News

Mission has released a new retro-inspired bookshelf speaker – the 750. Unlike its predecessors the 770 and 700 (HFC 501 and 496 respectively), the company says this is not an update of a prior model plucked from its past, but: “a new design, sporting classic influences”.

Commenting on the 750’s inverted driver arrangement, Missions says: “Until the 700 arrived in 1980, two-way dynamic speakers were invariably designed with the tweeter at the top and the main driver below. The 700 pioneered a different approach, placing the treble unit below the mid/bass driver. This configuration, known as IDG (Inverted Driver Geometry), became a signature Mission feature and is a cornerstone of the company’s designs to this day – including the new 750.”

IDG, Mission claims, aids time alignment – “by placing the mid/bass driver closer to ear level with the treble unit positioned beneath, the path lengths from the two drivers’ acoustic centres are equalised so that the sound waves coincide at the listener’s head height. This improves stereo imaging and contributes to the speakers’ seamlessly coherent and transparent sound.”

The 750’s new 135mm mid/bass cone is fashioned from polypropylene and loaded with minerals to make it stiffer than regular polypropylene diaphragms in a bid to yield fast, tight bass. The entire mid/bass driver is constructed to the same standard as the larger units created for the re-engineered 770 and 700, incorporating a specially designed motor system and a rigid die-cast chassis. Mission points out: “Great care has been taken to marry a low-density nitrile surround to the diaphragm, to match its impedance and reduce reflections from the cone edge. The cabinet and precisely profiled rear-firing reflex port are tuned to a very low frequency, avoiding the ‘one note bass’ that is typical of some bass reflex systems. Bass extends powerfully and cleanly to below 42Hz in room.”

The 750’s treble unit incorporates a lightweight, damped, 28mm microfibre dome with an ultra-smooth response, backed by a damped rear chamber that the company claims pushes the fundamental resonance well below the crossover region.

The drivers and crossover are housed in a real-wood veneered cabinet, featuring a twin-wall sandwich of high-density MDF and particle board bonded by a layer of high-damping adhesive. Mission says: “this results in a cabinet with panel resonance well below audibility, allowing the drive units to do their job unsullied by cabinet-induced colouration at all frequencies. Internal bracing adds strength to the front baffle, creating a mechanical support that aids the dynamic performance of the mid/bass unit and reveals the micro-dynamics of the musical performance. This is complemented by layers of acoustic damping fibre, strategically placed to absorb reflections inside the cabinet without overdamping the bass quality.”

The 750 comes in a choice of Walnut or Black Wood veneer and has a quoted sensitivity of 86dB and nominal impedance of 6ohm (compatible 8ohm).

Available to buy now for £900, you can find out more about the Mission 750 standmount here.