Mission 753. Freedom or standard?

swiftpete

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Wanted some of these for ages. Not heard either, I know the freedoms have a different tweeter as the standard ones were supposed to be a bit harsh after a while, but I've read that it's possible to modify the tweeter on the original speakers by taking the cover off, which apparently makes it sound a lot better.

Anyone have any experience of these speakers? I've also read that the bass isn't great, I've got a pair of mission 733s at the moment, with 1 woofer, the 753s have 4 so I can't see they'd be any worse but as I haven't heard them it's hard to say really.

Anyone??
 
just bought a set of non freedoms from ebay

I would concur on teh bass, they are only 5" drivers so not as much oomph as my old 702e's mid and treble much better though

so far I've tweeked my sub to compensate and it's working ish
 
Ebay's where I've been looking. I was wondering whether they'd have as much bass as what I currently own. Obviously I don't really want less. Mine only have a 5.5 inch woofer so not much difference.
 
I used to work in a dealer when the original 753s came out and like a few people at the time, wondered what all the fuss was about. I'm even more confused now they have 'classic' status.

Their most notable quality was their excellent CNC cabinets which through their revolutionary use of smaller drivers were one of the first designs to employ a narrow front profile compensated for by cabinet depth. They were the first lifestyle speaker, before the term had been invented. This did give them an excellent soundstage width and resolution of horizontal positioning. I would add that it's unlikely that a pair of 753s would ever fall apart - that cabinet is as solid as they come.

They are a 2 and a 1/2 way design with the cabinet dived between the top pair of mid-bass and bottom pair of bass drivers. So, if you divide the cabinet in half and because there are two drivers in each half, divide the cabinet in half again, you can see that each driver effectively addresses a not very large volume of cabinet. As such, the bass response of the 753s is much more akin to a standmount of one 1/4 the size. Because they use four drivers, they do go very loud*, but in practice, they went no deeper than the 751 standmount of the same era which was the actual sweet spot in the 75x range.

The original tweeter (I can't comment on the latter variant) was a shocker and again was at it's best in the 751 which was small enough to be driven by the likes of Musical Fidelity A1s and various valve amps all of which had a rolled off treble response which didn't expose the tweeter's nasties. These sorts of pairings could sound quite exceptional if you liked your sound more euphoric than accurrate.

Incidentally, we had to replace many a mid-bass/bass driver in 753s as their looks tended to attract mutton heads with no mechanical sympathy, but who were determined to screw bass out of them using their 'tone' controls. Bearing in mind that these were a £600+ loudspeaker, we used to get invoiced for the mid/bass drivers at £11.99 each. Even in 1992, that was a dirt cheap driver. Bear in mind that a pair of ATC SCM-20 standmounts only cost £100 more, would actually go louder and deeper and yet cost £130 for the mid bass driver. That said, we never had to replace any. Not one.;)

I said it then and I'll say it now, there have always been better speakers for whatever is being asked then or now. People would come in, listen and ask to hear a similar priced alternative. We'd put on the massively better Ruark Talisman IIs and to a man, they'd admit it. Still, we sold bucket loads simply because the looked the mutts and WHF said they were good.

I suppose it depends how much you can find a pair for, but like a number of 'classics', it's frequently more than they are worth - I've seen pairs going for £500, which is ridiculous. As things stand, mundane speakers like MA RS6s will show them a clean pair of heals in almost every department and personally, I don't think the MAs close to the best in their class either.

Russell

*As such, they're quite well suited to modern AV amps which have power well beyond the amps contempary to the 753s and can employ a subwoofer to replace the disappointing bottom end. In this mode, they will work quite well, but you are hamstrung by the quality of centre speaker to match them. The question still remains why you would go to the trouble with modern designs sporting far, far more capable and refined tweeters.
 
Thanks for the lengthy reply, I have never heard them but always liked the way they looked and read the what hifi reviews etc at the time. They always looked like they'd blow the house down!

Most people who've reviewed them say they're great, but of course they're usually people that have bought them themselves so not really much of an objective review.

With everything you've said I think I'm going to think again about buying them now.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the lengthy reply, I have never heard them but always liked the way they looked and read the what hifi reviews etc at the time. They always looked like they'd blow the house down!

Most people who've reviewed them say they're great, but of course they're usually people that have bought them themselves so not really much of an objective review.

With everything you've said I think I'm going to think again about buying them now.

Cheers

Surely you wouldn't buy without hearing, that's like buying a car without driving it first :eek:
 
Well of course it's each to their own but i prefer the sound of my 752 Freedoms over the 753 using my Arcam Amps for music. The 752F's have custom made drive units & tweeters unlike the 753's.
 
Indeed, the 751 I mentioned earlier had a custom mid/bass unit.

Russell

I guess it perhaps shared the same ones as the 752 then?, I know some years ago when speaking to one of the Mission Techs. he remarked that the 752F's represented one of the best speakers they had ever produced & had some himself. :)
 
Surely you wouldn't buy without hearing, that's like buying a car without driving it first :eek:

I know what you're saying, but as the only ones available are secondhand ones it's not like I can nip to a shop for a demo. I'd test them before I paid for them if I bought some off ebay but auditioning them wouldn't be easy.
I'm now thinking more along mission m35i lines, my mate has m74is which I've listened to a fair bit and I know they're supposed to be the closest replacement for those.
 
I guess it perhaps shared the same ones as the 752 then?
No, the 752 had a aerogel driver with pahse plug IIRC, whilst the 751 had a clear polypropylene unit with black concave dust cap. The 752 was quite a nice speaker with deeper bass than the 753, but not quite the volume capbility. They sounded really nice on the end of the Musical Fidelity A100.

Russell
 
Indeed, the 751 I mentioned earlier had a custom mid/bass unit.

Russell

*As such, they're quite well suited to modern AV amps which have power well beyond the amps contempary to the 753s and can employ a subwoofer to replace the disappointing bottom end. In this mode, they will work quite well, but you are hamstrung by the quality of centre speaker to match them. The question still remains why you would go to the trouble with modern designs sporting far, far more capable and refined tweeters.

Funny that, the 75C centre (Hamstrung) shared the very same custom mid/bass unit as the 751's :D

I should know I have all three models of speakers (biased alert!) ;)
 
No, the 752 had a aerogel driver with pahse plug IIRC, whilst the 751 had a clear polypropylene unit with black concave dust cap. The 752 was quite a nice speaker with deeper bass than the 753, but not quite the volume capbility. They sounded really nice on the end of the Musical Fidelity A100.

Russell

Sounds like you know them well! I have mine Bi-Amped with Arcam 9 Int. & Power Amp. & they sound very nice indeed, especially when used with my CD 9 player.:)
 
I did say I couldn't comment on the later 75x variants and my comments are based on the MkI and it's dubious tweeter. What would you match them with?

I can't imagine that a pair of 751 mid/bass units plus the later tweeter in a centre would be a very good match to those in the original 753, given that they sound very different. To be fair, most centres sound significantly different to their stereo counterparts, but I am more than averagely obsessed by this issue.:rolleyes:

Have you ever tried the 751/75c pairing across the front? With a good sub, that could be quite special.

Russell
 
I had 752s, 753Fs and then 754Fs with the 75C centre. The 752 had a better midrange than the 753 but I thought the 753, for all its faults, still had a lot of character and more presence. You can get them for about £200-250 and it is a painless experiment since it's easy to sell them on. The 754 had better drivers and sounded more like an upgraded 752, and was impressive for the relatively low amounts it goes for. The 75C centre can be had for about £60 and is very good for that money - so you can get a very decent 5-speaker set for bargain money.

Edit: the best used speaker bargain I encountered in this range was the Celestion A2. For about £350 you get a hell of a speaker.
 
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Can't argue with owning the Mighty Missions.Got the big 754 Freedoms as my fronts and the 753's as rears,had to buy a Kef 200c for centre use though as the only Mission for sale at the time was a touch on the teeny side.

Had them for a good 10 years plus.
 
At the risk of sounding unpopular, i agree with the majority of what Russ said. I've never really heard a Mission speaker that has aroused my senses like an ATC, KEF Reference, Magnaplanar, Proac etc.

But i did hear the 753's sound rather nice on the end of an early Audiolab 8000P/C combination with some piano music......probably just a combination that worked.
 
I've got a pair of 752f and I think they're fantastic, always wanted to get a pair of 753f but haven't got the space.

What are these 754f's? I don't recall those, got any specs or pictures?
 
I've got a pair of 752f and I think they're fantastic, always wanted to get a pair of 753f but haven't got the space.

What are these 754f's? I don't recall those, got any specs or pictures?

Don't have a pic,they're taller than the 753's and have a downward firing 100w bass unit at the bottom which is separated by 4,one inch in diameter 2 inch tall brass rings.The upper part of the cabinet is rated at 150w.Mine are black but i was allowed to try the teak versions for a week.

And they're very heavy:eek:



Some user reviews here.

http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/mission/floorstanding-speakers/754-freedom-5/PRD_120163_1594crx.aspx
 
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I did say I couldn't comment on the later 75x variants and my comments are based on the MkI and it's dubious tweeter. What would you match them with?

I can't imagine that a pair of 751 mid/bass units plus the later tweeter in a centre would be a very good match to those in the original 753, given that they sound very different. To be fair, most centres sound significantly different to their stereo counterparts, but I am more than averagely obsessed by this issue.:rolleyes:

Have you ever tried the 751/75c pairing across the front? With a good sub, that could be quite special.

Russell

That's the set up I had originally. I used them with a Rel Q100E.

The system sounded very good, although the 75C I thought sounded slightly muffled. I had been using a 77C before that which had sounded very clear with it's three tweeters. I wanted the centre that matched the quality of finish of the 751's so I purchased a 75C off the forums.

I was slightly disappointed by the 75C sound compared with the cripsness of the 77C, I have to say.
I drove the 75C/751 combo with a Denon 3802. I was very happy with the sound from the system with movies although the centre still didn't sound clear enough for my liking. The L/R and sub combo was particularly good when playing music.

I upgraded to an Onkyo 875 recently and this improved the sound from the three front speakers no end. The 75C now seems so much better. It is very clear in the treble and I am very happy with it. of course the 751's are only rated at 75watts and I didn't want to run the risk of damaging them, so decided I needed to change them for some floor standers. I had always loved the finish and look of their big sisters, the 753's.

I decided to source some and found a pair on that auction site we all love to hate :). They only cost me £131 in the end :smashin:. I wouldn't pay some of the joke prices that these go for on there, but at that price I can't complain.

I would agree that the 753's do not sound much different to the smaller 751's but I am still happy me my choice especially at the price I paid for the 753's ;)

I suppose I could have got some newer missions, that may have sounded better but I just don't like the finish on the newer ones, as I feel they just look cheap and nasty (only my opinion, apologies if that offends any owners of newer models :D)

I'm not a purist, it isn't just about sound. The speakers still have to look good.
 
I was slightly disappointed by the 75C sound compared with the cripsness of the 77C, I have to say.
I drove the 75C/751 combo with a Denon 3802. I was very happy with the sound from the system with movies although the centre still didn't sound clear enough for my liking. The L/R and sub combo was particularly good when playing music.

I upgraded to an Onkyo 875 recently and this improved the sound from the three front speakers no end. The 75C now seems so much better. It is very clear in the treble and I am very happy with it.
I had a 3802 which had the good fortune to be fried by a lightning strike. The 3806 that replaced it made me feel like I'd previously been listening with a woolly hat on! I never was satisfied by by the clarity in two or multichannel modes.

Russell
 
Funny that, the 75C centre (Hamstrung) shared the very same custom mid/bass unit as the 751's :D

I should know I have all three models of speakers (biased alert!) ;)

Are you sure? They have different part numbers:

75c: 5C-LF 13S/
751: 51-LF 126/

Also the outer ring is different...
 
Some interesting comments :smashin:

I had the 753F's some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed them in 2-channel stereo use (AV was of no concern at the time).

A few points :

They're a lot smaller than the images suggest and they fit in nicely in a small room.

Get them near a wall for a little bass boost.

The F's are a LOT smoother in the top end than the earlier version.

With a meaty amp volume shouldn't be an issue :D - just don't expect 20Hz output at 120db ;)

Mine replaced some old 600 series floorstanding B&W's - this was the first time I realised what decent midrange could add to music (an old cliche,yes but it was like gaining a new record collection !).

They seen off a pair of Meridian A500's (passive) and were eventually replaced with a pair of Kef ref. 3.2's - the Kef's were superior in every way but then they should be at 3 times the price.

The system I ended up with before the kefs arrived were the 753F's driven by a Marantz PM17 KI amp and CD player - I remember the sound with fondness : smooth,powerful and adept with almost any kind of music.

Value is subjective - I wouldn't go and pay over £400 for a pair (There are better,newer speakers available for less) - however,at around half that I would seriously consider them.

Buy wisely and try them for yourself (we all look and listen for different things) - give them some time - if you like them,keep them.If not,simply sell on for similar money :smashin:

I owned the rosewood versions.
The primavera (sp?) is a very light oak colour.
Both look excellent - build quality and fit & finish is (for the money) top notch.
 
I went for some monitor audio s8s in the end instead. Very happy with them as they look and sound great. Cost me £245 from ebay a little while ago. I'd recommend them.
 
Are you sure? They have different part numbers:

75c: 5C-LF 13S/
751: 51-LF 126/

Also the outer ring is different...

Can anyone confirm the drivers in the 75C and 751 (freedom) are too different?
I want to look for a 75C so i have spare drivers for my 751 freedoms, that is, in case the drivers are exchangeable...
 

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