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Mission 770's ... Any good?

Very good but can be a bit loose at the very bottom.
They sound big and dynamic in a way that many designs today don't.

Worth trying lots of small drinking straws or some open cell foam in the port if the bass sounds a bit wayward. Away from the low bass they have good subjective speed and punch.
Quite a neutral sound.
Easy to drive and go loud on a clean 30 watts or so.

If i found a clean pair I'd certainly add them to my collection.
 
The one in your pic is a "mk2" and can be identified by the larger port and tweeter mounted higher up the baffle. It also benefits from greater power handling so that is the preferred choice.
I agree with Robert concerning the bass response and beware of the seas tweeter which will have lost its ferrofluid by now and may have picked up some aggressive traits
 
Thanks Robert...

I was thinking the port looked a little "old" and wide in the photos I've seen...

I remember the straws mod mentioned years ago... thanks for the reminder..

They are coming in a little system I bought from the bay :) look in good nick and hopefully will make it down in one piece from the seller... The system came with an arcam denon and some Naims too..

I may even put to use in my pc system via my cyrus 1 and tidy up the late Linn Kann mk1's as they are in reasonably good condition and I have the mk2 stands for them... The pc desk may need the shelves widening to allow them to go on the bookshelf ;)

The photo suggests it is a mk2 version and the one they showed in the photo looks in good condition so fingers crossed... Will they out my SBL or my IBLs from the other systems?
 
jonnoshore said:
and the one they showed in the photo looks in good condition so fingers crossed... Will they out my SBL or my IBLs from the other systems?
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They'll sound completely different so only you can decide on that one.

They are every bit as dynamic as SBLs but more neutral in balance (assuming tweets are still good). SBLs will certainly have tighter bass, but the 770 with breathe better at the bottom.

If you like IBLs, the 770 is going to be one hell of a shock! :)
 
Robert said:
They'll sound completely different so only you can decide on that one.

They are every bit as dynamic as SBLs but more neutral in balance (assuming tweets are still good). SBLs will certainly have tighter bass, but the 770 with breathe better at the bottom.

If you like IBLs, the 770 is going to be one hell of a shock! :)
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It will certainly be a shock, especially for my wife... who will answer the door to the shipment! CD player, tuner, pre-power and speakers all boxed up !

It says they are 12kg each... 590mm x 300mm x 270 mm ...lol!

I don't always like reflex ported speakers for the reasons said... but we have straws and bluetak..
 
I auditioned these against ARC 101s many years ago.

despite them being the rave speaker of the day I still remember their one note bass compared to the 101s.

I bought the 101s.
 
Bob McC said:
despite them being the rave speaker of the day I still remember their one note bass compared to the 101s.
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But did you have a packet of straws? ;)

When they arrive and the shock has worn off, and I've revived the wife :) I'll let you know if I think the same with / without straws...

Maybe a good garage / party speaker to use for garden parties if nothing else...? :)
 
Ah, real Mission 770!

Be aware that the multi-way binding posts are on the bottom of the enclosures. Not a big problem if you decide to connect them up with bare wire end lamp cord, however, a strict preference for Naim NACA4, or especially A5, with banana plugs will have you in tears.

Heybrook's old HBS1 with 3/4" holes drilled through the top plate to allow the bananas to pass through would be ideal.

Actual book shelves are strictly out, as these need a good bit of free space around them to even begin to approach a balanced response.

Craig
 
Fantasic speakers. The best missions ever I think. You want the MK1 or 2 though not the F or Freedom. The later are good but the MK 1 or 2 better. Mkae sure drivers are in good nick though.
 
Craig B said:
Ah, real Mission 770!

Heybrook's old HBS1 with 3/4" holes drilled through the top plate to allow the bananas to pass through would be ideal.

Actual book shelves are strictly out, as these need a good bit of free space around them to even begin to approach a balanced response.

Craig
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The stands have holes cut into the tops look like shorter targets...

Shame about the bookshelves :)
 
shlibber35 said:
Fantasic speakers. The best missions ever I think. You want the MK1 or 2 though not the F or Freedom. The later are good but the MK 1 or 2 better. Mkae sure drivers are in good nick though.
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Someone once called them 'Dynamic Spendor BC1s' . There is a certain amount of truth in that... MGM .
 
I recall my uncle having these many years ago, though I don't think he kept them IIRC.... this is probably going back to the 80's.

It says some thing if he had them at all. He had an LP12/AR A60 system and [he] is reckoned to be pitch-perfect musically
 
Bit of an icon and I think they look pretty cool. I had a pair around for a bit, ran them on the end of Naim.

Very nice top end, really quite detailed, spoiled a bit by the port chuffing away, I didn't bother but you could probably tame it a little.

They have a following.
 
The 770s enjoyed huge success in the early 80s after some reviewer-I have forgotten who- proclaimed them better than his Isobariks. The results were predictable. I heard them at Billy Vees first audio show with LP12/Ittok/Asak and Electrocompaniet electronics. And they were easily the worst sound at the show. The exhibitor made some feeble excuse that the cantilever was bent! You would have thought they would have sourced another cartridge if this were true.

Come to think of it the proclamation above sounds very JMH-ish.
 
It was Paul Benson. He claimed that Meridian 101/105 into Mission 770 was better than his bolt up and modified NAC32/SNAPS/NAP250 with ex-Paul Messenger first(ish) generation Isobariks. He might have been right.

Paul
 
Excellent speaker! They would indeed completely trounce isobariks.
The ones in the picture are indeed mkII's and probably the pick of the bunch.
I still have a pair stashed. Very dynamic and transparent. The observation of them being like a Spendor BC1 with huge dynamics is one I agree with and have made myself in the past... I reckon that the BC1 would narrowly win on neutrality etc though. They will go very loud easily and stay clean sounding as well.
I would totally disagree with the observation of them having loose bass. Quite the opposite in fact! I used mine as my main speaker for about 8 years and got to know them very well indeed, I can only say that mine had a tight and extended (for the size) bottom end that was very tuneful and had real slam. Maybe I had a room that ideally suited them or just had a very good set?!
I originally fell in love with them when at various hifi shows in the early 80's they gave what I thought was the best sound of the show. I then heard them against various other speakers on a few occasions at hifi dealers and again they trounced everything put against them....
Their main drawback IMHO is that they can sound just a little bit sharp or spiky in the mid treble. This could be partly due to the very simple crossover (which helps make them so dynamic) and part due to the Seas tweeter.
I eventually blew a tweeter and replaced the Seas with Son Audax units and a slight change in the internal level matching resistor. This improved them quite a bit but did not entirely get rid of the slight sharpness.
They are very revealing and on a good system with a good recording they can sound stunning. Even compared to most modern speakers.
With a bad recording that's a bit thin and bright though they will make a meal of it....
 
I seem to remember PB writing an article describing how he built his own 250 at the Salt Lane factory, under supervision of course. Would this have been representative of a *real* 250? No doubt though that the 101/105 pairing was a belter and probably in the 32/250 territory. I now remember some student in one of the halls of residence in St.A using a pair of 770s too....with an equally dismal sound that I recalled from the Billy Vee show.
 
I'm sure that when he took it away from Salt Lane it was representative...

PBSystem.jpg


Paul
 
The 770 Freedom is also pretty good. More relaxed and refined than the original but not as dynamic and transparent. It does have that "Mission sound" of their speakers of that era though... A form of colouration I suppose or something about the voicing of it. I struggle to describe it really but it is fairly mild.
A friend of mine bought a pair after being impressed with my earlier 770's and I got to listen to them regularly. Avoid the 770-S with the ribs in the cone and the straws in the port as standard.....
 
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