Mission M-Cube 5.1 review

Mission's M-Cube 5.1 are one of the most expensive speaker sets we've ever reviewed. Fortunately, their high price is reflected in their build and audio quality. The 85mm cuboid satellites are heavy and well built.

All the cables you need are provided and cut to length (7m for the front speakers and 1m for the rears), and wall brackets are provided for three of the satellites. Floor stands are also available, but at around £200 for two, they're an expensive addition.

You can connect the satellites directly to an AV receiver or use the provided umbilical cable, which connects to the receiver's outputs and then via a single header to the subwoofer. You then plug the speakers into the subwoofer's binding posts. This just creates extra cabling, though, so we don't recommend it.

The compact speakers are surprisingly powerful. Mission's Distributed Mode Loudspeaker (DML) technology is just another term for the flat-panel speaker technology invented by NXT. Speakers of this kind can produce surprising volumes and frequency ranges for their size. While many DML speakers are disappointing, particularly when it comes to low mid-tones, the M-Cubes sound fantastic.

Their rich audio ranges from deep vibrating bass tones to crystal-clear trebles, with no perceptible gaps in the sound. Music sounded good, particularly 5.1 tracks, which made full use of the surround-sound system. The speakers create an immersive and accurate cinematic soundscape. Sounds as varied as muted background conversations, passing traffic, sizzling fireworks and big explosions felt as though they were in the room with us.

The only reservation we have is that, like most systems with ultra-compact satellites, the low-frequency capabilities of the surround speakers are limited. This means the subwoofer has to provide a lot of the low mid-range frequencies as well as the bass. This isn't a problem in most rooms, but should be taken into account if you're kitting out a large open-plan living room for surround sound, as it could have a detrimental effect on the accuracy of directional audio.