Component Synergy

abmscopes

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2014
19
0
18,520
Visit site
It never fails to amaze me how different my hifi sounds when I mix and match components. Over the years I've amassed a number of amps, sources and speakers in a range of different rooms. Whenever I'm getting bored with the sound and feel the urge to buy something new (which is not accompanied by a wallet that can sustain this urge), I first consider swapping some components around. I'm often pleasantly surprised.

My most successful swap a few days ago has been my most successful ever and my gob is smacked by the sound. Let me elaborate.

A few years ago I bought 2nd hand a pair of Mission 702e floorstanders for £50. They were initially attached to an Arcam delta 290 amp and latterly the 290 used as a power amp and an old xeta2 as a pre-amp in a fairly large living-room. Sources varied from an Arcam diva CD player to components via a cambride audio DAC magic 100. Also vinyl replay via a Rega Planar 2/Rondo red MC cartridge. No matter what I played through these speakes however, I could never get them to sound good. Lumpy ill-defined thumpy bass and over-smooth treble with throaty and almost unlistenable at times, vocals.

I put the blame for this sound squarely at the Mission's door; they are afterall cheap floorstanders and it's hard enough to get cheap bookshelf speakers to sound good, nevermind with all the extra space inside floorstanders. My amps and sources have also sounded very good through other speakers (AE100's and Mordaunt Short MS3.10's). I left my conclusions here for a couple of years or so; a waste of £50 but otherwise no surprises.

Then, the other day I tried something on a whim. I brought the Mission's through to my 'man-room' which is pretty small; my listening position is less than 1m from the speakers. I then hooked them up to the Arcam 290 power amp and my newly aquired 2nd hand NAD C162 pre-amp, using variously my PC with the DAC-magic as a source, the turntable and an Arcam CD player (top of the range at time costing around £900). Due to space restrictions and the fact that I couldn't be arsed moving the AE100's on their stands out of the way, the Missions were left pretty much in the middle of the room.

I put on some music.

Wow. I have honestly never heard any of my hifi sound so good. Gone is the lumpy bass, replaced with a smooth but well defined and, at times, very deep bass. The bass does not now swamp the mid-range, allowing crystal-clear vocals and incredible stereo imaging. There is an occasional bit of cabinet resonance; a well-known problem with these speakers I believe, but I just did not care; I just couldn't stop listening!

Help! This does not compute; £100ish floorstanders should not sound this good. What's going on here?! Maybe it's mainly the fact that I've given the Missions some space behind them (though they are front-ported), but whatever. I am astounded.

Moral of this story? The hifi dealers may not like it, but next time you feel the urge to upgrade and you have a choice of components lying around, try some mix and match; you may get that upgrade for free.
 

Thompsonuxb

New member
Feb 19, 2012
129
0
0
Visit site
I said in another thread not so long ago
The 7xx series from Mission are probably amongst the most underrated speakers ever.

Provided you have an amp capable of driving them they'll sing well beyond their price range.

You should try them again in your other room with the kit currently driving them. This time give them the space they need and let us know if the improvement sticks.

Low powered amps do not do them justice.

Enjoy.
 

abmscopes

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2014
19
0
18,520
Visit site
Cheers Thompson
thumbs_up.gif
I plan on doing just that as soon as I get the time and the upstairs neighbour is away for a few days
wink_smile.gif


Unfortunatley the only way I can move them permanently into my 'man room' in place of the AE100's is to have them pretty close to a rear wall and a corner, which i suspect would negate some of the improvement I heard. Leaving them in the middle of the room is not a wife-friendly option, though back in my single-days, sound quality trumped all other considerations and I would not have throught twice about leaving a pair of flood-standers slap-bang in the middle of a room!*biggrin*

I think you are right re. the Missions; it seems they respond really well to good amplification. In my limited test described above, the source used seemed less important, with even low-bitrate streaming audio sounding more than listenable. It seems to me that it's my swap to a better amp set-up (and perhaps giving them more space) which has brought out the superiour sound, tightening everything up like a heat activated-shrink-wrap jacket around a speaker-cable terminal
tounge_smile.gif
.

This observation could, I suspect, account for the mixed reviews these speakers used to get; the poor reviews probably corresponded to tests done with budget amps and the 'stunning' reviews, to much better amps.
 

Thompsonuxb

New member
Feb 19, 2012
129
0
0
Visit site
I too believe many negative 'user reviews' stem from users who have set their kit up poorly.

Read a few reviews on the 702's from 10 or so years ago - a few mentioned my amp the Yamaha ax-620 with them.

All good, I have the 782se and frankly I would not know what to replace them with nor my amp for that matter.

But good power and a little space, Missions deliver.

abmscopes said:
Cheers Thompson  I plan on doing just that as soon as I get the time and the upstairs neighbour is away for a few days

Unfortunatley the only way I can move them permanently into my 'man room' in place of the AE100's is to have them pretty close to a rear wall and a corner, which i suspect would negate some of the improvement I heard. Leaving them in the middle of the room is not a wife-friendly option, though back in my single-days, sound quality trumped all other considerations and I would not have throught twice about leaving a pair of flood-standers slap-bang in the middle of a room!*biggrin*

I think you are right re. the Missions; it seems they respond really well to good amplification. In my limited test described above, the source used seemed less important, with even low-bitrate streaming audio sounding more than listenable. It seems to me that it's my swap to a better amp set-up (and perhaps giving them more space) which has brought out the superiour sound, tightening everything up like a heat activated-shrink-wrap jacket around a speaker-cable terminal.

This observation could, I suspect, account for the mixed reviews these speakers used to get; the poor reviews probably corresponded to tests done with budget amps and the 'stunning' reviews, to much better amps.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts