Mission speakers.......

presidan

Hey Guys

I've never heard you guys talk about that brand of speakers. Does anyone have a pair of these english made speakers ?
Sound quality speaking, how do the Missions rate vs, lets say, Polk speakers ?
I'm asking this because the salesman really said good things about them. He was giving me a good deal on them. 2 mission 75 series floorstanding speakers + a sub for 2500 CAN $.........
But hey, i didnt have any surrounds in that deal, so i bought 2 RT2000i's and a pair of F/X1000's.......
So now i'm looking for a good center channel ( i have a piece of ****), i might go with a mission here (the one with 3 tweeters).
Just let me know what you guys think of this brand of speakers

juice21

if you have rt2000's up front, and plan to keep them, i would get a polk center to timbre match. either the cs400i, or the cs1000i. you don't want to have your front soundstage changing in tone and timbre as sound pans across it...

presidan

Sure.....

I would love to have the CS1000i but my TV aint wide enough :rolleyes:
I wont go with the mission center, it's not powerfull enough.

But what about that brand in general ?

juice21

can't comment on that, haven't really listened to them. just wanted to save you from spending $ on something that wouldn't match up front...

RuSsMaN

Made by Denon, a few decent models, most avg at best.

I know the center you are talking about, its actually pretty nice. I also have heard good things about some of their subs and the becoming harder to find model 771 bookshelf speaker. A real player for the price.

Cheers,
Russ

presidan

Are you sure that they are made by denon ?
I know that Denon distributes them in Canada, that and other brands. Aren't Mission's made in UK while Denon is Japan made ?

Anyhow, i think that i'll get a CS400i, i've read nothing but good reviews on this forum. he only concern i have is will it be able to follow my RT2000i's and F/X1000's ?

Aaron

I always thought they were made by Denon, but if you go to www.denon.com it says that Denon is the US distributor for Mission speakers from England.....

Aaron

RuSsMaN

Interesting....

Well, not really.

R

juice21

presidan, i think you'll be more than satisfied with the cs400i. it is an incredible speaker for the $, hell for twice the price, it beats most centers!

RuSsMaN

...what other centers (for twice the price) have you demoed it against? Are you just generalizing, because you have one, and its Polk?

Cheers,
Russ

juice21

when demoing speakers for my HT set-up, i demoed paradigm, klipsch, mirage, jbl, infinity & polk. when it came down to it, the cs400i was the speaker that made my decision. the paradigm and mirage center's i looked at were a good chunk of change more than the cs400i, (honestly-probably not double, i was exagerating a bit, just cause it is such a great speaker) but the cs400i out-performed all demoed. it's just my opinion, but i do think the cs400i will out perform anything in it's price range, and anyhting close to double it's price. what center have you demoed for under $800 that is better? i demoed a B&W, and that was amazing, can't remember the exact model #, but i know the price was up there...

wangotango68

i used to have one of the mission 10 inch powered subs,and on the back it said made in england.

scott:cool:

RuSsMaN

To name just a few for a little more/less than the 400 that are worth the demo.....

PSB Century Series
Jm Lab Chorus Series
B&W 300 and 600 series
Tannoy Revolution
Dynaudio Audience
Vienna Theatro
Canton Nestor
NHT V something...doesn't matter, its discontinued....

Cheers,
Russ

joe logston

im with the juice on this one, i thank that the polk cs400i sounds just as good or better than the centers that i listen to, paradigm, klipsch, jbl, infinity, snell, energy, canton. the cs-400i is a truely great center channel speaker for the price, ps it even sounds better if you put it vertical, im sorry but i laugth wend people lay there speaker on its side.

presidan

Here we go again with the vertical positioning theory again. I should try it someday...... but i hardly see someone with a cs1000i put it vertically on it,s tv.......

RuSsMaN

I need to see Joe's system in the showcase, I need to see this to even start to believe it...

Cheers,
Russ

(ps, I think Joe is Micah, only posting when he's at home and 3 sheets to the wind)

joe logston

i will post pic. as soon as i get a digital camera, i know that if you dont have the room you have to lay them on thier side. you see on the cs400i the right side woofer is rolled off a little , so this makes it even more preferable to set it vertical, some high end center channel speakers have 2 tweeters set vertical to give them a vertical array.

juice21

Originally posted by RuSsMaN
To name just a few for a little more/less than the 400 that are worth the demo.....

PSB Century Series
Jm Lab Chorus Series
B&W 300 and 600 series
Tannoy Revolution
Dynaudio Audience
Vienna Theatro
Canton Nestor
NHT V something...doesn't matter, its discontinued....

Cheers,
Russ

in your opinion russ, which of these are better than the cs400i? all of these? i will give them a test, although the only ones my local dealers carry are the dynaudio, B&W & vienna, i'll give 'em a listen...

RuSsMaN

You tell me if any are better, its your ears brotha. All I'm saying is that there are a lot of choices out there, from some quality manufacturers.

How my ears hear it, the PSB Century series is the clearest of the all. I have always been impressed with the voicing on this speaker.

The B&W have an ever so slightly forward midrange, which for some makes the center dialog clearer.

The Jm has a love it or hate it inverted ceramic dome (focal) which can be too revealing for some, very pleasant for some.

The Tannoy offers a very smooth sound, the speaker really seems to disappear.

The Dynaudio and Vienna both offer a a clear presentation of on screen vocals, very transparent.

The discontinued NHT required a little more power to shine, but also exhibits its own take on dialog, but tended to a little bass-shy for some.

Yes, this is a Polk forum, and Polk makes a very competitive speaker for the price, I just want people to look at their options....
(even if dead set on the cs400i, even if you already have one, go listen so you can compare objectively and see what your speaker does well, and see what it doesn't do so well...) I never stop demoing gear, I enjoy it.

Cheers,
Russ

juice21

thanks for your thought russ. i am looking forward to getting out there and listening to a few of those that are available in my area. i've listened to some vienna towers in a 2-channel set-up and they were incredibly transparent! but the price tag was up there too. i never plan to stop auditioning speakers, wether it's ones in my price range or way out of it. dreaming about stuff stuff, someday you may be able to justify buying is half the fun...:D i appreciate your thoughts, that although this is a polk site, that polk is not the end all to sonic quality, in their price range they are a contender, and a serious one, but there is too much good sound out there, to pass it all by would be ashame...

hamzahsh

Hi Presidan this is Hamzah!

I'm agree with others who consider CS 400i. I do have this speaker and perfectly matches my RT 800i's. The sound is so clear and warm that if something is just happening if front of you.

Don't go for Mission, as another reviewer said that there would be an imaging problem due to different tweeters.

Hurry up! get this world's best centre channel speaker as soon as possible before it discontinues. If you love your other polk audio speakers then don't wait and I'm sure you'll love this speaker too. CS 400i produces crystal clear sound for both movies and music. It also produces great amount of bass. CS 400i is a winner! It cost me only Cdn. $ 350 excluding tax.

Also I got my F/X 1000's and there are breathtaking. These speakers are timbre match for my Home Theater. These speakers produce bass in surround field which is what I always wanted. They are worth every single penny. Thanks God I made the right decision to buy F/X 1000's not F/X 500i's.

Good luck and hurry up!

goingganzo

i have 1 queston would 2 center chanels sound beter than 1 i have such a large tv and it looks a little up there buy itself. any one have any coments?

presidan

Nice **** SET UP goingganzo !!!!!!

I say keep one center channel on top of your tv since you have 800's.
I would go with a surround back speaker instead, you'll see a BIG difference. Having 2 CS400's would be pushing it a little. Turn the tone level up maybe.

Ham, i'm glad that you like your F/X1000's. As you noticed, they play nice while dishing some good bass.
But i'm wondering if a CS400 would be able to follow my 2000's ?
I know that my cheap cerwin vega center (yes, cerwin vega.....
:eek: ) does the job so far but there is an annoying tone difference.

And i also want to know. Is a center supposed to play louder than the mains ? I know that it handle most of the work......
Because i have my center set to -4dcb and my mains at 0dcb.
Is this a typical setting ?

Aaron

And i also want to know. Is a center supposed to play louder than the mains ? I know that it handle most of the work......
Because i have my center set to -4dcb and my mains at 0dcb.
Is this a typical setting ?

It's possible that there is difference in output of the center and mains, but that is likely due to room acoustics, not design. In your case I would attribute that to the high efficiency (sensitivity) of the Cerwin Vega speakers. I'm guessing they are more efficient than the Polks so at a given volume level the Cerwin Vega will play louder.

Aaron

TroyD

I would attribute it to efficiency....In order to balance out my DQ-10's with my 400i I had to set the 400 at -5db......

Troy

TrappedUnder Ice

presidan- I have RT2000i's with RT55i's on top...running both same time..and my CS400i keeps up perfectly with them. That center is a great speaker!
I have 800's for surrounds... you can see my setup on link below

I think a timber-matched sound would be the best...and the 400 does it

pdebaum

I have RT2000i's surrounding my CS400i and I also have to level down my center channel to match my fronts, by about 3dB. I don't think it is the acoustics; this speaker appears more efficient. Anyway, it's da bomb

hamzahsh

Hi Pres!

Leave your centre channel at 0 db attenuation. The centre is suppose to be louder because the dialogue and all the foreground sound comes through this channel. Don't cut the attenuation. As you know, the CC is the most important speaker in the HT that 50% sound comes through it. It is better to leave it at 0 db. If you go higher than others will drown.

Dolby Digital has a dialogue normalization feature where CC sound is already reduced to -4db in the encoding process. Whereas, DTS has +6db to all 6 channels attenuation in encoding process.

I'm a big fan of Dolby Digital and I've read many articles. In one article they were telling to increase +3db attenuation in surround channels in all consumer products and cut -3db attenuation in theaters. I tried it and really found a big difference and the surround channels came alive. This is not applicable to all movies because every movie is encoded differently some has weak CC, LFE and SCs. What I found that it is better to leave all channels at 0 db attenuation except .1 LFE because subwoffer has its own amplifier you can increase or decrease the volume.

Hope this helps!
Hamzah.

Happy Polking!;)

pdebaum

Woot, excellent information, hamzahsh! Makes sense. And here I was thinking that it was best to match all my speakers to the same level. Live and learn. Thanks

I will therefore reset my center to 0dB and increase my surrounds by at least 3dB and see how it goes. I always get excited at the thought of more experimentation :P

hamzahsh

Thanks pdebaum!

Try it, I hope you'll find a big difference.

RuSsMaN

I'd really like to see these articles....

Taylor it to your room, and your liking, period.

Cheers,
Russ