Mission 737 Renaissance

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The Mission 737 Renaissance was a popular British loudspeaker produced by Mission Electronics, an audio company based in Huntingdon, United Kingdom. The Renaissance model dates from the early 80's but has a direct lineage to the Mission Freedom Loudspeaker and the late 70's. It was a large stand (or 'pedestal') mounted loudspeaker of a two-way design, combining a 200-millimetre (7.9 in) woofer and 25-millimetre (0.98 in) tweeter in a reflex tuned cabinet.

The speaker's unique selling point was its innovative polypropylene drive unit, which was the latest version of that pioneered in the Freedom model (but by the mid-80's superseded in the 770 Freedom itself). Mission was the first licensee in the world for the British patent for polypropylene as a loudspeaker cone material[1] and a large part of the Renaissance's sonic character derives from it, notably the airy, open midrange.

Contents

[edit] Mission 737 Renaissance (circa 1986)

Size (H,W,D) 54 cm (21 in) x 26 cm (10 in) x 32 cm (13 in)
Weight 9.5 kg (21 lb)
Freq Resp (±3 dB) 40 Hz - 20 KHz
Low Freq Roll Off (-6 dB) 35 Hz
Sensitivity 88 dB (1W/1M)

[edit] Cabinet

The cabinet employed a transverse folded construction (the top, bottom and sides had 45-degree mitred faces, meaning that the back and the baffle were separate). Despite a substantial internal volume the loudspeaker was still stand mounted. Purpose-designed stands made of vinyl covered particle board fitted into slots in the speaker's base.

The period of this loudspeaker's manufacture coincided with a trend throughout the product range for unusually substantial front baffles. In the case of the Renaissance this took the form of 25-millimetre (0.98 in) thick MDF, which was a comparatively novel material for loudspeaker enclosures at the time. The disproportionate thickness of the front baffle was not common at the time (most loudspeaker enclosures used the same material, normally a less dense type of fibre board than MDF, for the entire enclosure). In many ways this was a forward-looking approach as a considerable number of contemporary loudspeaker designs adopt this principle.

[edit] Drivers

The various versions of the 737 Renaissance, aside from comparatively minor cosmetic details (and the provision of bi-wiring in the last model), differed significantly only in the type of tweeter employed. The first versions, circa 1984, used a 25-millimetre (0.98 in) ferrofluid cooled soft dome unit made by Vifa. Slightly later versions (circa 1985/6) used a then-popular Audax TW025A0 25-millimetre (0.98 in) doped fabric dome tweeter. The last version (circa 1986 onwards) used Mission's proprietary 19-millimetre (0.75 in) ferrofluid cooled polymer dome tweeter. There is little to choose between them; arguably the Audax TW025A0 equipped models sound slightly better[who?] (but only because the TW025A0 tweeter has stood the test of time and is still manufactured today as a high end component).

The high quality polypropylene bass/mid driver was the 737's main technical feature. Not only did the system derive a sizable part of its sonic character from this device but it also derived its name. "After many years of evolutionary refinements the most advanced version of the 770 drive-unit is now designed into the 737 Renaissance[2]. The Renaissance was called as such because really it was the latest, most highly developed version of the original 770 Freedom in everything but its name; the 770 Freedom itself had undergone 'revolutionary' changes and was now positioned above its stablemate.

Mission describe the innovative drive unit as follows: "The cone membrane for this model offers a unique combination of rigidity, Q, lightness, and acoustic obaqueness. The drive unit is manufactured into an esoteric die-cast magnesium chassis to improve rigid coupling. The acoustic properties of the cone are such that they do not allow for internal reflections or standing-waves to come out of the cabinet and reach the listener out of phase[3].

The unit is capable of excellent bass performance[who?] yet by modern standards the motor assembly and magnet are relatively small. Nevertheless, this drive unit was able to sustain 500 watts of peak input (bass guitar) during tests for Hi Fi choice[4], thus endowing it with extraordinary power-handling capability. The semi-transparent polypropylene cone is terminated by a substantial inverted natural rubber surround, and it has a large black domed dust cap. In appearance the loudspeaker is purposeful looking[who?].

[edit] Reflex Port

A stylistic as well as performance-related aspect of the design was the use of a cellular port instead of the more simplistic 'tunnel port' (through which one could clearly see any acoustic wadding inside). The principle of the cellular port design is to reduce turbulence and the characteristic 'chuffing' sound of ports as the air mass inside them is excited[5].

[edit] Sound Quality

Contemporary reviews[which?] of this loudspeaker were mixed. The design was commended for its excellent mid-range clarity, which was felt to be natural and airy sounding, but reviewers seemed less sure about the frequency extremes. Some regarded the system as a little bright sounding, others that the bass was slightly bloated. It was certainly a popular model with owners, who regarded it as a very powerful sounding loudspeaker with excellent bass extension and a crystal clear quality to the reproduction with good stereo. This is a popular model even to this day, with second hand examples achieving comparatively high prices.

[edit] Later Models

Mission 737 Renaissance's occupied a place in the top half of a product range that included such audio icons as the Mission 70, the Cyrus 1 amplifier, the DAD7000 CD player, the 774LC tonearm, a line up that is today widely regarded as 'classic'[who?]. Of course, things move on and with the dawn of the 1990's the 737's became the floor standing 763's[6]. The Renaissance and 737 labels have not been applied to any of Mission's speaker systems since, although polypropylene drive units are now widespread. In historical terms, the 737 Renaissance was the peak of development for the original 770 Freedom.

[edit] Buying

Despite being over twenty years old, examples do appear from time to time. They are popular with Hi-Fi enthusiasts, many of whom are attracted by little more than their good looks (e.g. purposeful looking drive units, attractive matching stands, good proportions). These speakers were designed in 'the digital era' of the eighties and are thus a good match for modern digital and home entertainment sources. Indeed, as is the case with a number of loudspeaker designs from this era, they were somewhat over engineered. 1980's-era CD players and amplifiers were all too often unable to deliver the signal this design warranted and could handle, especially in the bass region. Modern electronics are now well capable of exploiting the full design capability with very pleasing results. The high power handling, excellent bass and good dynamics make them a surprisingly effective choice for home theatre applications.

In practical terms the 737's are more robust than their 770 stablemates[who?]. The tweeters don't appear to suffer from the same level of degradation (and are easy to replace in any case). The grill covers seem a little more robust, the polypropylene mid/bass unit is extremely durable, as are the crossover components. Note that like all Mission speakers of this calibre they are internally wired with proprietary 4-millimetre (0.16 in) speaker cable.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Mission Electronics (1987). The Human Touch [Product Brochure]. Cambridge: Mission Electronics Group.
  2. ^ Mission Electronics (1987). The Human Touch [Product Brochure]. Cambridge: Mission Electronics Group.
  3. ^ Mission Electronics (1987). The Human Touch [Product Brochure]. Cambridge: Mission Electronics Group.
  4. ^ Colloms, M. (1980). Hi-Fi Choice No 21 Loudspeakers(4). London: Sportscene.
  5. ^ Sinclair. I. R. (2000). Audio & Hi-Fi Handbook. Oxford: Newnes.
  6. ^ Mission Electronics (1992). The Human Touch [Product Brochure]. Cambridge: Mission Electronics Group.

[edit] References

  • Colloms, M. (1980). Hi-Fi Choice No 21 Loudspeakers(4). London: Sportscene.
  • Mission Electronics (1987). The Human Touch [Product Brochure]. Cambridge: Mission Electronics Group.
  • Kessler, K. & Harris, S. (2005). Sound bites: 50 years of hi-fi news. London: IPC.
  • Sinclair. I. R. (2000). Audio & Hi-Fi Handbook. Oxford: Newnes.
  • Mission Electronics (1992). The Human Touch [Product Brochure]. Cambridge: Mission Electronics Group.