Danny Phillips loves the design of this sub/sat system – but will he also love its performance?
You might find this hard to believe, but the life of a home cinema reviewer isn’t all parties and press lunches. Hauling huge floorstanders and whopping subwoofers around the test room is a big part of the job, an activity that’ll give you a bad back quicker than you can say sciatica.
So when a system like Mission’s M3 (or M-Cubed) comes along, it's easy to breathe a sigh of relief. The five adorably compact satellites, each measuring just 90mm high, can be manoeuvred into position without the aid of a girdle, and when in situ they don’t take up vast swathes of living room space. Even the 274mm-wide subwoofer will slip next to your telly virtually unnoticed.
Herein lies the appeal of the M3. It's a discreet, space-saving speaker system that delivers 5.1-channel sound without posing installation headaches. If you want to add satellites to create a 7.1 (or more) array then it's no problem – they’re also sold separately.
Of course, the downside of diminutive speakers is that they often fail to deliver the wide, room-filling sound offered by larger designs, only hitting the sonic heights when you’re sitting on-axis. Mission aims to get around that issue through the use of Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) drivers. These 3in flat drive units – developed over five years by Mission engineers – disperse sound at a 60-degree angle, hopefully wide enough for everyone in the room to experience the same sound quality regardless of seating position, making the sweet spot a thing of the past. It also means the speakers don’t have to be toed in towards the listener, and it doesn’t matter if you have to place them against a wall or in the corner of the room. In fact, Mission says placing them against a wall or in a corner will enhance performance, with reflections from the surfaces boosting overall power while avoiding the interference that leads to colouration.
The use of BMR drivers is an evolution from the NXT drivers used by M3’s 2005 predecessor, M-Cube. Those NXT drivers couldn’t handle the full frequency range and had to be connected to the subwoofer to receive a filtered signal. The M3’s sats, on the other hand, can handle a 120Hz-20kHz signal and can therefore be connected directly to your AV receiver (set speakers to ‘small’).
In the palm of your hand
The five identical satellites are beautifully designed. They employ weighty sealed aluminium enclosures with rounded corners, framing the distinctive BMR driver on the front. Hold one in your hand – as is entirely possible given the dimensions – and you get an immediate feeling of quality.
Colour-wise, the M3 system was only available in black at the time of writing, but a white version should be on sale by the time you read this.
The sats are pre-fitted with table stands but can be mounted on a wall using supplied brackets, and the speaker can be tilted to the desired angle. On the back are metal binding posts that grip cables firmly.
The subwoofer supports the sats with an 8in long-throw driver and a 200W Class D amplifier. Built into an 18mm-thick MDF enclosure, the sub feels sturdy enough to withstand the bass rigours of your average blockbuster, while the black matte finish ensures a tasteful, discreet appearance.
On the back are knobs and switches for low-frequency tweakery. They include volume, crossover frequency and phase controls, plus LFE and line-level inputs. Set your AVR to 120Hz for the best blend with the satellites.
Given the speakers’ laid-back attitude towards placement, unpacking and installing the system is a piece of cake. I placed them, as most buyers will, around the my room on my TV stand and AV furniture, as close to the walls as possible. If you’re working within tight space constraints, this level of freedom is welcome. It didn’t take me long to find a pleasing balance between the subwoofer and sats either, just some careful tweaking of the volume dial.
Taking them for a spin
Mission says the use of a single BMR driver and lack of crossover makes the satellites easy to drive – great news for owners of budget amps with modest power ratings. Indeed, it didn’t take much encouragement from my Onkyo TX-NR818 to provoke the M3 array into making a rousing noise.
I let the system rip with Edge of Tomorrow on Blu-ray and it’s clear that Mission wasn't kidding about its ability to kick out a big, expansive sound. Every time Cage (Tom Cruise) is dropped onto the beach to battle the Mimics you’re plunged into a maelstrom of beefy explosions, fizzing missiles and frenzied battle cries coming from all directions. It’s hard to believe these speakers are making such an expansive, immersive sound.
It’s entertaining and surprisingly big in scale, and much of the credit for this should go to the little subwoofer. Rapid machinegunfire and quadcopter blades are underpinned by rhythmic bass that locks tightly to the midrange. The sub’s seamless integration lends depth and solidity to everything from booming voices to the stomping score.
Another high point is the system’s tonal uniformity, which moves roaring aircraft and missiles between channels without distracting shifts in timbre. This is one of the big benefits of buying an all-in-one package with identical satellites. Mission’s claims of uniform sound quality from multiple positions also ring true. I moved to several seats in the room while the movie played and couldn’t detect any dip in treble clarity or power.
That said, it’s a pity the system errs on the safe side tonally. It’s certainly crisp and dynamic, conveying movie effects in a lively manner, but it lacks the bite needed to get the adrenalin flowing. I also found the system missed a little clarity and precision in the high frequencies compared with rival compact systems. Don’t get me wrong, this array does a good job, picking out the hiss of exploding sand and gentle echoes inside the Mimics’ Berlin lair well enough. But recent systems I've tested, like the Polk TL1600 and Q Acoustics 2000i, render these scenes with an added veneer of detail, teasing out nuances in voices and music that just don’t seem present in the Mission’s sound. The trade-off, of course, is the powerful and enveloping soundstage here, which engulfs you in a way the above packages don’t.
Musically this M3 5.1 set turns in an enjoyable performance, driven by the agile, rhythmic sub and expressive satellites. Again, it lacks some finesse in the percussion and vocals, but the cohesive, warm sound is one I could really get onboard with.
Solid offering
The ability of Mission's newest sub/sat offering to deliver a room-filling output from tiny speakers will certainly win it a lot of fans. Powerful, cohesive and well integrated, it’s a sound you can lose yourself in, while the solid build quality and quirky yet classy looks help justify the price. Its widely dispersed soundfield will suit unconventional room setups. However, sharper detail clarity and a little more bite would have taken its performance to the next level.
Specifications
M3 SATELLITES
DRIVE UNITS: 1 x full-range 3.25in BMR panel driver
ENCLOSURE: Sealed
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 120Hz-20kHz
SENSITIVITY: 84dB
POWER HANDLING: 40-80W
DIMENSIONS: 90(w) x 90(h) x 97(d)mm
WEIGHT: 0.75kg
M3 SUBWOOFER
DRIVE UNITS: 8in long-throw bass driver
ENCLOSURE: Sealed
LOW FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 35Hz-120Hz
ON BOARD POWER: 200W
REMOTE CONTROL: No
DIMENSIONS: 276(w) x 274(h) x 274(d)mm
WEIGHT: 7.88kg
CONNECTIONS: LFE input; line-level input