Mission M31

Gyp

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Anyone tried them?

Based on a happy previous history with baby missions (the Cyrus 780s) I ordered some as cheap starter speakers to pair with a new Teac DR-H300DAB micro system. I've heard the Teac with the lovely Monitor Audio BR2s, but wanted to start a little cheaper.

Waiting for delivery I thought I'd see if I could read some reviews (I know, stable door & bolting), but alas I can find none.

I'm not expecting sonic fireworks from speakers I've bought for £50, but am I likely to be happy with them, at least for a few months?
 

matthewpiano

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I think you will find them to be pretty decent as a starting point, though they aren't going to take you to the same levels as those Cyrus 780s. The 780s were superb speakers and, even now, you would have to spend quite a bit to improve on their all round infectiousness and musicality.
 
A

Anonymous

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[quote user="matthewpiano"]I think you will find them to be pretty decent as a starting point,
though they aren't going to take you to the same levels as those Cyrus
780s. The 780s were superb speakers and, even now, you would have to
spend quite a bit to improve on their all round infectiousness and
musicality.[/quote]

How good are those 780's really, compared to lets say the 760's? I'm asking this because at my school there are some 760's set up with an old Denon amp (PMA250SE) and the combo sounds very nice, very musical. Are the 780's better or worse than the 760's? I've googled quite a lot but I can't find a decent answer, also in pictures both speakers appear to look identical.
 

Gyp

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[quote user="Jan Hibma"]
How good are those 780's really, compared to lets say the 760's? I'm asking this because at my school there are some 760's set up with an old Denon amp (PMA250SE) and the combo sounds very nice, very musical. Are the 780's better or worse than the 760's? I've googled quite a lot but I can't find a decent answer, also in pictures both speakers appear to look identical.[/quote]

The Cyrus 780 had a deeper enclosure than the Mission 760 (so will look the same), and was bi-wireable. Whilst the 760 was very good, the 780 took it a nice step further.

Mine performed beautifully on the end of a Pioneer 9700/A400 set-up, and really sang when hung on the end of my CD-10/Michi set-up.
 

Gyp

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Seems I don't have to worry; empire direct cancelled my order as they were out of stock and not getting any more but didn't bother letting me know :-(

Perhaps I'll get some BR2s or find some preloved Cyrus 780s
 
T

the record spot

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yeah you could do better than the M31s, not bad, but not brilliant. Mission lost the pace a bit but picked up more recently. Fingers crossed for the next purchase!
 

Gyp

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I suspect you're probably right, but at £50 I wasn't going to argue.

This afternoon though, to allow me to recover from the Tesco experience, I wired the Teac up and partnered it with my Kef References, and I've got to say I was very impressed.

Bass is a little heavy and it's a bit thin in the middle, but I suspect that's because it's designed to parner bookshelf speakers rather than very large floorstanders.

What it has convinced me of though, is that it's actually worth spending a reasonable amount of effort to seek out some decent speakers as the little midi is certainly up to the job of driving them.
 
I had the Mission M35i. Owned them for 8 years, and saw me through a few upgrades and never let me down.

For the money, £300 new. They were fantastic.

Maybe mission lost it’s allure, or dropped the ball a bit, but there are still fantastic bargains to be found in their lineup.

I would definitely have Mission again.
 

PlayTone

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This may come as a surprise (particularly after more than a decade ;-)... but I find the M31 THE hidden little gem in the Mission family. I love small speakers, for what they can do for listening music without sacrificing too much (in terms of space and money). My appreciation of the M31 has to do that it pairs beautifully *drinks* with older NAD equipment (in my case: NAD 117+2400). I had my fair share of Mission speakers in the past, and my order of preference would be: M31, 751, M71... 751 Freedom version, 700, 771... 780 (also known as Cyrus), 760. The M31 also tops compact speakers from other brands, such as the Tannoy M1, MX1, E11 and Eclipse, the KEF Q15, Cresta 1 and 10, the B&W DM302 and Mordaunt Short Aviano 1. And marginally better than the Mordaunt 902i (which is a bit on the bright side - a known 'problem').

So, what's so good about the M31? 3D spacious sounding, voices/vocals (the notorious mid section), highs sound natural (not overly bright), and a surprisingly adequate and sufficient enough deep bass. The downside? It is one ugly speaker to look at! What were they thinking at Mission when they were contemplating the M31's visual appeal? Its sibling in time, the Mission M71, has been sold in far greater quantities, for that reason I guess.
 

PlayTone

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Sold the M31... Yes. Only to have them replaced by their larger sibling, the M32i. Even more satisfying because of their larger woofers.
 

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