Mission returning....

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twinkletoes

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Nov 16, 2021
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That's true. Even a pair left in the original box, in a cool place would probably deteriorate, after 20 years, never mind a pair that's been stressed to near bursting every day. Need someone to 'have a word' with IAG and get some new Mission 751 Freedom released. As I mentioned earlier, the newer models seem very lacklustre, from the few I heard up to around 2 years ago. They also look a bit drab and as someone else said, people do buy with their eyes, before sound, even with loudspeakers. Come on Mission!

They have a very different sound these days, the closest i heard to the old sound of mission's is the Klipsch heritage line they have that same feeling.

These new speakers need to rock and roll
 

podknocker

Well-known member
Totally agree. I remember a pair of Mission speakers, many years ago and with the 10% discount, they were still £22500 and they did sound spectacular, on the end of a Quad CD player and Quad amp. I forget the model of the Missions. They had several drive units.
 
Where they? They made some very high-end speakers back in the day 780 series were a real treat (still are) and they made a gloss black tower for around the 4k mark (or a little more) a name beginning with an E I can't remember now. And their "budget" offerings to this day will give some mid-range (800-1k) speakers a serious run for their money.

There was a time they couldn't put a foot wrong.

For this sort of money, they have some serious comp from JBL, klipsch heresys, KLH and a few more.
Yes they were. The fact that they made a few relatively expensive models is true, however you can be sure the vast majority of speakers that were bought from them were the cheaper ranges
Klipsch Heritage have their place but were made for a different market than the UK one as they wouldn't suit the typical British room size.
 

podknocker

Well-known member
Seen a pair of Mission 780SE on ebay, for £195 and they were £240 brand new, although that was a lot more, back in the day. I love em. There really was a Mission 'sound' and they had an amazing transparency, with an effortless midband delivery. They made you bop about, in the shop. I don't get that from speakers these days.
 
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Gray

Well-known member
Apparently they lack a bit of top end sparkle according to the first review that I've just seen.
If true, I wouldn't like that for my 3.5 grand - however good the (professional) reviewer otherwise reckons they are.

The review is on another forum - a forum that once saw fit to delete a post of mine because it linked to this forum......so I'm f****d if I'm going to give them a link on this forum.
 
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Apparently they lack a bit of top end sparkle according to the first review that I've just seen.
If true, I wouldn't like that for my 3.5 grand - however good the (professional) reviewer otherwise reckons they are.

The review is on another forum - a forum that once saw fit to delete a post of mine because it linked to this forum......so I'm f****d if I'm going to give them a link on this forum.
Interesting, as always the ears of the reviewer are meaningless until you hear them for yourself.
Someone's lack of sparkle might be someone else's too bright.
 
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I can't understand why speakers are so expensive compared with say amplifiers which are comparable on price. Loudpeakers are composed of a mdf or particle board box wrapped in vinyl or if you are lucky veneer. Some high end models cost more than a car.
Some are made from real wood or even aluminium. To design a really good sounding speaker is a bit more tricky than banging together an amplifier.
Some cars cost a lot more than other cars...... Speakers are also a lot less eexpensive to run and maintain...... :)
 

treesey

Well-known member
That's true. Even a pair left in the original box, in a cool place would probably deteriorate, after 20 years, never mind a pair that's been stressed to near bursting every day.

Not sure about that - I have a pair of 752s and a pair of 753s that have been treated differently (one as new, one a bit less so) yet both sound fabulous, better IMO than more modern PMCs.

Apart from the ahem tweeter sharpness on poor recordings on the 753s - they never did get back to me on whether I could send them the crossovers and check if the resistors were correct - must chase that up.753-xo2s.jpgthree.JPG
 

Gray

Well-known member
as always the ears of the reviewer are meaningless until you hear them for yourself.
That is of course true.
In this case though, I've got more reason to take note.
I once made the unforgivable mistake of buying a speaker based solely on the best-buy review of the very same reviewer - I found it to seriously lack 'sparkle' - something he never mentioned......the fact that he's actually pointed it out on this Mission, it must be noticeable.
Not that I'd ever buy any speaker again (let alone one so expensive) without first hearing it, with my music, preferably at home.

He obviously doesn't consider it to be too much of a problem, as he gave it 9 out of 10 and said he wants a pair himself.
If I was a cynic, I'd say he won't be paying for his pair 😉
 
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Gray

Well-known member
Apart from the ahem tweeter sharpness on poor recordings on the 753s - they never did get back to me on whether I could send them the crossovers and check if the resistors were correct
They look nice, those Missions.
The resistors are probably correct but regardless, would it not be worth you experimenting with different values to kill some of the sharpness?
OK, you might be changing the original spec, but if you actually prefer the resultant sound.....
(And you could always change it back if necessary of course).
 
That is of course true.
In this case though, I've got more reason to take note.
I once made the unforgivable mistake of buying a speaker based solely on the best-buy review of the very same reviewer - I found it to seriously lack 'sparkle' - something he never mentioned......the fact that he's actually pointed it out on this Mission, it must be noticeable.
Not that I'd ever buy any speaker again (let alone one so expensive) without first hearing it, with my music, preferably at home.

He obviously doesn't consider it to be too much of a problem, as he gave it 9 out of 10 and said he wants a pair himself.
If I was a cynic, I'd say he won't be paying for his pair 😉
You probably are right to be cynical. Not many manufacturers require payment for the item they ship around for review purposes.
Having said that I had to pay for a pair of EB Acoustics EB2's that were said demo pair....
 
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They aren't the only ones who think they are excellent:

However, considering their price and the cost of WHF's reference system that they were tested with I feel they will be unobtainable for many.
 

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