Outstanding clarity, holographic performance, visually attractive, simple to wall mount. Impressive performance above 80Hz: the 77ds obviously isn't designed for full-range use.

Spring loaded wire terminals really do need to go the way of the dodo.
Performs substantially better with the kind of cabling and amplification none shopping for surrounds at this price point is likely to afford.

After living with these for over a year, I'm mystified by earlier diatribes regarding this great little surround speaker.

Currently I'm using these in an all Mission setup with Mission 774s for fronts (dual MIT T4 Biwire) and 77c1 for the center (MIT T2), the 77ds taking up the rear surround channels and a Mission 70as subwoofer for LFE. I've never operated the 77ds at full range and quite frankly don't intend to as it seems pretty obvious that they weren't designed to be used for source material below the THX 80Hz LFE cutoff...duh.

Amplification has been an Elite VSX-27dx A/V receiver which now functions as a pre/processor, feeding the excellent Outlaw Audio 5-ch amp through its pre-outs.

The 77ds takes quite a while to break in. Far longer than the 774's I use for the front L/R channels. It took a good month (about 200+ hours of FM radio programming) to break them in. Also, the 77ds are pretty cable sensitive. I was initially using a 18ga wire from Monster in 40' runs and the 77ds sounded awful! Thinking there was something wrong with them, I took them off the walls and hooked them up using a 10' pair of AQ Type-2 cables I had on hand. Using the AQ wire they sounded completely different!

After testing quite a few cables, the IXOS 6003 (13ga PC-OFC copper) terminated at the speaker end with angled pins are a good match and the white/silver jacket color isn't awful to look at. (Mission REALLY needs to dump those crappy spring terminals which are suited for weenie wire only). But, 80 feet of cable ($1.55/ft) cost over half the price of the speakers themselves(!). Hell, the cables weigh more than the pair of 77ds! And the resulting improvement in sound was worth every cent spent.

Properly amped and cabled, the surround information during the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, Wolverine's attempted escape at the school in X-Men, and the numerous battle scene's in Gladiator is portrayed with outstanding dynamics and clarity, with an almost holographic presentation providing listeners with a convincing illusion of immersion within the film itself.

The 77ds also perform substantially better using VERY good, high current amplification. Using the Pioneer's internal MOSFET amps (100/ch) the 77ds sounds respectable. When driven through the IXOX cables by the outstanding Outlaw Audio 5-ch power amplfier, their ability to resolve surround channel information is nothing short of astonishing. This confirms my earlier suspicion that the Mission 77ds performs its best with loads of current delivered by cabling capable of delivering that current over long runs. Unfortunately, it's also exactly the opposite of what most buyers at this price point are willing to shell out for reasonable performance.

In summary, the Mission 77ds is an outstanding limited-range surround speaker. It's finicky nature with amplification and cables doesn't make it a good choice for budget conscious buyers, and Mission's own 771 and 772 models are a better choice for those looking for rear surrounds with a wider frequency response and better mid to upper bass punch. I found their sound attractive enough to buy a second pair for when I eventually upgrade to a 7.1 set up. When properly set up with the right combination of amp/cables the 77ds is capable of terrific performance.

Hopefully my experience with the 77ds will put some of the previous diatribes from those frustrated folks into perspective.

Good Listening!

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Polk, Mirage, Boston, Klipsch

looks good

see below

Well the reviewer from denver (and his friends) must be higher than the mile high claim. unless you live in a closet your rear speaker runs are gonna be longer than 15 ft. and the old dolby surround references (70 htz) may be adequate for these speakers but with dts (and even thx which my system is equipt with)these speakers are weak. I had to add more 2db more gain just to get them to be a close sound volume match to the AR-S50s that were positioned 16 ft in front.I know some people will defend anything they buy to the death. Im willing to admit my mistakes. I put my Wharfedale mfm-5s back for my rears. These missions are average speakers and if you arent caught up with the mission name, will realize that. Ive owned other denon products in the past and this isnt even close to their standards. I challange those who have had these more than a month to go back and put a good set of bookshelfs or towers behind your heads for a few days and realize that these speakers are more hype than hip. I got the 77ds speakers now in the bedroom as rears for my surround system in the "crash site" Perfect rear channel sound for watching the Red Wings play the Avalanche. (had to say it)

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.....

Same as earlier review. See below.

Same as earlier review. See below.

Usually I don't respond to insults, but idiots like Ray who can't find their butt with both hands and a map would do themselves and everyone else a favor by shutting up and asking questions instead of throwing insults.

Case in point. Ray's front speakers (which he so graciously named in an earlier review) have an efficiency rating of 91db at one meter with a one watt input. The Mission 77ds efficiency rating is 87db at one meter with one watt input. Translated, that 4db difference in efficiency means the 77ds would require almost ten times the wattage to play at the same loudness level as the front speakers. And Ray's trying to do this with an A/V Receiver??? Way to go, Einstein! Anyone with basic knowledge of audio systems knows this combination was a guaranteed recipe for failure. BIG duh, Ray!

As for the 77ds transistor radio sound Ray complains of, it's likely a case of wave-cancellation from improperly matched speaker polarity. This is the most common source of frequency suck-out symptoms in systems employing multiple channels in a relatively confined space, i.e., your typical HT setup. Noise-cancelling headphones use wave-cancellation (by artificially generating soundwaves that are essentially the inverse to what's in the environment which creates a nulling effect. However, given Ray's previously demonstrated "expertise" with speaker efficiency matching, I doubt this common problem ever ventured into his awareness. He obviously was far too busy blaming the equipment and inventing ways to deminish those whose reviews were dissonant with his "experience".

Home Theater systems are very complex creatures with hundreds of variables to either nail down right or really mess up. Smart folk ask lots of questions.

You just stay in that "happy little world" of yours, Ray. While you're at it, take some of the time you're spending watching sports on TV and use it to evolve a thumb. At least in your case it'll make it easier to channel surf.

I have tried the 774, 771 and 77ds speakers. Just placed order for 775's.I think the 77ds is AWESOME. These little guys pump out some serious air volumes out of the top hole. They blow away my 771's. Mission reccomends them for THX sides but I think they rock best as rears in a 5 channel stereo setup on my AVR-5700. Love em!
The 771 has specified SPL of 85dB/1W/1m but the 77ds specs 90dB/1W/1m and that seems to be a huge difference. Very non-directional as they have 2 angled drive units in different directions to envelop you in music from all directions. The connectors are the "push clip and push your wire in" kind found on lesser speakers, but it made no difference. Likely will sound even better with 1,000 strand copper wires and DH Labs T-14 stuff I bought. I was surprised by the Bass in these little guys.

bipolar design, not fuzzy regarding placement, full frequency response, price

given the price, none really (although I'd recommend a subwoofer to cover up the frequencies below 100Hz)

I just got the 77ds and hooked them up in my system. I was really happy because the bipolar design gave me both the surround diffusion as well as stereo effects from DD and DTS. Excellent! I had tried the B&W DS6 which are really a better sound match for my system (B&W CDMse series) but as they are dipolars with a limited frequency response (85 Hz - 8 kHz) I wasn't happy with them in DD and DTS. The 77 DS are rated 90db/8ohm which really is in fact more in line with my other speakers. The response goes from 100Hz-20kHz (according to their fact sheet) which I found OK as I use a subwoofer to cover the lower frequencies. Bass isn't really the 77ds' strong side and really needs a bit of help. (Their fact sheet stated an "LF Frequency -3db 88hz" whatever that means as they also have "Frequency Response +/-3db 100Hz-20kHz", which I'm more accustomed to.)

I have 'em hooked up on the wall behind me and they give me the directionality in DD and DTS which I frankly prefer, but at the same time they spread the sound filling the room. As they are bipolars working in phase they work much better for my preferencies. I've tried dipolars that sort of work off-phase but I didn't like that. I used to have a pair of JPW MiniMonitors, which albeit are good for ordinary stereo use didn't match in very well (87db/6ohm).

Thus, (after this IMHO rather lengthy review) if you're looking for an upgrade that is cost efficient that combines DPL, DD and DTS use and that fits into most system you can't really go wrong with these ones. Excellent value!

Oh, I got them in white finish so they're inconspicous as well!

William

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B&W DS6, JPW MiniMonitor

i'll keep you posted

a couple of reviewers here mentioned that these were dipole speakers when the manually states they are bipolar design. i don't have a dvd player yet so i can't comment on their performance as surround speakers. i did listed to them with some two channel music though ( only the high frequency though because my main speakers - mission 703's are bi-wired and did't want to go through the hassle of reattaching the shorting connectors) and they seemed to sound pretty good. i'll update my review after purchasing a dvd player.

Can't beat the price on Ubid. Fantastic sound!

None that I found. My speakers came with binding posts not spring clips as others have stated.

I recently upgraded my home theater/stereo system so I was looking to upgrade all of my speakers. I found the 77ds's on Ubid for only $89 per speaker so I couldn't pass them up!

The sound is enveloping. You have to listen to dipole speakers to really appreciate them. These are the least expensive dipoles that I have seen and I don't think they can be beat at the Ubid price.

My system consists of:
Denon AVR-5700 AV Receiver
Toshiba SD-1600 DVD Player
Denon DCM-370 HD CD Player
JVC HR-S5400 SVHS HIFI VCR
JVC KD-V6 Cassette Deck

Boston VR20 for left front and right speakers
Klipsch KSC-C1 center channel (also great deal on Ubid)
Boston PV-800 subwoofer
Mission 77DS for left and right surrounds

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Previous rear surrounds were Boston 351's in wall. Have listened to the Boston Acoustic dipoles that cost $800!!

Looks, build, Mission

Not particular weakenesses, rather preferences ; Wall mount as standard, Spring Clips not binding posts

I've had these for a couple of months now and I am amazed at the ambience they create. It's my first venture into this style of surrounds and I'm hooked.

I used to use a pair of floorstanding Eltax's which I picked up for a couple of hundred $, thinking that floorstanders would create a fuller sound. I was wrong. I then got a pair of Mission 751 Freedoms so as to voice match my 752 F's and 75 C. Although they did voice match, the sound was too defined and locked into the speaker cabinets.

With these 'diffuse style' speakers, the cabinets almost disappear. I have a sub wired in to them to handle the low frequencies which works a treat and the highs and mids. If you have Mission or any 'UK' manufactured speakers I highly recommend these. Where as the majority of 'US' designed/made speakers will sound shrill or harsh, these bring a much warmer and fuller sound which in my opinion is the whole idea of amibience.

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Mission 751 Freedom, Eltax floor standers

Compact, high quality, outstanding value

None - fit the job if affordable compact di-poles are what you're after.

I have 774 front and rear, 77c1 center and I couldn't pass up the chance to buy these on sale at www.richersounds.co.uk or www.richersounds.com for 150 quid (@$215). Sorry guys but mine also have newer solid screw type connections which must be a welcome upgrade to the spring clip connections mentioned in some of the reviews below. Beatifully finished in black and in keeping with the high quality finish of the rest of 77 series speakers. How they sound - well I've tried them on their own as rear surrounds and also in parallel with my existing 774s at the rear. They defintitely give a more ambient all around fill to the sound. The definition is as good as the 774's. Yes, deep bass is obviously lacking but what do you expect from these compact units. With a sub woofer this is insignificant.
Overall I would highly recommend the 77DS and especially give excellent value if you can grab them for around $200 which is half MSRP.
Try them - you won't be sorry.

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The usual Yanky suspects

Design, musical ability, they're Missions...

None - Except maybe for springclip bindings - which unfortunatley are necessary for flush wall mounting.

Only owned them for a couple of weeks and already I can hear a huge improvement over my older regular 751F bookshelfs. They match my 75C and 752F perfectly with the Aerogel drivers and even sound good with regular stereo music played through them. They do what they're supposed to do - diffuse the sound so that it comes from all around you. I've heard 6.1 DD & DTS systems with four speakers at the rear, and these achieve a much similar effect with regular 5.1. More to come in time, after I've broken them in a little more...

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751 Freedom