Mission M-Cube 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System, Midnight
A home theater speaker system that truly looks as good as it sounds, Mission's M-Cube 5.1 package is a must for the discriminating movie and music fan. The M-Cube system, which comes with five satellite speakers and a powerful 250-watt subwoofer, was engineered using distributed mode loudspeaker (DML) flat-panel technology, which combines wide-ranging acoustics with freedom in aesthetic design. As a result, Mission had the flexibility to team with British designers Seymour Powell to create a compelling cube-shaped housing that measure 3.5 inches in each direction. The compact speaker size is perfect for wall or ceiling mounting (three speaker brackets are included), or for placing on a bookshelf near the main listening area (Mission also included two attractive floor stands for the front speakers, which fit discreetly on either side of the TV). The headliner, though, is the elegant midnight black color and the listener's choice of olive-, ruby-, or umber-colored fabric wraps. The wraps fit tightly around the sides, letting you tailor the speakers' design to your personal taste and furniture style. The speakers' offer more than just a pretty face, however. Thanks to Mission's advanced NXT driver panels, you can point the speakers in any direction and still enjoy the same clarity and volume level. In fact, the audio is so smooth, pure, and balanced that you can position the speakers anywhere in the room without suffering any ill effects. The subwoofer, meanwhile, features twin high-powered 8-inch bass drivers and a high-efficiency 250-watt amplifier, which combine to deliver rich and robust low-frequency effects. The sub's user controls are also neatly positioned on the top panel rather than hidden around the back, letting the user easily adjust the crossover and volume level. And should listeners want to add an extra satellite, they can use the six-channel input on the sub's rear. The system's overall frequency response (with subwoofer) is an impressive 28 Hz to 30 kHz, with a compatible amp load of 30 to 150 watts. It's the perfect system for listeners who value style as much as sound, and those who don't want the hassle of large, space-hogging speakers. In addition to the stands and brackets, the M-Cube comes with all the necessary speaker cables and three wraps for each satellite cube. What's in the Box
Five satellite speakers, subwoofer, three wall-mount brackets, 15 speaker wraps, three 23-foot speaker cables, two 52.5-foot speaker cables, one 16.5-foot umbilical cable, user's manual.
Mission M-Cube 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System, Midnight Accessories
Mission M-Cube 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System, Midnight Reviews
This is an inherent problem with flat panel technology, as described below. Since they come in glossy black or ivory white, you can simply hook them up on wall mounts (only 2 are included in the box - for the rears I presume, so you'd have to order extras for the front) and they "disappear" into room decor. Very pleasing to the wife. At the lower end of the midrange (i.e. Pink Floyd's orchestral works sound wonderfully detailed, with midranges and highs rivalling my KEF's.
First of all, I would like to say that given the preceding reviews before me, I am in no way affiliated, coerced or paid by Mission to write this review. It can be cute if you can use it for another function, like propping up a vase. And yes, this is my first official review on Amazon.com. They also come with 3 colored cloth wraps to increase invisibility. Appearance: The 5 satellite speakers are smallish ~3 inches across (slightly larger than Bose single satellites) and therefore are very easy to "hide". Overall, I like the system given its ease of setup and invisibility. However, by putting things on top you make it difficult to access the functions that you need, so I ended up just putting in on the floor and hope my 1.5 year old son doesn't kick it around too much.
Here are my sound setups: Marantz SR4600 5.1 receiver, Marantz SR8400 7.1 receiver, OPPO Digital OPDV971H dvd player, Panasonic RP87 DVD player, AVIA home theater setup disc, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon SACD, Gladiator Special Edition DVD-Audio, Mission M-cube 5.1 on surround system #1 and KEF KHT-3005 5.1 on surround system #2. It's at the very least annoying and at most capable of destroying your 5.1 experience all together. I work part-time as a sound engineer and own a private home studio. Your only option is to put the subwoofer in front of you underneath the TV, at which point it may stick out like a sore thumb aesthetically.
It's powerful enough to drive most DVD's low frequencies and is a bit tight with bass lines. Thunderous volleys, though thumping, sound like they come from someone shooting at you from the back. I did this just to let you know how I enjoy (or not enjoy, read on) these speakers for the last 1.5 years that I've owned them. The subwoofer cube is smaller than most others in its class and has round edges. That's too bad, since its price and user-friendliness are unbeatable for a speaker system in this range. Plus it comes with most things you need right out of the box (including cables and 2 speaker stands, cool.).
As for me, I prefer my black KEF speakers to these given the above problem with the subwoofer. Secondly, I am an established pseudo-audiophile. The "sweet spot", unlike typical cone and diaphragm drivers, is about as big as your room (literally) so I did not even have to do a lot of tweaking using AVIA home theater disc. Russell Crowe's Maximus talking softly in the prison scene with Connie Nielsen) the sound disintegrates a bit and becomes thinner (I know it's not typical of midrange to sound thin but I don't know how else to describe it). As far as I know, Mission M-cube is the only system that ships with these in the box.
It's just hard to hide. Therefore, please take whatever you are about to read with a grain of salt as I am not a professional audiophile like some others here. If you put the subwoofer out of the way behind you or in a corner (as most people would) and watch a 5.1 DVD, you will be able to tell that Russell Crowe's voice sometimes seems to come from that corner behind you and not from the screen, as it should. The main problem (and why I'm docking 1 star from the rating) is with the subwoofer. As I'm writing this review Amazon has decided to pull this from their inventory.
Sound: Built on the NXT flat panel drivers, the surrounds are extremely easy to set up because you can put them just about anywhere and achieve instant integration. It's a great system for enthusiasts and beginners who don't want to waste a lot of time setting up. However, because its crossover frequency is best at ~250 Hz, it becomes extremely directional, a.k.a non-surround.
And if you want to know how Bose rates in high end, I suggest you pick up a copy of Absolute Sound. And don't spout off when you are ill equipped to do so. But if you like to hear ALL of the music equally well with a clarity that would allow you to hear a pin drop in the recording booth at *low volume*, then look seriously at these and other Mission products. Although I've never owned these, I am proud to have owned a pair of Mission 765s (on channel A), and for channel B, a pair.
I worked overseas selling high end audio speakers like Infinity Kappa series, Mordaundt Short, Kef, Mission, Wharfedale and B&W. The people who bought Bose, would power them with a Pioneer, or Technics receiver or if they were really into 'high-end', would get Carver or Sony. And even these were not true "High-End" but they are a far cry from Bose.
People who bought real high-end, would power them with Rotel, Crown, Mission (of course), Infinity, and even certain lines of Denon and Harmon-Kardon as minimums. (I wanted a pair of those so bad I could taste it). of Wharfedale Diamond IVs.
Oh yes, we also carried the 'high end' line such as Infinity's lower lines, Polk, the lower end of Klipsch and of course, Bose. If you truly prefer Bose to a good pair of speakers, then buy them. Just for the record, my current system consists of Denon, Onkyo, Harmon-Kardon and Kef.
Products which had good damping factors, good current delivery and good power bandwidth.
For the gentleman who "hasn't heard these speakers".C'mon.
Just another marketing robot for Bose Corporation, spewing out a "review" that's as accurate as the speakers he touts.which is NOT AT ALL.
and immediately sold it for a set of Missions.
One of them was given a Lifestyle system (at a significant discount).
Saying Bose is "high end" is as laughable as saying a Ford Pinto is a "luxury" car.
I could give a long dissertation on the WHYS, but the best advice I can give is: Take just about any Bose product, subtract about 66% off the selling price, and you'll have some idea of the VALUE of the product you'll be getting (in many cases this is a conservative estimate).
I worked in the Bose engineering lab back in the late 60's, and have friends that still are involved with the company.
In the case of these Missions, there's not a Bose product at ANY price point that comes close to delivering half the sound, value, and quality of parts and workmanship.
Cheap drivers in cheap boxes with GREAT marketing.
These speakers don't take up a significant amount of room, they look sleek and sexy, and overall, I am very satisfied. Nothing in this speaker system is cheaply made. You can buy extra speakers and stands/mounts separately to expand from 5.1 to 6.1 very easily. After deciding that I didn't want a HTiB, I started looking for speakers and found these at an incredibly reduced price.
(2 boxes, when shipped) I am not an audiophile by any means, so I don't plan on upgrading my speaker wire just yet, but it sounds wonderful coming from my JVC RXD702B receiver. I rent a townhouse, so I can't really use the wallmounts for the rear speakers, but since these speakers are so cute and tiny, I can place them on top of the couch and they're just fine. Directions are very straight-forward. I first started with the home theater's in a box which were tempting for the wallet, but not as extensible as buying a custom setup. The front speaker stands are extremely stable. Everything comes in the box. I was immediately sold. I spent many months planning out my home theater.
Took me all of 30 minutes, not including setting up the receiver with them. I rated this 5 stars simply because I couldn't be happier. If you are building your theater from scratch, I recommend going for a 6.1 (or 7.1) receiver for long-term reasons. Upon scouring the web for reviews I heard nothing but good comments. It was really easy to setup. I was very impressed by the quality and meticulous packaging.
|
