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Mission M71 Baby brother to the M73 which scored a Best
Buy rating in our recent group tests (HFC issues 215 and 224), Mission's M71
shares a number of the same ideas and ingredients, albeit scaled down to a
considerable degree. There are actually four stereo pairs in the
Malaysian-built M-series: the stan
Turning the scales to a respectable 4.7kg,
the vinyl 'beech' woodprint enclosure is slim but quite deep, giving a total
volume of around nine litres. The M71 follows a longstanding Mission tradition
of placing the bass/mid driver above the tweeter, and an elegant plastic
moulding covers up the driver mounting hardware and provides fixing holes for
the shield-shaped grille. The front is gently curved, while the rear panel has
twin terminal pairs, plus a generous port tuned to 58Hz, with optional
damping/blocking bungs. The magnetically shielded main driver here
has a 130mm plastic frame and a 95mm woven glass fibre cone, while the tweeter
has a 25mm soft fabric dome. The crossover network uses silicon steel inductors
and polyester capacitors. In-room far-field measurements confirm the
claimed 88dB/2.83V sensitivity, alongside an impedance minimum of 4.6 ohms. The
bass alignment is a little ambiguous, so take time to experiment, both with
positioning and those bungs, to get best results. Some wall reinforcement is
likely to prove advantageous, especially if the bungs are used, though the
unblocked port output was a little too enthusiastic under our conditions.
Elsewhere the frequency balance looks very well judged indeed, with just a hint
of mid forwardness. Sound Quality Get the positioning and the consequent bass
tuning right here, and the reward is a speaker which has an impressive knack of
'disappearing', sonically speaking. No other speakers in this group are as
discreet, or as capable at delivering the stereo soundstage without in any way
drawing attention to the actual sound sources. It also has a superbly judged overall
balance through the midband and treble. The mid might be just a little bit
forward, but it doesn't push too far; the presence is just slightly restrained,
which makes sense for any budget speaker. However, the treble, as Goldilocks
might have put it, is "just right". The whole is quite transparent,
with a good freedom from boxiness and colorations in general. It could probably
do with a bit more dynamic grip, drive, purpose and expression, but it's very
easy on the ears. The modest size main driver does have its
limitations when faced with playing very bass-rich material. The Wyclef Jean
Carnival CD is one such example, which can quickly overload almost any speaker.
The M71 didn't fare too badly here, but still fell several decibels short of
the level attained by the models with larger 6.5-inch main drivers. Conclusion A fine all-round compromise at a very
realistic price, the M71 might not be such obviously good material value as the
M73, but it still makes plenty of sense, especially if physical and sonic
discretion are a major priority.
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dmount £130 M71 and £170 M72, plus the
floorstanding £200 M73 and £300 M74. Looked at dispassionately, and given the
need to support the standmounts properly, it's pretty clear that the M73 is
likely to be the pick of the bunch on sheer value for money grounds, though
this much smaller M71 looks decent enough value in the context of our test
group.