The Test of Truth - Sound Quality
There are many ways to describe the sound of these Mission 765's. One of the most important things to realise, is that in every single case, all of the modifications resulted in a much better sound compared to the "older" versions. I often used to joke, that the only thing "Mission" about them, was the name badge, the instruction manual and the wood.
So, lets start on the simple aspects:-
Efficiency
These speakers are efficient. 1w gives you approx 92/93 dB. That's impressive as it allows you to play "real world" music volume levels with only small; 20-50 wpc amplifiers. The speakers are easily rated for 200w (RMS) and my 400w RMS Musical Fidelity monoblock amps worked superbly with them. As they get louder they start to really come on song. Good news is, those new bass units and the crossovers are an excellent match for high power music. Much less compression due to the cone and voice coil materials.
Now, onto the character:-
Treble.
Largely untouched except the change to crossover capacitors and wiring, the silk dome, ferrofluid, horn loaded tweeter was already rather special (used on the almost unobtainable Mission 767's) and didn't need any work. They are very revealing of all your sources. Although not tiring, they are incisive - i.e. you will hear all your music... all the time (and of your system isn't up to it, they let you know that as well). These tweeters are so good you will not want for more.
Mid-Band
Already a strong point, the midrange of the speakers (voices) took on a new character with the L22 bass / mid/range drivers. The aluminium cones are operated well within the linear frequency band and as a result, the voices, brass, guitar, etc are very clean and precise. Whole layers of "fluff" were removed when moving from the old drivers to the new. If you have experienced it, it's somewhat comparable (and more) to the difference between an average moving magnet cartidge and a good moving coil.
Bass
A lot of the modifications were designed to improve the bass quality (the quantity was always OK if somewhat over blown at times). The objectives were achieved... the lower registers reach very deep for a 50litre cabinet and the port tuning, new damping, revised crossovers and L22's all add up for a very fast, tight and great sounding bass. Driver excursion is always under control and the phase plug design helps reduce audible distortion. They go deep and sound powerful. !
Room positioning ?
A lot easier now that port is at the front, but they do sound best when allowed to breathe. As you can see from the piccies, I used to have mine ~ 12" / 15" from the rear wall and away from side walls.
Downsides ?
Honestly ? Really ? - to be frank, Few. As I mentioned, before upgrading I spent years looking for something that had the speed and agility of the Mission 765's but struggled. In the end, I upgraded them and the upgrade lasted me for years.
These speakers will not dissapoint, and they will almost certainly surprise !
Are you interested ? I hope so. These speakers need a home. They need music. They need a new family and someone to take good care of them
They need to make you happy... to smile and to dance !
Click here for your next step
So, lets start on the simple aspects:-
Efficiency
These speakers are efficient. 1w gives you approx 92/93 dB. That's impressive as it allows you to play "real world" music volume levels with only small; 20-50 wpc amplifiers. The speakers are easily rated for 200w (RMS) and my 400w RMS Musical Fidelity monoblock amps worked superbly with them. As they get louder they start to really come on song. Good news is, those new bass units and the crossovers are an excellent match for high power music. Much less compression due to the cone and voice coil materials.
Now, onto the character:-
Treble.
Largely untouched except the change to crossover capacitors and wiring, the silk dome, ferrofluid, horn loaded tweeter was already rather special (used on the almost unobtainable Mission 767's) and didn't need any work. They are very revealing of all your sources. Although not tiring, they are incisive - i.e. you will hear all your music... all the time (and of your system isn't up to it, they let you know that as well). These tweeters are so good you will not want for more.
Mid-Band
Already a strong point, the midrange of the speakers (voices) took on a new character with the L22 bass / mid/range drivers. The aluminium cones are operated well within the linear frequency band and as a result, the voices, brass, guitar, etc are very clean and precise. Whole layers of "fluff" were removed when moving from the old drivers to the new. If you have experienced it, it's somewhat comparable (and more) to the difference between an average moving magnet cartidge and a good moving coil.
Bass
A lot of the modifications were designed to improve the bass quality (the quantity was always OK if somewhat over blown at times). The objectives were achieved... the lower registers reach very deep for a 50litre cabinet and the port tuning, new damping, revised crossovers and L22's all add up for a very fast, tight and great sounding bass. Driver excursion is always under control and the phase plug design helps reduce audible distortion. They go deep and sound powerful. !
Room positioning ?
A lot easier now that port is at the front, but they do sound best when allowed to breathe. As you can see from the piccies, I used to have mine ~ 12" / 15" from the rear wall and away from side walls.
Downsides ?
Honestly ? Really ? - to be frank, Few. As I mentioned, before upgrading I spent years looking for something that had the speed and agility of the Mission 765's but struggled. In the end, I upgraded them and the upgrade lasted me for years.
These speakers will not dissapoint, and they will almost certainly surprise !
Are you interested ? I hope so. These speakers need a home. They need music. They need a new family and someone to take good care of them
They need to make you happy... to smile and to dance !
Click here for your next step