Mission 700 Speakers & LX CONNECT DAC

All Image Credit: Mission

As with the 770, Mission are using a newly developed polypropylene woofer and a model-specific drive system that utilizes an improved crossover system that was created with the help of software-based crossover mapping and simulation.

The unconventional driver arrangement, known as “Inverted Driver Geometry”, has been kept from the original design. By positioning the tweeter below the woofer/midrange driver the acoustical lengths of their paths are equalized so the sound waves coincide at the listener’s head height, thereby improving their time alignment.

According to Mission, the main cabinet remains as true as possible to the original design using a sandwich construction of differing woods bonded by a layer of damping adhesive and includes hand-applied, rich rose-tinted walnut or black real wood veneers and a luxurious laminated white-front baffle. Internal bracing adds cabinet strength and support while a mixture of foam and long hair fibre provides internal resonance and reflection absorption.

This new product has been developed in co-operation with their sister company Audiolab. The Mission LX CONNECT DAC is a stand-alone digital-to-analogue converter, pre-amp and headphone amplifier, derived from their award-winning Mission LX CONNECT wireless speaker system as a central console for all your music sources.

Digital input connectivity includes; asynchronous USB Type B, two S/PDIF inputs (one coaxial and one optical), Bluetooth aptX and HDMI ARC. The addition of ARC provides for the perfect integration with home AV applications and TVs. Analog connectivity is supported with a 1/4″ front panel headphone connection that utilizes current-feedback circuitry and is said to have excellent gain bandwidth and high slew rate for high quality listening, plus rear panel stereo RCA inputs and stereo RCA pre-outs with fixed and variable output options.

The LX CONNECT DAC is easily controlled via the front panel touch-sensitive display, or for more convenience you can use the included IR remote.

The LX Connect DAC uses the ESS SABRE ES9018K2M 32bit stereo DAC chip to support high-resolution PCM playback up to 32-bit/384 kHz via USB and 24-bit/192 kHz via the coaxial and optical inputs, as well as up to DSD256 via USB. It does not support MQA unfolding.

Finally the LX CONNECT DAC carries the officially ‘Roon Tested’ certification as part of the package.

Technical Specifications:

• Connectivity:
  • Analogue Input: Stereo RCA (AUX)
  • Digital Input: OPT, COAX, PC USB, Bluetooth aptX, HDMI ARC
  • Analogue Output: Stereo RCA Pre Out
• Pre-Amplifier:
  • Input Sensitivity: 300mV (AUX IN, volume = MAX)
  • Input Impedance: 13K (AUX IN)
  • Variable Output Voltage: 0 – 3.2V
  • Output Impedance: 100 ohm
  • Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz (+/-0.3dB)
  • Signal-to-noise Ratio (S/N):
    • >100dB (AUX IN, A-weighted)
    • >110dB (digital Inputs, A-weighted)
  • Total Harmonic Distortion:
    • < 0.001% (digital sources)
    • < 0.005% (analogue sources)
  • Sampling Rate:
    • 24bit – 192kHz (OPT, COAX)
    • 32bit – 384kHz (USB, PCM)
    • 2.8M for DSD64, 5.6M for DSD128, 11.2M for DSD256 (USB, DSD)
  • Digital Filters:
    • Fast Roll-off
    • Slow Roll-off
    • Minimum Phase
  • Power Requirements: Adapter – Input: 100-240Vac (50/60Hz) Output: 12V 1A
  • Finish: Black

MSRP (approx.):

• Mission 700 Speakers:
  • US: $1,999.00
  • UK: £1,299.00
  • EU: €1,500.00
• LX CONNECT DAC:
  • US: $TBA
  • UK: £TBA
  • EU: €499.00

For more information visit the Mission web sites:

• Mission 700 Speakers – US web site
• LX CONNECT DAC – UK web site

For more information on their latest 778X Integrated Amplifier see this post.