Lions, tigers, and bears oh my! Just kidding
I was asked in another thread to review the Mission m70 speakers once they arrived. I have several speakers including the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE, Axiom Audio M2 v2, Boston Acoustics CR57, my own Mordaunt-Short MS302, Orb Audio Satellites and the Mission m70's at my disposal so figured why not post some impressions of each. All speakers were hooked up to my Emotiva LMC-1/LPA-1 combo and the HSU STF-2 filled in the lows once I started having some fun afterwards. I used Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", Bach's "Phantom of the Opera", Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture", Lisa Thorsen's "Resonance" CD, Verdi's "La Donna e Mobile, and some other foreign music including Turkish, Russian, and Italian. I'm not an expert or audiophile by any means so these observations are my own opinions. Let's get to it!
Mordaunt MS302 - These are my personal speakers. I also have MS floorstanders, but it wouldn't be fair to compare those to the smaller speakers mentioned above. Despite their small size, these speakers put out some big sound. Highs and mids are crystal clear even at high volume, but will show weakness at stupid levels. This is expected considering these only have 3.5 inch woofers. Without a doubt these speakers require a sub. The detail that comes out of these little speakers is astounding and they do it without being too bright or harsh. The Mordaunts are also the best looking speakers without the grills on and the toughest to drive.
Mission m70's - I bought these for $69 at tsto.com and it was well worth. They arrived well packed with even some foam between the grills and speaker. The grills themselves seemed a bit flimsy, but that's a minor gripe. These little speakers put out some good sound. The first thing I noticed when I hooked these up was that they were fairly laid back compared to the Mordaunts and they were harder to drive than I thought. The highs weren't as obvious as the Mordaunts, Axioms, and BA's but were still clean. I felt the vocals got a bit shrill at higher volumes, but not terrible. I was also surprised how much bass these put out. I never had the sense they were boomy although a sub always makes things better. Mid-range and vocals came through clean and upfront. Not quite as detailed as the others in the group, but not that far behind either. Strange that when I heard these, I felt they sounded like the Ascends.
Orb Audio - A bit brighter than the Mordaunts, but not quite as detailed and can't go really loud. For small speakers, they do quite well. With a one-way driver, these started to show some weakness when playing through Pink Floyd's "Money" and some Turkish music. Although they did better than I expected, they couldn't do as well as the others which had separate drivers. I have no reservations recommending these to anyone who needs some low-profile speakers high on WAF.
Boston Acoustics CR57 - Clean in the midrange and highs. A bit brighter than the Mordaunts, but never broke up even at loud volumes. Their bass response was okay, but not quite as good as the Missions, Axioms, or Ascends. These can be had for around $70 and for the money, the BA's and Missions are tough to beat.
Axiom Audio M2 v2 - Talk about loud and quite accurate. I had these things up so high my teeth were wiggling. Compared to the Mordaunts, I felt the vocals were a bit more reserved and the highs more forward. They also put out good bass, but not any more than the Missions to my surprise. I felt the Axioms didn't separate instruments as well as the Mordaunts at higher volumes, but that could have been because my ears were exploding!
Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE - The most laid back speaker of the group by comparison IMO and the heaviest bass. The Ascends manage to put out great detail without being bright at all. Vocals were the cleanest through the Ascends. The highs were present, but not in your face present. I felt you could get away without a sub with these speakers. Oddly, I was able to localize the Ascends the easiest despite placement, settings, etc...
I'd rate these on the following scale from brightest down relative to each other. Axiom Audio, Boston Acoustics, Orb Audio, Mordaunt-Short, Mission, and Ascend Acoustics. If you want speakers that play loud and peel paint off the walls without being as harsh as say a Klipsch, BA's and Axioms. If you want speakers that have a low-profile but still have good sound, Orbs. If Bostons and Axioms are a tad too bright, but you like their accuracy and detail, Mordaunts. If you feel Mordaunts are still a tad too bright and sound a bit analytical, Missions. If you want laid back sound, Ascends.
I hope you enjoyed this non-professional review. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them. Please come again!
