Mission m35i test speaker

British company Mission updated its m3 range, which is now called m3i. The m35i is the “senior” model in the series.

TEST RESULTS

CONSTRUCTION FEATURES: The main design features the new speakers inherited from their predecessors. The curved profile of the front panel is a characteristic feature of the m35i series speakers. This design allows to minimize acoustic wave diffraction from enclosure corners. The cabinet array is made of MDF. The 35mm thick baffle plate provides high rigidity and plenty of weight to balance out the effects of the working drivers. Remaining cabinet walls are 18mm thick. The inside of the cabinet is laminated with a bulkhead and treated with sound-absorbing material. A wide wooden stand not only makes the speakers stable, but also looks very elegant. Space for spikes in the base of the stand. The speakers are covered by a shaped grill, wrapped in black cloth.

The m35i is equipped with Viotex ‘squeaker’ which extends the speaker’s working range up to 30kHz. “The tweeters are equipped with a 25mm diameter cloth dome and the coil is cooled by a ferromagnetic fluid.

The midrange/midrange drivers are identical, measuring 165 mm in diameter and featuring DiaDrive diaphragms. Diaphragms have the memorable inverted IDG Inverted Driver Geometry profile that has been a hallmark of the past m3-series. DiaDrive diaphragm is layered. The outer layer is composed of a mixture of cellulose and acrylic fiber, it has no central bullet or dust cap. The outer diaphragm is superimposed on a rigid cone, which in turn is attached to the voice coil frame. The matte black color of the DiaDrive membrane suits the speakers well and matches the natural colors of the vinyl-covered cabinets in beech, cherry or black graphite. The midrange driver, which occupies the top position on the front panel, runs in an insulated compartment and is acoustically loaded on a small reflex port, damped by a foam plug. Two bass drivers loaded at their own volume with a large bass reflex port. Both ports face backward. At the back are also plastic-insulated universal terminals, and their number allows two-cable Bi-Wiring/Bi-Amping connection.

The new crossover, available starting with the i-modification of the line, accounts for sound diffraction in the front. The 2nd order filters use high quality elements: silicon-iron inductor coils and polyester capacitors. The m35i is internally wired with Mission HP-OFC High Purity Oxygen Free Copper oxygen-free copper cable.

AUDIO QUALITY: The m35i sounds comfortable, with a stable frequency response and consequent even frequency balance. Just a little

A clean, airy top stands out. I liked the well articulated vocals and natural midrange timbre. Perhaps the timbres are not fully worked out, but for a speaker of this class the sound microdynamics is clearly on a good level. Instruments sound quite natural, so any acoustic music will not cause the “British” unsolvable difficulties. Speakers show good attack in the upper bass, deeper in the midrange the dynamics is softened a little. But in all the low-frequency range available to the speakers, they maintain detail and speed.

The m35i’s music scene deserves the most flattering words. The depth of the wiring is excellent, with virtual objects that appear to be realistic in size and localized precisely where you need them. I liked the airiness of the scene and the ease with which the speakers set up sound images on stage. The m35i passed the arduous test of separating individual players in choral recordings without a hitch.

PRICE: $795.

SUMMARY

AVAILABILITIES: Great naturalness of sound, volume and contrast of soundstage.

Disadvantages: lack of midbass articulation.

CONCLUSIONS: British speakers have a neat and very comfortable sound, which is good for acoustic instruments. They succeed in music genres in which the main role is not played by an energetic bass. But in triphonic, that is, with the support of a subwoofer, the m35i is a grandmasterly all-rounder.