Mission QX-2 MKII

It's seconds out, round two for Mission's attractive standmounters

Standmount speakers ₹32,900 

It's always interesting when a manufacturer revisits a speaker we have previously tested. But it's even more intriguing when the speaker in question is a five-star performer and former What Hi-Fi? Award-winner - which is exactly the case with the Mission QX-2 MKII.

We tested Mission's original QX2 bookshelf speakers back in 2018 and were impressed, calling them "hugely enjoyable speakers that stand out among the competition".

But four years have passed and the competition now boasts some serious standout performers such as the Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 Anniversary Edition. So, has Mission managed to move the game on sufficiently?

Interesting looks

The QX-2 have always been one of the more interesting-looking speakers at this price point and the same is true for the new versions, which actually bring some subtle but noticeable changes.

The aluminium top plate of the original has been revised to bring extra rigidity, and the two-way standmounter also gets the latest version of Mission's DiaDrive bass/mid driver. The cone is made from an improved acrylic fibre material, and you can actually see those fibres glisten when light catches the speaker cone from certain angles.

The driver is surrounded by something that Mission refers to as a "serrated acoustic damping frame". This frame is not there just for visual effect; it is engineered to help scatter unwanted reflections coming off the cone and improve the purity of sound. For the MKII variants, the layout of the indents has been tweaked while tapered indentations have been added to help smooth out the frequency response even further.