Definitive Technology Dymension DW-MAX SUR In-Wall Bipolar Surround Speaker

Definitive Technology Dymension DW-MAX SUR

Surround speakers have a different job from front speakers: they should envelop, not point. The DW-MAX SUR is Definitive Technology’s premium in-wall answer, a bipolar surround from the Dymension CI MAX line. Its two driver arrays – each a 5.25-inch mineral-filled BDSS woofer and a 1-inch aluminium oxide dome tweeter – face outward on opposite horizontal planes, so sound leaves the wall in both directions and reflects around the room. The effect is a wide, diffuse surround field with no obvious speaker location to pull you out of the film.

Both woofers use DefTech’s Balanced Double Surround System, which supports the cone at two points to increase excursion and control, and a Linear Response Waveguide shapes the phase plug so dispersion stays even off-axis – important when the audience is spread along a sofa rather than in one seat.

Key Features

• Bipolar array: dual woofers and dual tweeters firing on opposite planes
• Dual 5.25-inch mineral-filled BDSS woofers with Linear Response Waveguide
• Dual 1-inch aluminium oxide dome tweeters, precisely angled
• Three-position tweeter attenuation switch: -2dB, flat, +2dB
• Handles up to 200W; 89dB sensitivity, 4-ohm nominal
• IP55-rated: suited to humid rooms and covered outdoor spaces
• Toolless installation with pivoting dog arms
• Flush border-free design with paintable magnetic micro-perforated grille

Why Bipolar for Surrounds?

A conventional direct-radiating speaker beams its output at the listener, which localises the sound – you hear the speaker, not the environment the film is creating. A bipolar design energises the room’s reflections from both directions at once. Rain, crowds, flyovers and reverb tails arrive as a field of sound with an extremely wide sweet spot, which is why bipolar surrounds are the classic choice for side and rear channels in serious home cinemas. The trade-off – softer pinpoint imaging – is precisely what you do not want from an effects channel.

Room Matching

After installation, the three-position high-frequency switch compensates for the room: -2dB for bright, reflective spaces, +2dB for heavily furnished, damped ones. The DW-MAX SUR is timbre-matched to the rest of the Dymension and Dymension CI ranges and Mythos speakers, so mixes stay consistent as sound pans between front and surround channels.

Where the DW-MAX SUR Fits

Side and rear surround channels in dedicated home theatres and media rooms, including humid or covered outdoor entertainment areas thanks to the IP55 rating. Full technical specifications are in the Additional Information table on this page.