Mission LX-2
Verve and insight; timing and dynamics; punchy; build
FOR
Mission’s LX 2s marked something of a return to form for the brand. After years of near misses, the company finally managed to come up with a product that delivered all the fun we remembered from its classic offerings but wrapped in a modern budget package. One that was good enough, indeed, at its original £160, to have won an Award from us in 2016.
These speakers were even designed to look a little like Missions of old, most obviously with the use of the brand’s traditional tweeter below the mid/bass configuration. This arrangement, it’s claimed, aids the time alignment between the drivers – the sound from each unit arriving at the listener better synchronised – so helping integration. It helps that this upside-down arrangement makes these standmounters stand out from the competition too.
Directional performance
That tweeter is a 25mm microfibre dome. It’s coupled to the 13cm fibre-composite mid/bass driver through a single-wire crossover, carefully calibrated to optimise off-axis performance.
The cabinet is equally carefully designed – and well built. Budget constraints mean there’s no place for high-tech materials or extravagant engineering solutions to control cabinet resonances, so the designers have gone back to basics with a wooden box that provides a solid platform for the drive units to work from. And it’s elegant.
Positioning is easy, just as it should be for speakers that are as likely to find themselves stuffed in a crowded bookshelf as they are to be placed on top of a pair of dedicated stands. Ideally, you should put them on stands as they sound so much better that way. In our test room, we get the most balanced presentation with the LX 2s placed close to a rear wall, but not right up against it.
A question of compatibility
Speakers at this price are as likely to be driven by a micro system such as the Denon DM 41DAB as they are by separates kit from the likes of Onkyo, Marantz or Rega. This means that ideally they will be unfussy about partnering kit while still having enough transparency to allow better-sounding separates kit to Needs care in partnering; tough competition
AGAINST
shine. The Missions do a fair job in this respect, but we think the Q Acoustics 3020s are more forgiving.
But don’t let that put you off. Partner these Missions with a bit of care and they’re surprisingly entertaining. They get right to the heart of the music, as if they know exactly what the musicians wanted you to feel. That’s a rare quality, regardless of price.
Pacy, punchy and precise
Play alt-j’s Left Hand Free and the LX 2s get straight in the groove. They’re fast, pack a serious punch and deliver deep bass with precision and authority. These speakers time pretty well, communicating changes in momentum convincingly, though perhaps lacking a little of the Dali’s enthusiasm.
Through it all they don’t forget the subtleties. The group’s vocals are clear, easy to follow and packed with energy. Nuances are rendered with finesse and the mass of instrumentation and voices is organised really well. At no point do these speakers sound as if they’ve taken on more than they can handle.
John Williams’s Jurassic Park shows off the LX 2s’ large-scale dynamics. Their composure impresses too, as they refuse to sound confused even when pushed to relatively high levels. Only the Q Acoustics manage better in this respect. Budget speakers, yes, but attention to detail and build quality are good KEY FEATURES Inverted tweeter position Close-to-wall position Single-wire Tonally, they’re pretty well balanced, but there’s a little bit of edge through the upper-mid/lower treble area that can be provoked by less than perfect recordings or aggressive-sounding partnering kit. It’s more something to watch out for rather than a damning criticism. Stereo imaging is good too, with a pleasing stability to the presentation and consistentcy through a wide range of listening positions. At the revised price of £130, these Missions prove tempting. They have a more outgoing balance than the Q Acoustics and greater authority and scale than the Dalis. Match with care and you won’t be disappointed.