Saturday, October 16, 2010

Mission 737

I have been trying to find a good pair of these speakers for almost 2 years.

The original (and 2nd generation) Mission 770 has always been one of my favorite speakers. The company refined the design through 5 generations, culminating in the Freedom 5, which sported a new, Mission designed, horn loaded tweeter, and some horrible graphics. I found the tweeter a bit (just a bit) bright, and the Freedom 4 (with the same woofer) is my very favorite.

I have been after the 737 because I suspected that it was Mission's way of keeping the 'classic' 770 design in the product lineup, while upgrading the flagship, and I was right. The 737 uses the last, most refined version of the clear polypropylene woofer (the black colour of the Freedom 4s and 5s comes from mineral polymers added to the clear polypropylene recipe). Early versions used the very good 3/4" Vifa dome tweeter (still in production, and available cheaply at Active Surplus) seen here most recently in the Snell Type Ks and also in the 707. This pair uses the even better Audax TW025A0, and I love them.

Like all Missions, the cabinets are quite light compared to the big american speakers I've been enjoying recently, but extremely rigid. The real walnut veneer is gorgeous. Mission, to my ears does almost everything that people love about british speakers right, but removes a bit of the 'politeness'. They breathe with the music, and kick in the bass.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

For sale mint pair of mission 737 will be on Ebay in the next couple of days and these speakers have never been abused and i have owned them from new

Cabermac said...

Have you ever seen any of the real early 770's? The terminals were on the bottom of the speaker and came out past the bottom of the speaker.You could not sit them down without taking the terminals into account. It made you use their stands which had a cut out to accommodate the terminals. They were one of my favorites. I'm sorry I sold them so many years ago.

Anonymous said...

i have them at least 32 years ..priceless :)

under1sun said...

i have a pair ! love them speakers ! the early 770's ! need a new speaker child finger hole :( hence found your interesting blog :)

One&Done said...

Hi, i am looking at selling my original mission 737, very good condition. I did not realise they were in such demand. I am so glad i bought them. Let me know if anyone is interested. Regards
Sesh

Anonymous said...

Hi, i have a pair of very good mission 737's for sale. I did not know they are such demand.

Anyone interested, please let me kmow what price you are offering.

Anonymous said...

Back in 1985, I bought a pair of these 737's new, and a NAD 3130 amp.
I have used both them almost daily since then and they still sound fantastic ........ now that's what I call value for money !
TiM

demort71 said...

I haven't had a ton of speakers, but comparing to what I currently own (Polk Monitor 5A, 7A, DCM CX-27, Klipsch KG4), I would say these are some nice (large) bookshelf sized speakers! They have their own personality and sound. I would call the sound full and rich. Plenty of detail throughout the sound spectrum, as well as good definition, depending on the music genre and engineering quality on the album.

Of course your other components make a difference too. I tested them with a vintage Sony 5 disc CD player, Technics SL-D2 table with a Empire OP-4 cartridge and a Sansui AU-317 100W amp. The speakers performed quite well. I had them on 36" aftermarket speaker stands. They pumped out the sound well.

Also loved the beautiful real wood veneer & other details on the cabinet-very classy looking. I can see why these brought $400-500 in the mid 80s. They are still great speakers.

My pair was in storage for the past 20 years according to the original owner who unfairly compared them to his Bose 901s that replaced them. Not a apples to apples comparison-eh?

I think they are great speakers. They have big speaker sound. Very pleased with them.

Seppo Laine said...

Fell in love with Mission 737 just now, I highly recommend the stands, only with them mounted I got a amazing soundstage.
All vocals are natural and moving. Bass is rich enough just about so much you can have in a apartment.

I will have have some more listening sessions but as of today I can not tell them being any lesser than the 1400-1600€ speakers I gave a listening yesterday. Well alright, the KEF R300 had more "pop" and I think a slight heavier bass, but for so much more money..

I spent a total 180 € freight included..


Unknown said...

the matter we have to what is it, I have to do this also, the thing is that there is some all innovation is required, like some support team "Brother Printer Support"

Unknown said...

I bought a pair of these with stands for $40.00. I have them paired with a Denon DRA-425r receiver and a Denon DCM-460 CD player and they are excellent sounding speakers. I like them much better than my KLH model 17 speakers and as much as my ADS L520 speakers. I am listening to Chris Isaak's Heart Shaped World CD and the vocals sound great. If you can find a pair of these speakers and have a good receiver with at least 30 wpc do not hesitate. I am really impressed with the Denon.

Marius Mclaughlin said...

I have a pair of these my brother gave to me when I was 18 I’m now 42 and I still have them how much are they worth please

Anonymous said...

I just picked up a pair off fb marketplace they sound wonderful with a stromberg Carlson asr 433 tube amp (6BQ5)

Anonymous said...

I have a pair of 770’s looks and Sounds great with my teak Garrad 401 and sme 9003 and vintage teak bound leak 70 amp. I am sure if the want your 770’s you will😊👍