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It’s fair to say that Mission’s recent run of form has been disappointing. The products we’ve tested over the past few years have come nowhere near to challenging the class leaders, and that just isn’t good enough for a brand that once routinely picked-up five-star ratings, Group Test wins and Awards.

But we think things are about to change for the better, and the reason for our optimism is none other than the MX1s under the microscope here. They’re the entry point into Mission’s new budget range and in sonic attitude are very much in the traditional company mould – which is great news for both wallets and ears.

Fast and to the point
The MX1s are fast, articulate performers that deliver sizable chunks of punch, expression and detail for the money. Play a tune like Kelis’s Milkshake and the MX1s lap it up like an enthusiastic puppy. They don’t get fazed by complexity, and get straight to the point with a direct and dynamic sound that can’t help but grab your attention.

While these speakers don’t have many shortcomings in the finesse department, they prefer to major in sonic excitement and entertainment. It’s a stark contrast with class leaders such as the five-star Q Acoustics 2020s, which sound unusually mature for the price class. Despite having a rear-facing bass port, these Missions are optimised to sound best when placed close to a rear wall. Positioned in this way, these little speakers – they stand just 28cm tall – produce a decent amount of bass. No, it’s not massively deep and certainly won’t get furniture, teeth and neighbours’ nerves rattling, but it is balanced, fast and tuneful. For a speaker of this size and price level it’s a fine compromise.

We like
The Missions are fairly even through the bass and midrange but can be accused of being a little over-enthusiastic in the treble. The speaker’s high frequencies are of a good quality, so this avoids being a problem, but if you already have bright or forward-sounding electronics, the MX1s wouldn’t be our first recommendation.

Technically the MX1s are as we’d expect: small two-way ported designs are standard at this level. As always, though, it’s the details that lift a product above the norm, and here it’s the drive units and crossover. The inverted driver unit arrangement is a Mission tradition and places the 25mm soft dome tweeter below the 13cm fibre mid/ bass driver. This is done to equalise the distance to the listener, which improves integration. Build quality is as good as anything else we’ve seen for the price.

It’s great to see Mission producing excellent speakers again. The MX1s deliver large doses of fun, and that’s a rare commodity at this or any price. The MX1s are a great result for Mission. They manage to deliver a mature, exciting sound at a price that made us do a double-take.