Best amp for Mission 753 Freedom speakers - Selection made

[rmatthew]

Hi,

I have a set of Mission 753 Freedom speakers, which I love but I feel that I can get more out of them. They are currently being driven by a NAD C320BEE.

Looking at older posts on the subject using the Audiolab 8000A (or 8000C)/8000P combo gets a lot of praise. As these are now getting pretty old I'm looking for advice on alternatives. The 8200A/8200P would be a logical step forward but they would be stretching my budget and there may be a better alternative. I'm looking to spend around £500 but am willing to stretch that if it's worth it. I would be happy with new or second hand.

Specifications of speakers are as follows:

Frequency response: 60Hz to 20kHz

Sensitivity SPL/m/2.83V: 90dB

Max SPL per pair: 111dB

Cross-Over frequency: 200Hz and 2.3 kHz

Nominal impedence: 6 Ohms

Recommended amp: 20 - 150 W/C

Thanks in advance for your help.

Railton.

 

[bigfish786]

Was something that worked very well for me. An A85 can be found second hand for around £250 or less if you are lucky.

 

[philpot1001]

I have been very happy with the results from my Marantz PM8005 and my missions. However its slightly over budget, if you go in store and haggle you should be able to pick one up for £580 with not much bother.

 

[the_master66]

Hi rmatthew,

Audiolab kit would seems a good match for the Missions - this was a common pairing for them back in the day and would provide plenty of clean and reliable power that the will Missions love, looking on the various second hand sites 8200p's can be purchased for between £200-£250 and I personally would partner that with an 8200q, these make approx £225 and this comes in under your £500 budget and you can always add another 8200P later if you want....

I used a 8000q/8000p for many years to power some Castle Howards with excellent results....

I think Cyrus would also be a good match but prices are higher so you would find it difficult to get what you need within your budget.

Thanks and good luck

The_Master66

 

[rmatthew]

Thanks for the replies, they are helpful. "The_Master66" on what sites are you finding 8200's at £200-250? On eBay they are going for £350+

 

[drummerman]

Some sort of cyrus and PSX-R.

Not sure which model was present when Mission released your floor stander but probably something like a cyrus III.

 

[the_master66]

Thanks for the replies, they are helpful. "The_Master66" on what sites are you finding 8200's at £200-250? On eBay they are going for £350+

Hi rmatthew,

On ebay , search for 8200p and ticked the completed items box - I often use this so I guage actual selling prices , there have been a few go through at that price.....yhou may have to be patient though.

Thanks

The_Master66

 

[rmatthew]

Thanks, didn't realise you could search the sold listings.

Patience is something I'm not so good at!! I'm going to audition an Arcam A19 on Sunday, not sure whether it will have enough to drive them well but will be an interesting comparison with the NAD.

 

[Daz B]

I have a pair of Mission speakers so would be interested in your experience with the Arcam demo.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Depending on how you like your music - Yamaha AS-700 or one of the higher level yamaha's.

Yamaha go really well with Mission. But an amp with a good high input psu with alot in reserve.

500watt+ operating power to 90wpc output.

If Arcam is your brand go with the FMJ29 over the FMJ19

 

[rmatthew]

Just auditioned the Arcam A19 and Cambridge CXA80. Both had better clarity and detail than my NAD so an upgrade is definitely worth while.

The A19 sounded good but felt a little lacking in bass so maybe underpowered. The A29 would be a better bet but £900 is quite a bit above my budget.

The CXA80 gave better bass, also good clarity and at £750 considerably cheaper than the A29.

I can get an Audiolab 8200Q/8200P combo for £800 and although I've not listened to them I can't help feeling they may bet a better option.

Any further thoughts/suggestions welcome.

 

[jjbomber]

The A19 sounded good but felt a little lacking in bass so maybe underpowered. The A29 would be a better bet but £900 is quite a bit above my budget.

Any further thoughts/suggestions welcome.

The old Naim Nac92 Pre, Nap 90 Power and Flatcap aould be my choice to partner the Missions for the best bass. Not sure how you could audition them though.

 

[Freemomusic]

I have had my 753's now for 22 yrs with a Cyrus 3 and psx-r I looked at changing to proarc or PMC but I new the 753s had more to offer so added a power amp and fantastic results so look at both audiolab and Cyrus 2nd hand and flood them with power.

 

[james_LR90]

Also take a look at NVA amplification. You could get the same pre/Monoblock set up as me for £680. Depending on how many inputs you need the P20 pre amp would knock £100 off. NVA is very detailed and neutral sounding so may just be what you are looking for.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

My new amp recommendation

If you are willing to stretch to the Arcam FMJ29 - honestly, stretch a little more too £1000(if you barta) and check out the Musical Fidelity M3si - your speakers deserve this amp.

Honestly - just audition it..... You'll see.

 

[rmatthew]

So, after trying out a few different amps I've made and decision and bought one. Amps I auditioned were as follows:

Arcam A19: Sounded good but felt lacking in the bass.

Arcam A29: Sounded better than the A19, fuller, but didn't wow me enough to justify the £300 extra over the A19.

Cambridge CXA80: Good clarity, better bass than the A19, included a DAC which I needed. This was my second choice.

NAD 356BEE DAC: Didn't sound good at all with my speakers. Bright, harsh and tiring to listen to. This surprised me as my old amp was a NAD 320BEE and sounded pretty good.

Bluesound Powernode 2: This was a wildcard listen suggested by the dealer as I listen to Spotify. It actually sounded good at low volumes however when you cracked it up it lost all control.

The winner....... was the Abrahamsen v2.0UP. A bit more than I planned to spend but definitely worth it. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but to me it has a lovely warm sound, brings out a lot more detail in my speakers and is easy to listen to. The last comment is important to me as I have music on most of the day so it can't be tiring. I spent an afternoon at Colin's auditioning the amp with different music and also with his IPL S2 TLK speakers. They are a lot better at showing what the v2.0 can deliver than the 753's and gave an incredible amount of detail. I didn't walk away with a set of those but I did buy the Abrahamsen DAC II, I've not auditioned any other DAC's but it sounded great when used to connect my Chromecast Audio with the optical cable and they look good together so I thought why not!

I've had about 20 hours listening so far and it's bedding in nicely. Each day it feels a little bit better. By the end of the week it should be fully run in.

There are a lot of Abrahamsen fans on here and now I can see why.

 

[nopiano]

Congratulations! I am sure you made a fine choice. And most importantly, you put the effort in to hear several, and found out how different they can sound.