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British speaker manufacturer Mission has re-engineered its QX Series – first launched in 2017 – which it claims delivers: “a benchmark ‘step-up’ loudspeaker range, sitting above the entry-level LX MkII Series which launched in 2020”. The new QX MkII Series features five passive models – two standmount speakers and three floorstanders. A new active subwoofer – the QX-12SUB MkII – has also been developed to complement the range. The new MkII models look similar to the original QX Series loudspeakers – the cabinets are the same size, with similar detailing including curved corners and smoothly dished drive units with ‘comb-tooth’ surrounds – but there are external enhancements, including new matt black, matt white and walnut veneer finish options.

Redesigned aluminium plates are clamped to both the top and bottom of the cabinets, which the company explains: “add mass and enhance rigidity, thereby reducing cabinet resonance,” while the arc-shaped cabinet corners are claimed to: “smooth diffraction from the drive units and yield better power distribution into the room”.

Unlike traditional dome tweeters, the Mission QX MkII Ring Dome treble unit uses a textile dome fixed at the centre, with the voice coil attached partway down the dome. This forms the dome into two rings with the voice coil in the centre, which Mission says enables it to drive the dome more accurately and efficiently.

The result, it says: “is lower distortion and superior performance at frequencies well in excess of 20kHz. Transient performance is dramatically improved, as is musical detailing, particularly of instrument overtones and harmonics, enabling the full character of instruments and voices to be conveyed with outstanding clarity.”

Rearward radiation from the QX MkII Ring Dome unit vents into an enclosed chamber filled with damping material, acting like a dedicated cabinet for the high-frequency driver. Resonances are absorbed and the back pressure on the dome is reduced, allowing the unit to deliver accurate musical detail right down into the midrange.

The QX MkII Series also features the latest version of Mission’s DiaDrive bass/midrange drive unit, where the usual cone and dust cap arrangement is replaced by a seamless curvilinear diaphragm. This is directly driven by a secondary sub-cone connected to the voice coil, designed to improve the efficiency of drive and provide superior control of the QX fibre-composite dished diaphragm – re-engineered to incorporate acrylic fibres for improved stiffness and self-damping to further enhance the impact and accuracy of bass and midrange frequencies.

The unit is now vented to remove trapped air behind the diaphragm, reducing resonance and allowing a clearer midrange performance claimed to be beyond 3kHz. A high-strength ferrite magnet is used to ensure that the magnetic field is directed precisely within the area of voice coil excursion, to enable an ultra-linear performance and excellent transient response”.

The two standmount models in the QX MkII Series feature DiaDrive units positioned according to Mission’s Inverted Driver Geometry (IDG), with the bass/mid driver sited above the treble unit rather than below to aid time-alignment – a Mission trademark since the Eighties. The company claims that: “placing the bass/mid driver closer to ear level with the treble unit positioned beneath helps to equalise the path lengths from the two drivers’ acoustic centres, so that the sound waves coincide at the listener’s head height”. The QX-1 MkII and QX-2 MkII standmounts are £300 and £400 respectively.

The two-way QX-3 MkII (£800) and QX-4 MkII (£900) floorstanders extend IDG to a full D’Appolito array, siting the treble unit between a pair of DiaDrive bass/midrange units – one above, one below. The largest model in the range, QX-5 MkII, is a three-way design incorporating a dedicated 300mm bass driver positioned at the side, thus maintaining a slim cabinet front while extending bass down to 27Hz. It will set you back £1,100.

The original QX Series used ‘comb-tooth’ serrations in the driver surrounds to scatter interfering reflections from localised surfaces to the bass/midrange cones. These have now been further optimised to: “minimise airflow interference and maximise the effective scattering of reflections”. Tapered indentations have also been added to the treble unit’s surround to smooth frequency response.

Similar indentations are incorporated into the slot-shaped reflex ports at the rear; the flair of which is serrated to help smooth the high-pressure airflow, while its asymmetric shape is designed to break up the ‘chuffing’ sound that can be produced by circular ports.

The £500 QX-12SUB MkII active sub incorporates a 300mm bass cone, formed from a special pulp fibre with self-damping properties. This combines with a 300W Class D amplifier and a ported, rigidly braced enclosure. RCA inputs are provided for stereo line-level connection or a dedicated LFE feed. It comes in a choice of matt black, matt white or walnut, matching the rest of the range.

Available to buy now, you can find out more about the QX MkII Series here.