Since its formation in 1977, legendary British loudspeaker manufacturer Mission has been famed for delivering compelling musicality at affordable prices. The company's LX Series continued threviews and an impressive collection of awards in the UK and arois legacy when it launched in 2016, earning excellent und the world.
Four years on and Mission is ready to unleash a new, improved LX range - the LX MKII Series. The new line-up utilises design elements evolved from the upmarket QX Series to build on the award-winning formula of the first-generation LX speakers, sporting a range of improvements that span the drive units, crossover and cabinet. With enhanced midrange and treble clarity and improved resolution of micro-dynamics, the Mission LX MKII Series delivers an even more thrilling listener experience.
The first thing to note is that the range has been extended. Whereas the original LX Series consisted of six models - two standmount speakers, three floorstanders and a centre speaker for home cinema systems - the LX MKII range comprises nine. There is an additional standmount model, a choice of two centre speakers instead of one, and a dedicated surround speaker that can be wall mounted or sited on top of the floorstanding models as an upward-firing effects speaker.
Every speaker within the LX MKII Series is carefully designed to deliver maximum sonic expression with minimum compromise, despite the 'budget' price tags. The design team has fully optimised the performance of each model using sophisticated modelling tools and software, yet Mission's slogan, 'Music leads, Technology Follows', has never been more apt. Months of fine-tuning and rigorous listening tests have ensured that these speakers communicate with engaging energy and detail, bringing music to life with all the vibrancy and finesse one expects of Mission speakers.
The art of
compromise
compromise
By its very nature, speaker design is about balancing variables and finding the best possible compromise. At entry-level price points, where the cost of production is most constrained by the need to hit a specific retail price, the necessity of compromise is at its greatest. But does one have to accept that a 'budget' speaker will always deliver a 'budget' performance? Mission's designers are not the easily accepting kind. They push for greatness in design, whereas most would be happy to stop at 'good'.
What makes a great loudspeaker? What makes it sing? For Mission, the answer is simple: in a well-matched system, the speakers have to allow the performance of the music to shine through. It's not a group of notes; it's a performance. It's not all about frequency response, impedance, sensitivity and directivity, although they all play a part. To paraphrase a famous expression, it's the music, the whole music and nothing but the music - and that, in a nutshell, is Mission's philosophy.
High-frequency drive units require extremely consistent parts and manufacturing in order to be selected for a Mission speaker. Given the tiny moving masses involved, one micro-drop extra of high-tech adhesive can destroy the balance of the design, thus affecting sensitivity and frequency response. For the LX MKII Series, Mission has meticulously designed a tweeter with a neodymium magnet, selected for maximum magnetic force in a small space, and a 25mm microfibre dome, chosen for its light weight and consistency in manufacture. It delivers sweetly incisive high frequencies - crisp and detailed with impressive transient attack.
Feel the high
Networking skills
With minor perturbations in the driver response ironed out, each model's crossover network has been optimised to take advantage of the improved performance. The LX MKII Series uses a 4th order (24dB per octave acoustic) Linkwitz-Riley network, developed with advanced computer modeling and many hours of listening tests, to knit the drivers together seamlessly. It is particularly notable for its ability to balance excellent off-axis performance with a flatter on-axis result.
