Nearfield speakers

[Fretless]

Done!

[Fretless]

After dumping the nasty Bose boxes I have been on the lookout for some small speakers to put next to my computer. Lo and behold what do I find in my local secondhand shop this morning - a pair of these for €35 (about 30 pounds)



As far as I can tell they are Mission 760i speakers (the small labels on the back have faded illegibly and these have been wall-mounted at some point, there are screw holes in the rear panels.
But the drivers appeared to be OK - rubbers were still good, for the rest they look nearly new and they do sound rather fine. Now hooked up to a classic Sansui AU-217 amp, there is a pleasant body and fullness to the sound that is an improvement over the Gigaworks active speakers that I am used to.
I've never had any Missions before and assume these are a bottom of the range model. But the little bu**ers can ROCK when you turn them up. And give subtlety and detail when it's needed.
Now to try and do some work instead of playing about. All the 'secondhand hifi bargains' chat on this forum is giving me a severe addiction problem.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Using them upside down was always a marketing gimmick, use them with bass driver at the bottom. Take bass drivers out and remove all wadding, 15 min job

[Fretless]

Thanks for the advice Doc.

Just turned them over, tweeters now on top - clarity and imaging immediately improved !!
Will attempt the minor surgery on the padding tonight or tomorrow.

[Fretless]

The Mission 760's are now 'Doc'd' - on their heads with internal wadding removed - and their character has changed. They sounded drier and airier straightaway - but the bass was a bit flabby. Then I put a couple of plastic stands under them and raised them about 2.5" off the desk. Did the trick.
They now sound like 'proper' hifi speakers with smooth authority and definition (although I'll be fiddling a bit with the Sansui's tone controls until I find the best balance).

Even with a relatively simple alteration (1 screwdriver and 5 minutes!) like this, you get to learn how to make even the lowliest components come to 'life' and perform at optimum capacity.

[_D_S_J_R_]

I must add a word of 'old fashioned objectivist' caution here please, as someone who knows these well from the time they were current. Do you honestly think that skinflints like Mission would have wasted a penny on internal wadding if they didn't think it made a difference/improvement? Some manufacturers used to weigh the amount of stuffing they used, as they'd tried different amounts until they got the optimum amount.. If Mission could get away with taking everything out from the box and saving some pennies they would have done, believe me!

760's and 780's were designed to be used flat to a back wall on 18" stands, the ear actually on axis with the top of the cabinet (so you could just see the top when listening). Turning them the 'right' way round made them bite your head off more than usual I found and putting them high on wall brackets or shelves ruined whatever qualities they had (we had a speaker-shelf in the shop). Placing them way above your head 'would' need you to turn them with tweeter over the bass unit I remember.

Sorry, just a few words of caution from a 'ex sales consultant' about a speaker I never bonded with and was only too aware of 'correct' setting up as they were an important part of our sales figures at this price point at the time - Our sales director HAD to have his annual skiing holiday courtesy of Mission/Cyrus and we were almost forced to sell them! If you like them nude internally and upside down, then go for it

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

FFS so why does everyone prefer these small speakers without the wadding then. You presume these idiots like Mission knew what they were doing - a big assumption. All manufacturers put wadding in as a matter of course without even thinking about it, it is convention.

[Classicrock]

Doc. I don't think Mission were complete idiots. They did make the odd 'classic' though overall a mixed bag. Do agree that the inverted tweeter models are daft unless you have bass driver above your head. I'm sure some wadding may be necessary but depends how much they put in this model in the first place.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

NO WADDING IS NECESSARY APART FROM TO FULFILL CONVENTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Show me any proof that wadding is necessary.

Every speaker ever made will musically improve with the wadding taken out.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

It is a 10 or 15 minute job to see if I am right or wrong. Unscrew your bass drivers pull out the material, careful as some often use crap fibreglass which will get your skin itching. Listen, if you don't like it put it back, if you like it without then throw it away - simple! Then report back here and tell us.