The two-way 770 is a "true 8-ohm speaker" with an 88dB/W/m sensitivity specification. The soft-dome tweeter is housed inside its own rear chamber. Mission was among the first companies to use polypropylene cones, he told me. The drive unit is similar, but the magnet and motor system are much bigger than the original's. Copper caps on the drive-unit former lower distortion; the crossover capacitors are polypropylene.

The 770 has heavily flared ports inside and out for bass extension, which is said to go down to 30Hz. The cabinet, which was formerly made of heavily damped thin wood, BBC-style, has received major upgrades, Comeau said. It's constrained-layer-damped now with an inner layer of "chop board" with MDF layered on top and damping glue in between. The 770s are still made in Huntingdon, England—just down the road from Mission's first factory—and are in market now. Stands are included.

Another case of old-meets-new: the vintage Thorens TD124 direct drive turntable that served as the setup's analog source was kitted out with the new Luxman LMC-5 MC cartridge ($2695). The Luxman L-507Z integrated amplifier with onboard phono stage provided amplification. The demo system's digital sources included a Luxman D-10X CD player/DAC and the new Lumin U2 Mini network streaming transport and Lumin L1 NAS.

Speaking of digital sources, the recently released Lumin Music Systems P1 network DAC/preamp/music streamer/player was on passive display. The Lumin P1 is equipped with a host of digital inputs—plus a pair each of analog RCA and XLR inputs—USB Audio (Class 2 compatible), and three HMDI connections, including PCM 2.0 Audio, ARC, and 4K video pass-through for home theater fans. Digital outputs include USB with native DSD512 support and up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM, BNC S/PDIF up to DSD64 (DoP64, DSD over PCM), according to the press sheet. The P1 is Roon Ready and supports Apple AirPlay, Tidal Connect, and Qobuz, among other streaming services—and full MQA decoding and rendering. As JA discussed in his April 2022 review of the P1, it features Leedh Processing for the digital volume control, which deploys a new adjustment algorithm said to eliminate rounding errors. This French technology reportedly reduces or eliminates truncation-related loss of signal information in conversion. The Lumin P1 comes in anodized aluminum or with black finish, and ships with an infrared remote control with Austrian glass.

I didn't listen long in here but some familiar tracks—from Daft Punk's Random Access Memories LP, for example—sounded full and, well, like music. A throwback track, Enigma's "Sadeness (Part I)" also brought synthesized fun, plus flute flourishes. (And I'd forgotten that Enigma was a German group. Interesting that this downtempo hit came out circa 1990, not long after the Berlin Wall came down.) In general, playback seemed understated in a good way—undoctored, not tampered with. Maybe monitor-like? Highs weren't tipped up, low-end wasn't bloated. As noted, bass is said to extend down to 30Hz. Not bad for a stand-mounted speaker this size.

Log in or register to post comments COMMENTS Luxman Submitted by romaina on May 27, 2022 - 9:10am Isn't Luxman Japanese? Log in or register to post comments Luxman is of Japanese origin Submitted by Julie Mullins on May 27, 2022 - 3:20pm Thanks for the comment(s). I knew that and realize ought to have touched on it. Log in or register to post comments What it is Submitted by Jason Victor Serinus on May 27, 2022 - 9:33am Luxman was founded and initially manufactured in Japan. It is now owned by the International Audio Group (IAG). According to Wikipedia, that quasi-omnipotent inanimate fount of all information correct or otherwise, "the IAG has purchased several British HiFi manufacturers: Audiolab, Wharfedale, Quad Electroacoustics, Mission, Tag McLaren, and Castle Acoustics, Luxman, plus several Italian manufacturers of lighting equipment including f.a.l. and Coef. It has manufacturing plants in Shenzhen, China employing 1500 people in the region. Design of the products is done by Chinese, American and European designers." It's a Brave New World, my friend. Log in or register to post comments Another fun fact Submitted by Julie Mullins on May 27, 2022 - 3:19pm A random aside: I had a Luxman dual cassette deck with all kinds of functions in my latter teenage years. Wish I could think of the model number...might have to look into that. It was the ultimate mixtape-making machine! Log in or register to post comments

Thanks for the comment(s). I knew that and realize ought to have touched on it.

Luxman was founded and initially manufactured in Japan. It is now owned by the International Audio Group (IAG). According to Wikipedia, that quasi-omnipotent inanimate fount of all information correct or otherwise, "the IAG has purchased several British HiFi manufacturers: Audiolab, Wharfedale, Quad Electroacoustics, Mission, Tag McLaren, and Castle Acoustics, Luxman, plus several Italian manufacturers of lighting equipment including f.a.l. and Coef. It has manufacturing plants in Shenzhen, China employing 1500 people in the region. Design of the products is done by Chinese, American and European designers."

It's a Brave New World, my friend.

A random aside: I had a Luxman dual cassette deck with all kinds of functions in my latter teenage years. Wish I could think of the model number...might have to look into that. It was the ultimate mixtape-making machine!