MSRP: £160.00
What is the Mission LX-2?
The Mission LX-2 is the second smallest member of the LX range of speakers, the newest models to emerge from Mission. This is significant for a few reasons. The first is that we haven't seen much in the way of new speakers from Mission in quite a while. The LX range is the first clean sheet design in a number of years. After this length of time, what does the brand offer someone looking for a new pair of speakers?
This is doubly important becauseMission used to be the budget speaker brand. You could make a case that KEF, Mordaunt Short and Tannoy kept them honest but Mission ruled the roost. As late as me starting at Richer Sounds in 2001, the Mission 700 – at that point priced at a princely £49.95 was still something we sold by the absolute bucket load. For the record, I didn't actually experience the joy of Mission ownership until I bought a pair of 773e floorstanders at about the same time.
A lot has changed since those days. The market for affordable speakers has shrunk and a name that didn't even exist at that point – Q Acoustics – has come to dominate proceedings. There is a certain irony that Q Acoustics came into being in part to fill the gap in Armour Home Electronic's inventory created whenMission became part of the International Audio Group of companies. Now the LX2 is here like the son of the vanquished master to try and take it's rightful place at the head of the pack. Is this the comeback we've been waiting for?
This is doubly important because
A lot has changed since those days. The market for affordable speakers has shrunk and a name that didn't even exist at that point – Q Acoustics – has come to dominate proceedings. There is a certain irony that Q Acoustics came into being in part to fill the gap in Armour Home Electronic's inventory created when
Specifications
The LX-2 is a member of a five strong range of stereo speakers with a supporting centre speaker. As the name suggests, the LX-2 is the second smallest in the family and the larger of the standmounts on offer. A two-way design, it makes use of a 25mm microfibre (that is to say fabric) tweeter and a 100mm mid bass driver. There is nothing remotely sophisticated about the premise of the LX-2 but if you dig a little deeper, you will find that there's a bit more to it.
What the designers of the LX-2 have done is utilise the manufacturing capability of the parent IAG group to elevate the components of the speaker over and above what you might expect at the price. This means that mid-bass driver is technically an inverted composite cone but the fibres and coating that make up the driver are sufficiently different from others on the market to be patented and regarded as proprietary. The claimed virtues it offers are lightness and stiffness – but only if the whole process is extremely tightly controlled. Coupled with a powerful ferrite magnet,Mission claims that the resulting assembly has class leading performance, if you have the means to build such a thing.
What the designers of the LX-2 have done is utilise the manufacturing capability of the parent IAG group to elevate the components of the speaker over and above what you might expect at the price. This means that mid-bass driver is technically an inverted composite cone but the fibres and coating that make up the driver are sufficiently different from others on the market to be patented and regarded as proprietary. The claimed virtues it offers are lightness and stiffness – but only if the whole process is extremely tightly controlled. Coupled with a powerful ferrite magnet,
The partnering tweeter is less specialised but those of you of a certain vintage will have immediately noticed that it is mounted underneath the mid bass driver – a Mission trademark dating back years. This is done to help with the time alignment; different frequencies have a slight variance in the speed of their soundwaves and by mounting the tweeter underneath and slightly forwards of the mid bass driver, Mission claims to have largely eliminated this – while also giving us a familar 'face' to the speaker.
The cabinet that contains these drivers is relatively conventional but a little bit larger than might be expected for a speaker with this driver complement. Rather than find an exotic tweak to the materials involved,Mission has gone for a conventional flat sided MDF cabinet with a rear port. Like most modern speakers at this price, Mission has fitted the LX-2 for single wiring only. Connection is via a pair of sturdy if slightly unremarkable terminals on the lower section of the rear panel.
Where the work has gone in is with the bracing which has been computer modelled in order to get the maximum bang for what will be fairly limited buck at this price point. By studying the data extremely carefully,Mission suggests that the points where there is discernable energy from the cabinet is limited to the drivers (which is kind of the point) and the bass port. The port itself has a foam bung section fitted in from the outset that serves to regulate the flow of air and avoid audible noise.
The cabinet that contains these drivers is relatively conventional but a little bit larger than might be expected for a speaker with this driver complement. Rather than find an exotic tweak to the materials involved,
Where the work has gone in is with the bracing which has been computer modelled in order to get the maximum bang for what will be fairly limited buck at this price point. By studying the data extremely carefully,
Design
Taken at face value, in the black finish at least, the LX-2 doesn't immediately stir the blood. With the grills on in particular, you might be forgiven for thinking that Mission had decided to recover the glory of the nineties by going back there and building speakers from then. Take the grills off and things improve a little. The soft touch fascia that the drivers are mounted in is a nice thing and the black chrome trim rings are well judged in the visual jewellery stakes. There is also the option of white and walnut finishes although pictures of what the LX-2 looks like when you choose them are quite hard to come by. The walnut does look a bit dark to be a true Mission finish though. In days gone by, the 'wood' option was oddly pale and generally looked like it came from the same supplier that MFI used.
Perhaps more importantly, it does look like a Mission speaker though. As noted, the inverted driver arrangement is a big clue of the design origins of the LX-2 and when you combine it with the square edged cabinet, the result is unquestionably a Mission and perhaps almost as importantly, a speaker that is clearly not a shameless emulation of a Q Acoustics product. There are some useful nods to modernity – the grills use magnetic trim tabs which keeps the number of holes to a minimum although in truth the magnets could do with being a bit more beefy.
Perhaps more importantly, it does look like a Mission speaker
How was the Mission LX-2 tested?
Due to this being a rather busy time of year, it has been necessary to run two systems at once with my usual electronics being used to run the PMC twenty5.21. As such, the Audiolab M-One that was recently reviewed stayed on to power the Mission with a Naim ND5 XS being used via the coaxial digital input and a Melco N1A used via the USB connections. For some testing a modified 'IPT' version of the Audio Technica LP5 and a Graham Slee Communicator was also used. As such, material used included lossless and high res FLAC, DSD and AIFF, services such as Spotify and Tidal and some vinyl.
Sound Quality
As noted, this review took place at a fairly hectic time of year and this meant there was a degree of reviewing on the fly going on. Having got a handle on the performance of the Audiolab with the Neat IOTA speakers, the Missions were substituted and I got on with listening to them while carrying out a hundred and one other tasks. As such, one thing I didn't actually check for the first few days was the price of the LX-2. As such, after a bit, I reached the happy conclusion that the LX-2 was a little dull looking but represented one of the very best £300 speakers you could buy. This was worthy enough in itself but does overstate the price of the Mission by getting on for close to 100%.
Judged at the correct price, theMission suddenly becomes a much more significant speaker. Put simply it brings a level of performance to the sub £200 category that I don't recall experiencing before. So what's it doing that's so special? Firstly – and perhaps somewhat counter intuitively – it is the lack of any immediate attention grabbing part of the frequency response that is noteworthy. The Mission is composed, even and consistent at every point of its output and this makes for a speaker that doesn't grab at your attention by dint of some showy feature but because the performance it is producing is wonderfully controlled and composed. This lets whatever you happen to be listening to at the time, be heard as it should be.
Now, we've already tested a speaker under £200 that can do this and it's called the Q Acoustics 3020. The arrival of theMission hasn't suddenly turned the 3020 into anything other than a great speaker. Where the Mission raises the bar is in two areas. The first is that it costs £30 less than the Q Acoustics. This is not a sum of money that I honestly believe will have people firmly coming down on one side or the other but if you can make that useful little saving, I suspect that many people will.
Judged at the correct price, the
Now, we've already tested a speaker under £200 that can do this and it's called the Q Acoustics 3020. The arrival of the
The second area where the Mission actually pulls out a small advantage is the bass response. This is a bit of a mystery as Mission actually quotes a lower frequency response of 65Hz with no given roll off compared to the 64Hz +/- 3dB given for the Q Acoustics. Outside the world of the theoretical though, the LX-2 has the edge. The slightly larger cabinet allows it to go a little lower and sound more assured while it does so. The effect is noticeable when you play something like Dead Can Dance's Song of the Stars, the very deep note at the start of the track is something that the Mission correctly renders and has meaningful weight with.
What this adds up to is a speaker that is a ridiculously good listen at the asking price. In the time it has been installed, I have had no difficulty switching over from the £1,870 (and seriously good) PMC twenty5.21 to listen to theMission. There is an assurance to the way that the LX-2 makes music that is seriously impressive. There is the sense when listening to it that the careful use of components and the attention to detail has resulted in a speaker that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Selecting complex and demanding bits of music – even ones that are a totally polar opposites of the spectrum like Nils Frahm's Spaces and Perpetuum Mobile by Einstürzende Neubauten – and the Mission just calmly and brilliantly goes about its business.
This means that instruments sound like instruments, vocals that are clear and well broadcast with no unwanted congestion of directionality to them. That effortless cohesion from top to bottom means that nothing is highlighted unless the musician intended them to be. The performance is also such that you can easily pick up the traits of the equipment you have connected to them. The Missions are able to let you hear the improvements brought by the IPT modifications to the Audio Technica LP5 which is no mean feat for a speaker at this price.
Is it perfect? This is a slightly awkward one to answer. Listening to the LX-2, I have the slightest sense that it is a bit grown up, a bit mature and well balanced to truly be in the mould of affordableMission speakers of old. There was always the sense that the older models really wanted to play The Prodigy as the sort of volume levels that were a few dB shy of them coming apart at the seams. The LX- 2 can do this but it never loses that sense of control and composure. Critiquing a speaker because it sounds too well sorted though is perverse, so I have to phrase it in such a manner as to say that the LX-2 could perhaps benefit, every now and again, from just a touch more fun.
What this adds up to is a speaker that is a ridiculously good listen at the asking price. In the time it has been installed, I have had no difficulty switching over from the £1,870 (and seriously good) PMC twenty5.21 to listen to the
This means that instruments sound like instruments, vocals that are clear and well broadcast with no unwanted congestion of directionality to them. That effortless cohesion from top to bottom means that nothing is highlighted unless the musician intended them to be. The performance is also such that you can easily pick up the traits of the equipment you have connected to them. The Missions are able to let you hear the improvements brought by the IPT modifications to the Audio Technica LP5 which is no mean feat for a speaker at this price.
Is it perfect? This is a slightly awkward one to answer. Listening to the LX-2, I have the slightest sense that it is a bit grown up, a bit mature and well balanced to truly be in the mould of affordable
What this adds up to is a speaker that is a ridiculously good listen at the asking price
Conclusion
Pros
- Superb sound quality
- Solid build
- Outstanding value
Cons
- Not terribly attractive
- Quite large
- Slight lack of fun at times
Mission LX-2 Speaker Review
If you are the person that skips to the conclusion (you know who you are), the headline is that the Mission LX-2 is a bit special. This is a speaker that holds true to the ideals that made Mission such a force in budget speakers and blended it with some engineering finesse and care that can be seen in almost every aspect of the design. The resulting product is... *deep breath*... probably the best sub £200 stereo speaker that money can buy. Mission is back and they mean business.
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