Mission 731 Bookshelf — Made in England, Inverted Driver Design

Mission 731 Two-Way Bookshelf Speakers — Made in England, Inverted Driver Geometry, Front Ported, 89dB

A pair of British-built Mission bookshelf speakers in good condition, with the upside-down driver layout that has been a Mission signature for thirty years.

The Inverted Driver Layout

The first thing anyone notices is that the tweeter sits below the woofer rather than above it. That is not a styling choice and it is not a mistake. Mission call it Inverted Driver Geometry, and the reason is time alignment: because the tweeter’s output has a shorter path to travel than the woofer’s, mounting it lower brings the two into step at the height of a seated listener’s ears. Mission have been doing it since the 1970s and they still do it today, on speakers costing thousands.

Built in England

These were built in England, before Mission moved manufacturing offshore, and they date from the middle of the 1990s.

What Stereophile Said About the 731i

Worth knowing, and we will be clear that it concerns the next model rather than this one: the 731i that succeeded the 731 became Stereophile’s benchmark for an affordable loudspeaker. Robert Reina reviewed it in November 1996 and wrote that it “quickly became my reference standard for an entry-level audiophile speaker” — he thought enough of it to buy three pairs for his own use. The 731i was the revised version of this design rather than a different speaker, which is a fair indication of what Mission had got right here first.

The Drivers

The driver complement is a 28 mm composite dome tweeter over a 130 mm plasiflex cone — a plasticised paper cone, which is the material a lot of British designers of that era preferred for its self-damping. They cross over at 4200 Hz in a compact 6.5-litre reflex cabinet, and the port fires from the front, which means these will sit on a shelf or reasonably close to a wall without the bass turning heavy.

Amplifier Matching

Sensitivity is 89 dB into an 8 ohm load and Mission recommended amplifiers from 20 to 75 watts, so a modest integrated or a vintage receiver drives them properly. Frequency response runs from 55 Hz to 20 kHz — genuinely useful bass from a cabinet this size, which is what these built their reputation on.

Condition, Told Straight

On condition, because it is the reason for the price, and there are two things to tell you. There is a ding on a top side edge of one cabinet — not a scuff, a real mark, and we would rather name it here than have you find it when the box is opened. It is cosmetic and nothing more: these sound excellent. Second, one speaker has had its binding posts replaced with third-party terminals by a previous owner. The work is neatly done and the posts are good ones, but they are not original and they are not our work, so the two cabinets do not match at the back. The other speaker retains its original five-way posts, which take banana plugs, spades or bare wire. Everything else grades good, and both speakers have been tested here to confirm they perform as originally designed.

Who This Pair Is For

A sensible pair for a small room, a desk, a second system, or anyone who wants a taste of what British bookshelf speakers were doing in the 1990s without paying what the collectable names now cost.

British-built Mission bookshelf speakers with the inverted driver layout the company is still known for, priced honestly for a marked edge and a set of replaced terminals, and sounding a great deal better than that reads.

Features

• Made in England
• Inverted Driver Geometry — tweeter below the woofer for time alignment
• 28 mm composite dome tweeter
• 130 mm plasiflex cone woofer
• Front-firing port — tolerates shelf and near-wall placement
• 89 dB sensitivity, 8 ohm load, 20 to 75 watts
• Five-way binding posts on one speaker, third-party posts on the other
• Sold as a pair

Mission 731 Two-Way Bookshelf Speakers Specifications

• Model: 731
• Design: Two-way front-ported bookshelf loudspeaker
• High Frequency Driver: 28 mm composite dome
• Low Frequency Driver: 130 mm plasiflex cone
• Crossover Frequency: 4200 Hz
• Frequency Response: 55 Hz to 20 kHz
• Sensitivity: 89 dB
• Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
• Recommended Amplifier: 20 to 75 watts
• Enclosure: 6.5 litre bass reflex, front ported
• Country of Manufacture: England
• Condition: Good — a ding on a top side edge of one cabinet, and third-party binding posts fitted to one speaker by a previous owner
• Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 6.9 x 12.4 x 7.9 inches (175 x 315 x 200 mm)
• Weight: 8.8 lbs (4 kg) each

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