CMS Sotto Voce racks are not just vastly less expensive than the firm’s state-of-the-art efforts; they also offer comparable performance in a more traditional and appealing package. The frame and shelves are made of gorgeous Sapele African hardwood (natural or optional black finish) with sturdy metal connections milled from billet aluminum. The sonic improvements are not subtle—bass tightens, transients gain more verve yet maintain better control, rhythms sharpen, and low-level noise plummets. It’s that last factor that opens the soundstage and is key to the SV’s remarkable ability to elicit dimensionality from a recording. Fully upgradeable to accommodate CMS’ upscale array of “filters” (they replace the stock shelves but are mechanically far more complex). The filters provide further noise reduction, while the “purity quotient” takes a sizable jump. Available in three heights, the tallest, at 38″, is a four-tier unit that offers 10″ spacing out of the box yet is easily adjustable.
Want a list of the best speakers below £200? For most of this year it would have been a shortlist comprising just a single name, the Q Acoustics 3020.
Nothing we’ve heard has come close to knocking these talented speakers off their perch, until now that is.
Yes, Mission’s LX-2s are good enough to give the Qs a fat lip, and we admit it, that’s something of a surprise.
A decade or so ago it wouldn’t have been. At the time Mission dominated our group tests and Awards, particularly at the more affordable end of the market.
But in our view, the brand hasn’t delivered over recent years, turning out decent but hardly class-leading boxes. We think the LX-2s buck that trend.
These are a product of a rethink at IAG – Mission’s parent company. IAG also owns speaker brands Wharfedale, Quad and Castle (remember them?), and it’s been clear for a while that Mission hasn’t thrived in such an environment.
Build
It seems that the high-ups at IAG had the same thought and decided the brand needed a dedicated design team. They’ve hired people that had worked with Mission in the past in the hope that some of the old magic could be resurrected.
These speakers even look a little like Missions of old, most obviously with the use of the brand’s traditional tweeter below the mid/bass configuration.
This arrangement is claimed to aid the time alignment between the drivers – the sound from each unit arrives at the listener better synchronised – so helping integration. It helps that this upside down arrangement makes these standmounters stand out from the competition too.
That tweeter is a 25mm microfibre dome. It’s coupled to the 13cm fibre composite mid/bass through a single-wire crossover.
The crossover is a 4th order design, carefully calibrated to optimise off-axis performance while keeping the on-axis sound balanced. The Mission design team spent a great deal of effort trying different components to optimise the results.
The single-wired route makes sense to us, particularly at budget price levels. It allows funds to be concentrated on a single good quality run of speaker cable rather than splitting it between two cheaper alternatives.
Neither drive unit looks particularly exciting on paper, but they’re carefully developed to deliver sound with low distortion and an even response. A great deal of care has been taken to ensure consistency between samples.
This may not sound particularly glamorous, but it is vital that all units leaving the factory perform the same. What we test has to be what you can buy in the shops.
Lax tolerances have always been something of an issue, particularly with budget products where costs are trimmed to the bone, so it’s good to see Mission trying to do things properly.
The cabinet is equally carefully designed. Budget constraints mean that there’s no place for high tech materials or extravagant engineering solutions to controlling cabinet resonances, so the designers have gone back to basics (while using cutting-edge measurement and design equipment) to come up with a wooden box that provides a solid platform for the drive units to work from.
The cabinet is built well. Its small size – the LX-2s stand just over 30cm tall – ensures a degree of rigidity that’s hard to get from larger enclosures.
Finish is neat, and well up to the standards we expect at the price. We like the understated visual design touches that make the speakers look rather classy.
Compatibility
Positioning is easy, just as it should be for speakers that could find themselves as likely to be stuffed in the middle of a crowded bookshelf as they could on top of a pair of dedicated stands.
Ideally, you should put them on the stands as they sound so much better that way. In our test room we got the most balanced presentation with the LX-2s placed close to a rear wall, but not right up against it. The speaker’s rear-firing port needs a little space behind it to work properly.
Speakers at this price are as likely to be driven by a micro system such as the Denon DM-40DAB as they are dedicated separates kit from the likes of Onkyo, Marantz or Rega.
This means that in an ideal world they would have to be easy to drive and unfussy about partnering kit while still having enough transparency to allow the better sounding separates kit to shine.
That’s a difficult balancing act that few manage well. The Missions do a fair job in this respect, but we think its Q Acoustics rival is a more forgiving product thanks to greater refinement at high frequencies and a richer, sweeter presentation.
But don’t let that put you off. Partner these Missions with a bit of care and they’re as entertaining a budget box as we’ve heard in years.
Sound
These get right to the heart of the music, as if the Missions have a direct line to the studio and know exactly what the musicians wanted you to feel. That’s a rare quality regardless of price.
Play alt-J’s Left Hand Free and the LX-2s get straight in the groove. They’re fast, pack a serious punch and deliver deep bass with precision and authority.
Best of all, they deliver the song’s hard charging rhythm track with skill and enthusiasm. These speakers time well, communicating changes in momentum convincingly.
Through it all they don’t forget the subtleties. The group’s vocals are clear, easy to follow and packed with energy. Nuances are rendered with finesse and the mass of instrumentation and voices is organised really well.
At no point do these speakers sound like they’ve taken on more than they can handle.
John Williams’s Jurassic Park shows off the LX-2s’ pleasing large-scale dynamics. Their composure impresses too, as they refuse to sound confused even when pushed to relatively high levels.
Tonally, they’re pretty well balanced but there’s a little bit of edge through the upper mid/lower treble area that can be provoked by less than perfect recordings or aggressive-sounding partnering kit. It’s more something to watch out for rather than a damning criticism.
Stereo imaging is good too, with a pleasing stability to the presentation. We like the even spread of sound and the fact that the presentation remains consistent from a wide range of listening positions.
Verdict
It has been a few years since we could really get behind a Mission product. The LX-2s were originally intended to sell at £200. For that price we would have still praised their performance and recommended them highly.
At the revised price of £160 they’re an even bigger bargain and deliver a huge slice of fun that few rivals can get close to.
Take just a little care in partnering and they’ll turn in a performance that’s sure to get a smile on your face. Well done, Mission! These are worth the wait.
Hammer：不！這跟汽車無關，起因是我們的設計者最早做原型機的發想。當時我們用750VA的電源變壓器在後級上，所以原型機的編號就是750。後來我們討論過，既然是750，那麼前級呢？752嗎？數位訊源呢？753嗎？這樣我們只有十個數字可以用。我們何不把第一個數字當作系列號碼，第二個數字代表前級、後級、數位訊源，第三個數字就是不同的型號。後來我們就這樣作了，所以才會有700單聲道後級、710立體後級、720前級、745 CD 唱盤、750Phono放大等等編號。現在又有701、711。
They don’t make’em like they used to – until you see the new Luxman LX-380 valve amplifier from Japan that I’m reviewing here. Japan went down the nostalgia road somewhat before the UK and this new amplifier mines Japan’s not-so-distant past beautifully. It doesn’t just look good, it feels solidly hewn and its controls are delicious to use. Luxman always produced great products – I’ve owned many and this amplifier gets right back to the qualities that attracted me and so many others decades ago.
The LX-380 is not quite pure though: it is a hybrid.The preamplifier stages are solid-state; only the power amplifier is valve (tube) equipped, using 6L6GCs. These are compact tetrodes considered good for 30 Watts in guitar amplifiers where overload is tolerated, but for around 20 Watts in everyday audio use where long life from lower anode volts is preferred – and indeed Lux make this point in their user manual, “operating conditions of the output tubes having some allowance“ they say.
So the LX-380 delivers 20 Watts per channel. It may seem feeble against the 100 Watts or more we expect nowadays, but in conjunction with sensitive floorstanding loudspeakers (90dB from 1 Watt) it is more than enough for very high volume. If you don’t want to wake the dead then it will drive smaller loudspeakers nicely too but I’d recommend large standmounters as a minimum for reasonably high volume coupled with strong bass.
I’ve seen worries about the unreliability of valve amplifiers, the expense of running them and what have you.Yes, power output valves do need replacement after a few thousand hours of use but 6L6GCs are plentiful and around £42 for a matched pair -not a king’s ransom. Expect around 3 years for three hours of use per day, every day – heavy going. Auto-bias makes bias adjustment unnecessary.
Our underside view shows large yellow high-voltage film capacitors and large resistors typical of valve amplifiers. Switching is carried out by sealed small-signal relays.
The LX-380 is very user friendly then: it is what it looks, an everyday integrated amplifier, built to standards long gone and with a sound only valves can give – easy going, free from transistor fatigue and with a capacious soundstage. The tubes are hidden and heat output is moderate, so everyone -including the cat – is safe.
Like any self-respecting valve amplifier the LX-380 is heavy, weighting 17.6 kg (39lbs). But it doesn’t take up a lot of space, measuring 440mm (17.3in) wide, 403mm (16in) deep and 197mm (7.8in) high. Most of the weight lies in the two output and one mains transformer but the case is solidly built and Luxman don’t skimp, using a chunky machined alloy fascia with a superb standard of finish.The control knobs and switches are likewise solid machined alloy, having beautifully smooth yet silent actions. I should mention that Luxman advise space be left around the unit for heat dispersal; I’d suggest 6in (15cms) or so above.
Although the volume control looks like a conventional motor driven (remote control) Alps, in fact it is an electronic attenuator with discrete resistors selected by relays operated from a normal volume potentiometer. This gives the feel of a volume control and allows a motor to be used to rotate the knob by remote control.
A 6L6 output valve, sitting in a printed circuit board mounted ceramic socket – a common arrangement in modern valve amplifiers.
Such a system has the accuracy and quality of a resistive attenuator, including its immunity to overload, whilst also ensuring frequency response is unaffected by volume control position, as it unfortunately can be when a conventional volume control is used in a poorly designed circuit. To do this you must use logic to switch the relays – it is a complex but very purist way of changing volume.
Clever stuff then – electronically sophisticated and expensive to produce – but effective in theory and in practice our measurements showed. The volume control of the LX-380 is a great piece of modern audio engineering in an amplifier that’s seemingly old by looks.This well illustrates what Luxman are offering here: the best of today with the best of yesterday. The past brought up to date.
Like all Luxman amplifiers this one carries a wealth of facilities. It has four Line inputs to accept CD, DVD players and what have you.They are very sensitive, suiting low output devices like low gain external phono stages and old portable players or analogue tuners with low output.
There is a phono stage for LP, front panel switched to suit MM or MC cartridges.The entire preamplifier is solid-state so you don*c
get valves here.
Unlike most modern amplifiers this one has Record Out and Monitor input RCA (phono) sockets to handle externa! open-reel recorders, or cassette decks – a real blast from the past! The valve power amplifier can be accessed direct from Main In sockets – useful for today’s portable players and DACs that have their own volume control and high output (IV or more).
Like amplifiers of yore, there are Bass and Treble tone controls, here with switched turnover frequencies. This makes fine adjustment of frequency extremes possible – great for subtly tailoring the sound of connected loudspeakers. In true audiophile fashion the tone control circuitry can be switched out with a Line Straight lever switch.
The front panel switches and controls do not appear to switch directly: rather they actuate relays, so there was a small kerfuffle when I flicked a lever, because this initiates mute/relay/unmute sequences.You get longer life and better sound quality over that life with this approach but not the instantaneous response of switching direct.
A solidly carved remote control unit alters volume and has a Mute function but does not select input or the other controls and has no On/ Off function.
The rear panel carries two pairs of *speaker sockets, for A and B loudspeaker pairs. Front panel switching selects A, B, or A +B together.
The rear panel carries chunky modern loudspeaker terminals – no sign of the horrible spring clips or shaky screw terminals of the past that allowed shorts and tarnished quickly.They accept spades, 4mm banana plugs or bare wires. All other inputs are unbalanced through the usual RCA type phono sockets; there are no balanced XLR connectors.
Internally there is one protection fuse within the mains transformer primary circuit but none in the secondary HT lines, to protect the output transformer primaries in event of tube failure – something I consider important. Since fuses and fuse holders are cheap I am surprised at this.
SOUND QUALITY
The Luxman sounded unhappy driving our in-house reference Martin Logan ESL-X hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers: bass was limited. This surprised me because valve amps like our Icon Audio Stereo 30SE (30W) are a perfect match.
One of the ECC82 small signal preamplifier valves, also used for phase-splitting. Valves like this have a long life of around 10,000 hours.
Contrarily，PMC’s twenty5.24 loudspeakers were a match made in heaven.The PMCs have obvious and well-extended bass as well as strong treble with a smooth and easy midband. This did not just suit the LX-380 but the two sounded fabulous together. This does suggest however that the LX-380’s limited bass power of 8 Watts (see Measured Performance) needs to be understandingly accommodated Loudspeaker matching is an issue but I believe it will suit most conventional floorstanders.
Digital was fed in from an Oppo BDP-205D Universal disc player, meaning CD and hi-res from an optically attached Astell&Kern AK120 portable player. For LP I used our in-house reference Timestep Evo modified Technics SL-1210 Mk2 turntable with improved control circuits and linear external power supply, carrying an SME309 arm with Audio Technica VM750SH MM cartridge and, alternatively, an Ortofon Cadenza Bronze MC cartridge to assess both MM and MC inputs.
Four 6L6 output valves and three ECC82 double triodes are visible, together with twin output transformers and one big mains transformer. Vertical daughter boards at front and rear carry preamp and support circuits.
Spinning Josefine Cronholm’s ’In Your Wild Garden’（CD) the reason for buying a valve amplifier was thrown at me: her voice had enormous contrast against a silent background that made for a feeling of great dynamic power.
“There was ease of deIivery, a fluidity of event that makes for a lifelike presentation free of the mechanical sound from transistors.”
Valve amplifiers do this，they have seemingly muscular delivery that suggests primary feedback taps.
The result was an utterly gorgeous sound, vocalists having a lovely rounded presence and lively nature. Treble was as sweet as I could hope for, the emphasis of the PMC’s being reasonably obvious at times, but also contributing to conspicuous and precise stereo images across the sound stage.
The Berliner Philharmoniker playing Strauss ‘Don Quixote’ (24/96) stretched wide and filled our large listening room, massed horns having a lovely brassy quality and plenty of dynamic push. But when all fell silent for a solo violin the Luxman tracked this change beautifully, conveying its emotional impact in full.
Whatever I played, digital from the Oppo was graced by the Luxman^ signature sound – but so too was analogue from LP after switching from Line 1 to Phono and pressing the Technics On button. With Audio Technical VM750SH MM cartridge the bass line behind Mark Knopfler’s ’Madame Geneva’ was firm, expressive and easy to follow via the PMC loudspeakers.The whole delivery was liquidly smooth, atmospherically spacious and a performance to wallow in.
At high volume there was no hiss or hum, LP sounding as deeply silent as CD. I swapped the VM750SH for our Ortofon Cadenza Bronze MC cartridge and flicked the front panel lever switch to MC (no clicks or thumps).
Again, there was virtually no hiss and plenty of available gain – so no apparent matching problem. But the Cadenza was less glassy up top and a tad more amenable and considerably more powerful in its bass.
The reggae-like bass line of Dire Straits ‘Ride Across the River’ was expressed superbly well, sounding strong, deep and articulate. So in spite of poor measured figures I heard a great result here.The PMC’s give strong bass without drawing bass current and this suited the LX-380 perfectly.
Ranks of gold plated phono socket inputs, including Tape and Pre-out/Main-in. At left is a Phono input, plus earth post, catering for LP. A front panel switch selects MM or MC cartridge matching.
CONCLUSION
They don’t make like they used to: in the LX-380 they now make ‘em better.You pay for this sort of quality and attention to detail but Luxman amplifiers always were more expensive than the herd.They have to be with all the facilities that come included.With ourTimestep Evo updatedTechnics SL1210 Mk2 turntable and a new Audio Technica VM750SH MM cartridge, spinning LP in particular brought past wonders back to life in entirely modern form, giving a luscious sound. So if you hanker after an easy to use amplifier built the way they were – with no digital in sight – the new LX-380 from Luxman is a must. Just use it with suitable loudspeakers to ensure strong bass.
MEASURED PERFORMANCE
The 6L6GC power amplifier output stage is quoted at 20 Watts and just about managed this within a 1% distortion limit. However, it was down to 8 Watts output absolute maximum (3% distortion) at 40Hz due to output transformer core saturation — quite a severe drop. Together with a damping factor of 1.7 the LX-380 will be no bass machine. However, with floorstanding loudspeakers of 90dB sensitivity — not uncommon — 5 Watts or so is enough for extremely high volume so the LX-380 is fine if used in an appropriate system.
Distortion was low, measuring 0.2% at 1 Watt and 1kHz, comprising mostly second harmonic. This figure rose slightly to 0,26% at 10kHz — still a good result. Distortion increased with rising output, hovering around 0.5% at full output (volume).
The output transformers swap power, which needs big cores, for bandwidth — easier to achieve with small cores and bobbins. Frequency response measured flat to a high 60kHz our analysis shows — very wide for a valve amplifier. It also reached flat down to 3Hz — not the best idea as core saturation occurs very early at such low frequencies. Digital usually contains no deep lows but LP can have strong warp signals at 5Hz, but a Subsonic filter is fitted.
Frequency response was unaffected by the 88dB stepped LECUA volume control that is placed within the preamplifier that is solid-state. Line input sensitivity was very high at 120mV and noise low at -95dB, with no hum.
Phono stage equalisation was accurate, giving flat response from 10Hz to 20kHz with MM and MC. The Subsonic filter rolled off output below 100Hz, being -1d13 down at 50Hz and -17dB down at 5Hz — plenty enough to suppress LP warp signals. The Bass tone control, set to 150Hz turnover, compensated for subjective lightening of bass reasonably well when turned up by a very small amount; it has fine resolution.
Phono input sensitivity was very high, 2mV MM and 0.12mV MC being enough for full output. Overload was high at 85mV and 11 mV respectively and noise was also low at -82dB and -65dB respectively, the latter representing a superlow 0.07pV equivalent input noise.
The LX-380 measures well in all areas except bass power, where a limit of 8 Watts was out of keeping with all else. NK
Gilbert Briggs（吉貝爾恃布裡格斯）是英國 Wharfedale 喇叭的創始人兼任音像協會主持人。 他獻身於音響事業是出自於對音樂的熱愛，為了尋找一台聲音滿意的鋼琴，不惜花去多年的儲蓄足足換了40 台，才找到了至愛的 Steinway Grand 鋼琴。 他把自己對音樂的摯轟和執著化成了畢生的事業。他早期制造聲音重播系統的經瞼和理論相當成功從此開始創辦了一家舉世矚目的經典音響制適企業並享譽世界超越80 多年的尖端品牌廠商。
1932 年 Gilbert Brggs 把家中地窖改裝成一個精簡的音響開發操作間。在這個地下室裡 Gilbert Brggs 成功地開發了世界上第一隻電磁圈推動的單體揚聲器。而位於 Wharfe 河邊的小鎮也因此成了 Wharfedale 音響制造業的發源地。 時至今天 GIbert-Briggs 的開創先驅性成就仍受到Hi-Fl界的無比贊宮與尊崇致敬。
1933 年 Gilbert 在 Bradford 附板開辦了一家小工廠進行推動揚聲器單元的手工生產 。此消息很快傳遍整個英國地區而當時的揚聲器單元的訂貨頓時大增。 起初他們隻是家庭式生產作業，Gilbert 的太太也在主管生產部門工作，一切單元的音圈繞制焊接也都要親力親為，不眠不休的進行，這樣才可以勉強 應付當時市場對揚聲器單元的激烈需求。
Gllbert-Briggs 在 1948 年創作的經典著作 LOUDSPEAKERS 是世界一第 一本講解揚聲器的設計和制作的業界天書。 Gilbert-Briggs 畢生為英國音響行業培養出許多音響設計技術專才，在英國有不少 Hi-Fi 音響廠家的設計師曾經在 Gllbert-Briggs 門下 得以揚聲器制作技術真傳。Gllbert-Briggs 著作的 Loudspeakers – The Why & How of Good Reproduction 揚聲器制作天書是眾多的國際 Hi-Fi 揚聲器廠家（包括美國、德、法、日）設計揚聲器的基礎上首要學習的必讀 參考書籍。 如今 Gilbert-Briggs 所著作的書籍已經成為世界上具中之一的珍貴科研學術遺產。
It seems that the high-ups at IAG had the same thought and decided the brand needed a dedicated design team. They’ve hired people that had worked with Mission in the past in the hope that some of the old magic could be resurrected.
The single-wired route makes sense to us, particularly at budget price levels. It allows funds to be concentrated on a single good quality run of speaker cable rather than splitting it between two cheaper alternatives.
The cabinet is equally carefully designed. Budget constraints mean that there’s no place for high tech materials or extravagant engineering solutions to controlling cabinet resonances, so the designers have gone back to basics (while using cutting-edge measurement and design equipment) to come up with a wooden box that provides a solid platform for the drive units to work from.
Positioning is easy, just as it should be for speakers that could find themselves as likely to be stuffed in the middle of a crowded bookshelf as they could on top of a pair of dedicated stands.
These get right to the heart of the music, as if the Missions have a direct line to the studio and know exactly what the musicians wanted you to feel. That’s a rare quality regardless of price.
At no point do these speakers sound like they’ve taken on more than they can handle.
劉：請你簡單說明Soulution的歷史沿革。
