangement and have it against a wall as compared to previously into the room, if you have higher distortion output anechoically, you will end up with much more muddy bass near to boundaries than with your seating into the room, as the high-pressure zone near a wall also amplifies distortion harmonics to an adverse degree. And this, in my testing, is both measureable and audible, ie. with seating close to the wall distortion rises much earlier and is much more audible and prominent than with my seating away from boundaries.

In a well-designed listening space, this is not much of an issue, but I think this is an aspect to keep in mind when looking at subs and designing systems. We all always want the cleanest output, of course, but seating position and room acoustics can really highlight issues even within testing standards' limits.
 
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