Mission m32i 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers, Pair (Cherry)

by Mission

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 36 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000ARISWK
• Item model number: M32i Cherry
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,157 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The stylish Mission m32i loudspeakers, which are ideally suited to sit on Mission's Stancette speaker stands, are perfect for users who want superb sound without taking up a ton of space. Each m32i features a 6.5-inch DiaDrive bass unit, which is designed to offer the best attributes of soft fiber and high-rigidity cones in a single multilayer diaphragm. The resulting deep bass extension and impressive midrange performance makes both movies and music sound rich and alive. To match the high-end performance of the DiaDrive woofer, Mission added a lightweight 1-inch Viotex fabric dome tweeter that handles high frequencies up to an ultrasonic 28 kHz. Only drivers that push distortion beyond the limits of audibility can produce tones with this level of sweetness, clarity, and detail resolution.

The speakers' i-series crossover, meanwhile, takes into account the baffle diffraction effect to give a more open and detailed midrange performance, with superior integration between the drive units for smoother treble output. The crossovers are also wired with Mission's special HP-OFC (high-purity oxygen-free copper) cable, which features dedicated bass and treble formulations to further enhance the audio clarity. In addition, the speakers' 1.18-inch-thick front baffles are curved to optimize dispersion while also providing a rigid frame for the drivers in conjunction with the strongly braced 0.7-inch MDF cabinet construction. When combined with Mission's IDG format, the speakers deliver precise and spacious stereo imagery wherever you sit.

To enjoy the best performance within a surround sound system, listeners should consider teaming the m32i speakers with Mission's m3dsi rear satellite speakers, m3c1i center channel speaker, and ms8, ms10, or m3as subwoofers. All the speakers are magnetically shielded to protect against video interference and are tonally matched to ensure the best possible sound for movies and multichannel music formats. As an added bonus, the speakers take up a minimum of space at 7.9 by 12.6 by 12.8 inches (W x H x D) each--a perfect size for Mission's Stancette speaker stands (sold separately). The speakers, which sport a stylish cherry finish, are backed by a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

What's in the Box
Two m32i speakers, user's manual.

Product Description

Unparalleled sonic performance at an incedible price! Mission's new and improved m3i series loudspeakers transmit power, excitement and emotion, all aspects of sonic performance that lift the series to a new level of excellence at an affordable price! The m3i series is dedicated to revealing the passion of musical performance and the thrills of movie action. The m3i series feature DiaDrive bass units that provide remarkable bass performance and harmonious natural midrange; matched to an ultra-light, Viotex fabric dome treble unit, which handles high frequencies with exceptionally wide dynamic range and finesse. A new crossover design developed for the highly acclaimed Elegante range, has been applied to the m3i series. In addition, crossovers are now wired to drive units using Mission's special High Purity Oxygen Free Copper cables. The result is that all the speakers in the m3i series, whether used in a stereo or home theater system, exhibit a lively and musical performance with enhanced rhythm and timing!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get em!, October 19, 2005

By 

BoolaBoola "Nutmegger" (Whittier) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mission m32i 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers, Pair (Cherry) (Electronics)

These are great all around speakers. They are clean with great detail and stereo imaging, and have plenty of bass and clean highs.
I have both the M32i and the M31i, and they both are excellent. The M32i have a broader sound stage and sound more open, while the M31i sound more forward. But the both have surprisingly good bass. If you like pipe organ, these are the ones to get. But with the right amp there is less difference than you would expect.
The M32i are bookshelf speakers in name only. These have deep cabinets, and are heavy. They need space behind them to sound their best. This is true of the M31i, too, but they are not as deep.
The M32i can handle more power while still sounding clean than the M31i. But at normal listening levels, they both sound great, and the M31i may be a bit cleaner and sweeter, perhaps because of their smaller low frequency driver.
If I were to give any advice, it would be that the M31i may be a bit better for pop music, and the M32i for classical because they are capable of producing greater detail and harmonic complexity. But I have been using the M31i for classical, too. The M32i are wonderful for opera because of their great stereo imaging; you can clearly hear the singers moving around, left to right, back to front, on the stage.
The M31i may have the advantage with older or less expensive amplifiers. They have a sweeter sound that for some reason doesn't bring out distortion in the source as much.
The big advantage of the M31i is the size, of course, giving you more flexibility where you use them. However, the M32i is significantly more efficient (louder for same amount of power) than the M31i.
With both, you absolutely must try bi-wiring. With single wiring they both have slight deficiencies, but when they are bi-wired these clear up, leading me to believe they were designed to be used bi-wired. With single wiring, the M31i sounded brighter, which was puzzling as they both have the same tweeter, but after bi-wiring the M32i sound brighter. This suggests the larger magnet on the woofer of the M32i was initially swamping the tweeter.
Find a good website with instructions, or think it through carefully because if you short the positive and negative speakers leads you will probably blow out your output transistors. I used generic 12 gauge OFC, but I also tried some 18 gauge for bi-wiring and it worked well -- better than 12 gauge as single wiring.
Puzzled why it works? Think magnetism. With a single-wired speaker there is a short distance on the wire between the woofer and tweeter, perhaps causing the stronger magnetic field of the woofer to swamp the tweeter. With bi-wiring that distance is much longer. (At least, that's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.) The difference in sound with bi-wiring is so obvious that I don't see how anybody could miss it if they try it. There is much greater detail, better stereo imaging, and cleaner bass and treble, not to mention midrange.
If you haven't bought speakers in 10 or 20 years, this is a good time to upgrade. You might think it impossible for such small speakers to be as good as these claim to be. But Mission has done it, thanks to a really well built cabinet, an impeccable crossover, and a small, precise woofer that can move a lot of air.
I would consider these a bargain at the list price. One magazine reviewer bought three pairs of the predecessor of the M31i for his personal use, and said they compared well with $1,000 speakers. I can see why.
These speakers need some break in time. Most of the break in takes place in the first hour. The M31i need less time than the M32i. My suggestion is put on a recording with as little bass as possible, perhaps something with strings like Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Run it at very low volume for at least two to five hours, gradually stepping up the volume - or just leave it playing overnight at a low volume. After at least 10 hours, add some bass at moderately low levels. After at least 20 hours or so, introduce lots of loud bass for a while. I have found this approach makes a real difference with headphones, and it seems to have worked well with the Missions. You want the cones to learn to bend at higher frequencies first and low levels, before breaking in the bass, so you can better reproduce the fine details. Remeber though not to get carried away with volume; these speakers could get blown by too much power, though I have not had this happen.
Another tip: Use some Caig DeOxit or ProGold to improve the speaker wire contacts. This makes an audible difference.
The ultimate audio upgrade: Q-tips. Use daily.
You still need good electronics, but I have found that bi-wiring improves the clarity so much that it seems you do not need top flight stuff to still get good sound. But these speakers could do justice to some pretty expensive components. However, if the sound is rough this try going back to single wiring, it seems to smooth out the sound.
I have tried these speakers with four different amps and various CD players. The speakers sound good with all of them, but the better gear really shines with these speakers. If want to build a first rate moderately priced system, I suggest pairing them with a Marantz PM7200 Class A/AB integrated amp. The sound is excellent.
With a high end amp and CD player the imaging goes far beyond the usual stereo; there is a clear sense of depth that is so strong it is like a holographic sound image. A side aspect to this is that you may be able to hear your equipment warm up - as it does the sound image becomes clearer. On the speakers' side, this strong imaging is the product of an exceptional crossover circuit that keeps the two drivers in phase - pushing and pulling at the same time, while avoiding any holes in frequency response at the crossover point. You will also need good DACs or a good analog source.
If you have a surround sound receiver, try listening to your CDs in stereo - you will probably find the imaging better than in the various surround modes. But the speakers' strong imaging should help the surround modes. While the M32i and M31i have slightly different tonal balances, they are close enough to mix on a surround system. My guess is the M30i would also work, as they have the same tweeter.
With each amp I have used these speakers with the sound is different. This is a good sign; it shows the speakers are not coloring the sound; if they were, the amps would sound about the same. If the speakers sound harsh to you, it is your amp or source. The differences were mainly in terms of precision of stereo imaging, clarity and the smoothness of the sound. However, with two amps there was a remarkable increase in bass output; with one of these - the NAD - there was also a slight decrease in treble. Whether some of this is due to impedence matching between the speakers and amps, I do not know. Otherwise, the frequency response seemed flat with all of them.
I think suround sound is overrated. You are better off with a first rate stereo system because the imaging is much better. People have forgotten what great stereo sounds like, in part because of the imaging limitations of lower priced CD D/A converters; until recently stereo imaging was generally better with an analog source.
Having switched configurations numerous times, it is hard to say for sure, but it seems the speakers continue to gain detail over perhaps 100 to 200 hours, so be patient (I have seen such lengthy break in with Koss titanium headphones). But they sound fine after the first 10 hours.
Bi-wiring makes a big difference with these speakers. But if you want to take it one step further, try using two sets of speakers. While the tweeter is supposed to be fairly well isolated within the cabinet, you can't expect perfection in a budget speaker. If you use the woofer from one speaker and the tweeter from the other, you get more isolation of the tweeter, hence more clarity. I am using the M32i for the woofer and the M31i for the tweeter, stacked. They now sound like even more expensive speakers. The nice part about this is you still have two sets of speakers. (I got bored with surround sound.)
If you break in these speakers carefully and use bi-wiring, and have good electronics, I believe you are going to absolutely love these speakers. I certainly do.
Oh, and the cabinets are beautiful. They are also dead - if you tap on them, there is virtually no resonance.
The finish of the cabinet is exceptionally beautiful. It would probably be a good idea to put some felt pads on the bottom to protect the finish and to reduce any resonance with whatever it is sitting on.
As to pros and cons, the only con is that the speaker grill does reduce the high frequencies slightly. The grill is curved to fit snugly around the cabinet. If there is any risk of damage or dust, keep them on, otherwise you may want to leave them off.
But you want to know what having great speakers is really about? Enjoying the music. The great stereo imaging and detail really help you get more absorbed in listening to the music. It comes alive.