Which speakers after Mission 752 Freedom

[RobbieGong]

Despite upgrading most areas of my system i just cant seem to let these babies go. They do so much right and are an audiophile bargain IMO / IME.
They were the first 'proper' speaker I'd ever owned and still continue to bring a big smile no matter how much I upgrade, they too just get better.
If you are unfamiliar with them, the sound is balanced, detailed, tight punchy bass, rather than low and weighty.

The Aerogel mid-bass driver is a peach portraying vocals beautifully as well as instrument textures, nuances and detail where the music is in the mids and imaging is superb. Very importantly non fatiguing - I can listen these for hours on end :)

They are solid and well built and in my view look good in small to medium sized rooms.

If I had to keep them then hey ho! no probs However ..........

If at some point I did scratch that itch what would you recommend as a genuine 'upgrade' 'improvement' over these ?

I'm after all the above in upgrade form :D ..... tricky ?

Spendors have been mentioned previously and caught my radar particularly the S8e's
Kef Reference maybe? which ones though ?
Any others ?
Keep the 752's ?.....

[Pieoftheday]

If you do 'upgrade' Robert, keep your missions,just in case!!!

[RobbieGong]

If you do 'upgrade' Robert, keep your missions,just in case!!!

That did cross my mind James and a very intelligent response - Thanks. (Not that they' be hard to replace mind you, but I know mine which are in fab nick) :)

[Pieoftheday]

Funny how we become attached to bits of hi-fi, I have no room for my usher s520's,but I just can't part with em!

[Virtual-Symmetry]

I have a soft spot for Missions but strictly the early to mid 80's models tho..

[RobbieGong]

I have a soft spot for Missions but strictly the early to mid 80's models tho..

The 752 Freedoms were mid nineties and arguably the best of the 75's. Have read numerous times that it went down hill from there

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Na no fanks

:lolsign:

[Pete The Cat]

They're a hard habit to break. I got mine as a second hand stopgap because I couldn't settle on the ideal pair of new speakers at the time and they've stayed with me for six years. You describe them well, I'd say a fast, tight bass and delightfully smooth vocals. Warm and easy to listen to for a long session. Less fussy about positioning than some which I put down to having front as well as rear ports.

I moved them to a bigger room recently to play with the other toys below. They're benefitting from it since if I have one criticism it's that at low volume that seductive top end is so polite that it goes missing. I eventually got a pair of PMC GBis which are more detailed all round at low levels for use in the smaller room, but then again they're the best part of 20 years newer and allowing for inflation the RRP would be about a third higher than the 752Fs were originally. You might well find them bright by comparison, they're certainly crisper.

The 752Fs are a steal at their second hand price - mine were £125. I think we've been spoiled by them, and while I've not heard Minstrels or ELAs which spring to mind as bargain buys that seem to have fans, I reckon it's a price hike before you can be certain of "better".

Pete

[Jimbo]

Despite upgrading most areas of my system i just cant seem to let these babies go. They do so much right and are an audiophile bargain IMO / IME.
They were the first 'proper' speaker I'd ever owned and still continue to bring a big smile no matter how much I upgrade, they too just get better.
If you are unfamiliar with them, the sound is balanced, detailed, tight punchy bass, rather than low and weighty.

The Aerogel mid-bass driver is a peach portraying vocals beautifully as well as instrument textures, nuances and detail where the music is in the mids and imaging is superb. Very importantly non fatiguing - I can listen these for hours on end :)

They are solid and well built and in my view look good in small to medium sized rooms.

If I had to keep them then hey ho! no probs However ..........

If at some point I did scratch that itch what would you recommend as a genuine 'upgrade' 'improvement' over these ?

I'm after all the above in upgrade form :D ..... tricky ?

Spendors have been mentioned previously and caught my radar particularly the S8e's
Kef Reference maybe? which ones though ?
Any others ?
Keep the 752's ?.....

Your speaker description matches my taste Rob. I am going to try the Spendor D7 sometime when I upscale my SP2's.
The D7 might suit your taste, I would certainly give them a listen.

[RobbieGong]

Your speaker description matches my taste Rob. I am going to try the Spendor D7 sometime when I upscale my SP2's.
The D7 might suit your taste, I would certainly give them a listen.

The D7's would be sought if I was fortunate to have that sort of disposable cash. A realistic hope is the S8e's but some other priority has always reared its head - damn !

[Jimbo]

The D7's would be sought if I was fortunate to have that sort of disposable cash. A realistic hope is the S8e's but some other priority has always reared its head - damn !

Radlett audio have some D7,s reduced by £600.

[RobbieGong]

They're a hard habit to break. I got mine as a second hand stopgap because I couldn't settle on the ideal pair of new speakers at the time and they've stayed with me for six years. You describe them well, I'd say a fast, tight bass and delightfully smooth vocals. Warm and easy to listen to for a long session. Less fussy about positioning than some which I put down to having front as well as rear ports.

I moved them to a bigger room recently to play with the other toys below. They're benefitting from it since if I have one criticism it's that at low volume that seductive top end is so polite that it goes missing. I eventually got a pair of PMC GBis which are more detailed all round at low levels for use in the smaller room, but then again they're the best part of 20 years newer and allowing for inflation the RRP would be about a third higher than the 752Fs were originally. You might well find them bright by comparison, they're certainly crisper.

The 752Fs are a steal at their second hand price - mine were £125. I think we've been spoiled by them, and while I've not heard Minstrels or ELAs which spring to mind as bargain buys that seem to have fans, I reckon it's a price hike before you can be certain of "better".

Pete

Indeed Pete, and it appears we're not the only ones who just cant let these go http://forums.naimaudio.com/topic/the-most-loved-hifi-in-the-world?reply=41551091079905084 if a piece of kit can motivate you to start a thread entitled 'The Most Loved Hifi in the world' then enough said. His positive and heartfelt appraisal is spot on - mine may well remain with me for many more years to come :)

[Yomanze]

Keep the speakers, and upgrade your amps. :)

[RobbieGong]

Keep the speakers, and upgrade your amps. :)

:) Yep, been thinking that from the off (keep the speakers that is, the Sansui AU 919 is stunning ! the best amp I've heard and my last if I can help it). The Freedoms were great from the start but upgrades to my Techie, amp, cartridge etc just translate through the 752 Freedoms beautifully.
I have two biggish upgrades in the pipeline being the Paul Hynes external psu with triple stage regs and a re-cap of my Sansui AU 919. The 919 has had everything done apart from that and sounds awesome as is so I think these two key upgrades will be the same as that speaker upgrade I'm after without the speaker upgrade ;)

[Yomanze]

I took a look inside your amp, huge power supply! Interesting 'double cap' cans too, which caps are you looking at to replace them?

[RobbieGong]

I took a look inside your amp, huge power supply! Interesting 'double cap' cans too, which caps are you looking at to replace them?

Hi Neil, Been mad busy and out much of the time.
I wont be doing the work as I wouldnt have a clue what I was doing :eek: The guy I bought the amp from and who overhauled it is the expert. I've asked him for a quote to look at a future re-cap. I know it's a big job as the original big caps are no longer available. I'd naturally want high quality equivalents or better.
He's also a member on Audiokarma where there are members who know Sansui 919's and associated work like the back of their hand.
Truth is everything else was done in the overhaul so a re-cap makes sense. These are amps are nearly 40 years old now.