Mission FS2-AV any good for music ?

[Logan13]

Can anyone please tell me if the Mission FS2 -AV speaker package is good enough to play music through? I have the Sony STR1070 (yes, from Currys) and I believe that these speakers get good reviews for what there supposed to do(ie. cinema sound, which is why i`m tempted to get them) but do they sound good as Hifi speakers as well. Any help would be appreciated.:)

[MikeK]

Originally posted by Logan13
Can anyone please tell me if the Mission FS2 -AV speaker package is good enough to play music through? I have the Sony STR1070 (yes, from Currys) and I believe that these speakers get good reviews for what there supposed to do(ie. cinema sound) but do they sound good as Hifi speakers or would I better off getting somthing else? Any help would be appreciated.:)


It all depends on what you expect.

The reviews will always take into account the type of product it is - so being very good for the type of product it is, doesn't necessarily equate to being very good in absolute terms.

Being heavily discounted now too - QED have the AV set for £420.


The flat panels can't get down much below 200Hz, which means the sub must fill in up to 200Hz.
This is a far higher frequency range than a sub should be producing.
Most DD amps will only cut frquencies below 120Hz (80Hz in THX case) from the main channels for redirection to the sub.
The sub itself only sports a 6.5" driver and a 55W amp, so don't expect to rattle the window frames - it's got limited low end welly, but this is probably unavoidable, as it has to work so high up the frequency range for a sub.

Make sure you get a listen before buying!
Undeniably impressive considering the size and type of the speakers, it's ultimately a bit limited IMO, especially at the £800 tag it was originally released at.
If you are stuck for space, then maybe, but otherwise it's outperformed by more conventional setups costing around the same. I'd actually say the package may be better with music than with AV, as despite it's design, I felt it simply wasn't up to the job for AV. For me it missed the mark by some way (of course, that was considering it's then £800 price tag - now the price is almost halved, so you'd have to take that into account too)

Just my opinion of course, no doubt others will disagree!
As I said, I'd make sure I got a demo first - people have different expectations and requirements - the only really important thing is whether you think it's good enough, not me!

[Logan13]

Thanks for your input there MikeK, I`m after a speaker setup for around £750 that will sound as good as possible with my Sony STR1070, and might also double up and sound reasonably good when I play CD`s through it as well.
I must admit I wondered if they would be powerful enough or have the required frequencey range.
I know the best thing is to test speakers out, but would you be so good as to give me your view on what speakers you would buy in my shoes?
Thanks once again.
Logan13:):

[AndyWilson]

Originally posted by Logan13
Thanks for your input there MikeK, I`m after a speaker setup for around £750 that will sound as good as possible with my Sony STR1070, and might also double up and sound reasonably good when I play CD`s through it as well.
I must admit I wondered if they would be powerful enough or have the required frequencey range.
I know the best thing is to test speakers out, but would you be so good as to give me your view on what speakers you would buy in my shoes?
Thanks once again.
Logan13:):

If space/visibilty is a problem I can highly recommend the KEF KHT2005 sub sat system.

..and they look soooo sexy you have to stroke them every day.

[MartinN]

I don't classify myself as an expert - but I do own the FS2-AV, and I wouldn't say the package as a whole lacks power.

I've got it hooked up to a Yamaha 795a and I've never had the volume over 1/4. [well maybe 1/3 -> 1/2 just to try it!]

Apollo 13 take off, Superman 1 opening credits and Phantom menace all sound (and feel) bloody impressive to me anyway.

Having said that if you run them without the sub turned on then they do sound very weak.

I wouldn't recommend them for music - adequate at best.

[MikeK]

Originally posted by Logan13
Thanks for your input there MikeK, I`m after a speaker setup for around £750 that will sound as good as possible with my Sony STR1070, and might also double up and sound reasonably good when I play CD`s through it as well.
I must admit I wondered if they would be powerful enough or have the required frequencey range.
I know the best thing is to test speakers out, but would you be so good as to give me your view on what speakers you would buy in my shoes?
Thanks once again.
Logan13:):


It's pretty tricky without knowing more about exactly what you want, in terms of size. Then there's the usual caveat about the "style" of the sound as well as the quality - ie take Mission M73, Tannoy MX3, Eltax Liberty 5+ etc - all good speakers around the same price - but they all sound a bit different, and it's simply down to personal preference which you prefer.
Assuming you want to keep the package as small as possible (I'm thinking that's why you were looking at the FS2s).


Possibilities include

Tannoy MX1/MXC/MX1/MXSUB10 - about £400 all in.
Wharfedale Diamond 8.1/C/8.1/Paradigm PDR10 - about £400 again.
Mission 700/70c1/700/PDR10 - £300 all in.

In the case of the Mission, they are discontinued models, but who cares as long as they sound good.

And there are others, from Kef, Monitor Audio etc

If you could accomodate a pair of floorstanding fronts, then Richers are doing the Liberty Package for £200 - Liberty 5+ fronts, Liberty Centre, and a pair of bipolar rears - that's a lot of product for £200. Add a reasonable sub, something like the PDR10, and you are home and dry for £350.
The Liberty5+ are very good on their own for music, used without a subwoofer.

Of course, it depends on what you want at the end of the day.
Personally I don't think you need to spend £750 to get very decent performance - if you shop around.
If you take the Liberty package, and add a decent sub, that would hold it's own against many packages costing twice as much. It's especially true with speakers, that spending twice as much, very rarely gets you anything like twice as good. Sometimes it's worthwhile, but more often it's hardly any better at all, but has a better finish etc - like real wood veneer.


If I had to go for a small package, I'd probably be tempted by the Wharfedale Diamonds first and foremost, with a sub such as a Paradigm PDR10 or Tannoy MXSUB10.

But, as I said, there's so much choice available, that it's difficult to be more specific, without knowing more about your requiremnts.

[Matt Hero]

While the primary reason for investing in the set was for movies/tv (and *please* no more mention of price decreases - I paid £700 for mine), I also wanted to play a fair amount of music through it in stereo mode.

This is mainly vinyl from technics 1200mkII through a mixer and then into one of my receivers analogue audio line inputs.

I'm not into driving th bass too hard, and prefer a neutral sound, and the NXT panels and sub produce a fairly neutral reproduction, but not without detail. How much of that is down to them, and how much is down to my Onkyo DS595 I don't know.

My 2ps worth......

[CLH]

Definitely KEF KHT2005. Brilliant for everything.

[MartinC]

just ordered a set myself from QED due to the WAF in my imminent new house.

they can';t be that bad for music - What-Hifi used them with the winner of one of their amp supertests in May 2001.

they had an arcam dv88, rotel 972 receiver, marantz cd player & the mission fs2av together (approx £3300 list) - described on the front cover as "the one system that does it all!".

good review of the kit together.. pretty much glowing.. not sure if its online if not.. will post some more if you are interested.

musically they say about the fs2av - "plays stereo music nicely too, from the thumping beats of FatboySlim to delicate tones in chamber pieces. There are times when the soundstaging from these all-but-invisible speakers is almost uncanny".

the kef set is probably better now (fs2av was whfi winner in 2000, kefs were 2001), but its completely different when the Kefs are upto £800 and the missions can now be had for less than £430 from at least 2 places.

[Logan13]

:) Thanks for all your advice guys, I managed to listen to the Kef KHT2005 and it blew my socks off. So now I start my quest to find the cheapest place, any ideas???:D
Thanks once again. Logan13

[AndyWilson]

Originally posted by Logan13
:) Thanks for all your advice guys, I managed to listen to the Kef KHT2005 and it blew my socks off. So now I start my quest to find the cheapest place, any ideas???:D
Thanks once again. Logan13

I paid the full £800 for mine from Hi Spek but they do 24 months interest free - £80 down and £30/month - a pretty good deal as it's almost impossible to get serious dicounts on KEF gear..