10 year old Mission speakers, worth upgrading?

[andyb28]

We have just finished redecorating the living room and its time to start putting the AV kit back in.

10 years ago, I spent quite a bit of money on 6/7.1 system, all Mission make. When I brought them, Mission were very well rated, but I have heard that they went down hill?

My question is simply, should I upgrade?
Are there smaller better versions around now?

[Sparky137]

Speakers are a very personl tsate. Sure, speaker technology has moved on but whether you will like what you are hearing only you can decide. Amongst the many speakers I have are a pair of Leaks from the 1970's which, to my ears, sound so good that they are simply not worth replacing with something more modern. The best thing you can do is to go and audition some speakers within your budget and see for yourself if they are an improvement and if the expense of doing so is justified.

[Tony1963]

The real problem with speakers is that they are almost entirely dependent on the room they'll be in for how they'll sound. If you're happy with the Missions once you've installed them, why change. If they're just too big or don't sound very good now, then you've a job on your hands. Good luck!

[ASK1974]

Without model numbers it's a little difficult to pass comment, however achieving better quality with smaller speakers is always possible as long as you have the budget available. I'm guessing you bought a pair of floor standing front left/right speakers? If so you can easily change these for something more 'bookshelf' in form factor - home theatres make this very easy as there's a dedicated Subwoofer channel; so as long as you have a good sub smaller effects speakers are fine - just don't go silly small!

The reason to change speakers is either aesthetic or performance related, or both. If you're happy with the looks and just want better performance then a new amp and subwoofer could well do the trick. If you want to reduce the aesthetic footprint of the system then yes, new speakers can be bought without reducing performance (in fact you could easily improve performance). Just do your research and get some demos. Lots of very good speakers out there.

[Crackie]

Sparky137 said:

Sure, speaker technology has moved on

I think speaker technology has hardly progressed for forty years and your post below suggests you've noticed little improvement too.

Sparky137 said:

Amongst the many speakers I have are a pair of Leaks from the 1970's which, to my ears, sound so good that they are simply not worth replacing with something more modern.

[RobDickinson]

IMO the last great pair of missions were the 753f's, the replacements 782's etc were a not too far to the style over substance gang...

Not sure what they do now though.

[andyb28]

Hi Guys,

Found the models of the speakers, hopefully this will help?

Top corners are M71
Front Centre M7C1
Rears M7DS

I can't get to the sub right now.

[Sparky137]

Crackie said:

Sparky137 said:

Sure, speaker technology has moved on

I think speaker technology has hardly progressed for forty years and your post below suggests you've noticed little improvement too.

Sparky137 said:

Amongst the many speakers I have are a pair of Leaks from the 1970's which, to my ears, sound so good that they are simply not worth replacing with something more modern.

Advancement in technology does not necessarily mean an improvement in sound quality. A technological advance can be made that makes production cheaper, easier or replaces materials that are either unobtainable or now considered unsafe to use.