Verdict

The Mission 700 speaker unit are fitter for the 21st - century design than you might imagine – but they ’re far from being the only secret plan in townsfolk …

Pros

Cons

Key Features

Introduction

Mission first launch its 700 standmount verbaliser in 1980 . The world ’s changed more than somewhat since then , but Mission nevertheless thinks the time is right to reintroduce a decennium - old design , as it hope that the speaker unit ’ look and proportions will be perceived as thrillingly retro rather than boringly old - fashioned .

It ’s not the only loudspeaker blade that ’s revisiting former glories . JBL and Wharfedale , to name but two , are presently doing much the same with their own back catalogues . But is there any item to it – or is it just an exercising in nostalgia ?

The Mission 700 speakers are priced at £ 1,299 per pair . You may also wish to help yourself of the bespoke speaker stand that accompanies them : you ’ll pay £ 299 per span , but if you buy them at the same time as the talker , you ’re looking at £ 1,499 all - in . In the US , the utterer be $ 1,999 , while in Australia , you ’ll have to part with AU$2,799 .

When it derive to standmount speakers at this sort of price , it almost goes without pronounce that you have a lot of choices from very reputable brands . What this kind of spending is unlikely to buy anywhere else , however , is quite as much cabinet .

Design

Mission rather optimistically suggests the 700 is a summary designing . But afford the attribute , and stomach in mind that depth increases to 292 mm when you include the speaker cable terminal , it becomes manifest “ compact ” is a relative term .

Although these speakers are pretty much the same size of it as the original 700 from 1980 , they are much punishing in their latest personification . That ’s because Mission has used MDF ( average tightness fibreboard ) and particle control board , sandwich together using a level of mute adhesive plus significant national bracing in an effort to give birth a fuddled , humbled - reverberance cabinet . What the previous 700 had was fundamentally just a wooden box .

The laminated white baffle board –   with its oversize rendition of an admittedly reminiscent but nevertheless quite unpleasant brand logo – is carry over from the original plan . The choice of black or walnut real - wood veneers is a nod to the past , too .

Features

Part of the unique visual collection of the original Mission 700 was the driver arrangement . So course enough , it do an coming into court here as well .

The unconventional nature of Mission ’s Inverted Driver Geometry is more than just an aesthetic pattern choice , however . Positioning the tweeter below the mid / bass driver ( and paying close attention to the crosswalk web ) is , Mission reckons , the good agency to surrender stratum - go sentence alinement . But while the driver layout is old - school day Mission , the drivers themselves are no atavist .

The mid / bass driver is a 165 mm mineral - loaded polypropene strobilus inside a low - denseness surround and back into a rigid dice - cast chassis . The aim is to control cone - expiry characteristics in gild to deliver dynamic potency and sonic speed , and a driver such as this ( with stiffness and loose weight on its side ) is idealistic .

The offset tweeter , meanwhile , is the same 28 mm coated microfibre polyester dome that ’s fitted to the ( also of late resurrected and also visually retro ) Mission 770 speaker . The tweeter sits in front of a damp rearward sleeping room , tuned for good resonance ascendency . At the bottom of the front of the cabinet , there ’s a bass reflex embrasure , although it ’s bigger and far more flared than the one suit to the original speaker .

crosswalk between the effort whole occurs at 3kHz , which is a sensible place for it to happen . In an effort to keep sign paths as short and simple as possible , Mission has fitted freestanding boards for the tweeter and mid / bass driver crossover voter networks . Software - drive crossover mapping should – at least in hypothesis – result in smooth driver consolidation .

At the back end of the cabinet , there ’s a single couplet of quite chunky speaker bind posts . They can swallow bare wire or 4 mm banana plugs . And once your speakers are wire in , they ’re pretty easy - run about where you position them – within reason , of row . Clear of a side rampart and maybe a time or so forrader of a rear rampart is what they prefer , and a little toe - in towards your induct position does n’t go awry either .

Sound Quality

Playing into the hands of the Mission 700 is n’t all that difficult . If the music you heed to is dynamic , widescreen and punchy , these verbalizer will lap it up . A listen to Crush by Floating Points confirms it .

Low - end presence and attain are admirable , and these are matched by a degree of grip and ascendence that mean there ’s no overhang to bass sounds here no matter how punchy they are . Bass dynamism is never in doubtfulness , and there ’s a lot of detail regarding tone and texture revealed just as readily as the high levels of blast .

The 700 speakers establish a big , all-inclusive and coherently lay out soundstage , too , with upstanding stereo focus and more than enough breathing distance for each ingredient of a transcription to do its thing without being bear upon . They ’re always an upfront and assault listen , however , which can sometimes result in the soundstage existing much more in the left-hand / right and up / down planes than it does in the front / back . In the haywire circumstances , it can sound like each part of a recording is seek to rage the front of the degree .

At the top oddment , there ’s an authentic crunch and bite to treble speech sound . This is unarguably exciting and invigorating when the material you ’re listening to is sympathetic to these traits but rather fag if it ’s not . It also means you call for to take a degree of care with partnering electronics – any gain with a swelled treble emphasis should be avoided .

swap to MC Solaar ’s Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo lets the speakers showcase their powers of midrange resolution – which are considerable . The admirable clarity , lavish degree of detail and heed to transient occurrence all impress , and they grant the rapper real character and formula . The space around his voice only adds to the likeness of clarity , and the perceptiveness into his attitude and mic technique is considerable . It ’s a really eloquent presentment , even if Solaar ’s nomenclature is foreign to you .

dynamical potentiality is never in dubiousness , either , as the verbalizer are able to switch from pocket-sized to big volume without breaking hearable sweat . As their coming into court also tends to suggest , they thrive on grownup loudness – the louder you like it , the more they sound energetic and set-aside .

by nature , however , they ’re not perfect . As much as Mission will recite you that oddball driver arrangement is essential to convincing meter alignment , the 700 speakers are not the most cohesive or unified hearing experience that this sort of money will buy you . And despite all the exertion the brand has made where crossover is concerned , there ’s an hearable notch ( or indent ) where the handover between drivers take place .

That ’s not to suggest these loudspeaker do n’t get much more correct than they get incorrect . Those who care it big and bold ( and do n’t have a treble - glad A ) definitely need to have a listen .

Latest deals

Should you buy it?

: There ’s a lot to be pronounce for up - to - the - minute technology hiding behind honest-to-god - school appearances .

The Mission 700 loudspeaker do n’t require any boost to become quite treble - centrical .

Final Thoughts

Ultimately , it ’s travel to come down to both the audio accent you like and the visual statement you desire to make . After all , this sort of money will grease one’s palms some very accomplished speakers from the likes of KEF and Bowers & Wilkins . But spend your cash with one of those brands instead wo n’t take you back to the hereafter . So what is it that you want newfangled loudspeaker system for ?

Trusted Score

How we test

We test every hi - fi speaker we review exhaustively over an extended period of time . We habituate industriousness - standard tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , swallow money to survey a intersection .

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FAQs

Bi - wiring is not potential with these Mission 700 standmount Speaker . All they have is a standard undivided - wire connection to partner with an amplifier .

Full Specs

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