Mission 778X is the company's first stereo amplifier in 40 years

By Joe Svetlik
published

First since the 80s

Mission 778X is the company's first stereo amplifier in 40 years
(Image credit: MIssion)

Mission has a new integrated stereo amp. That might not seem like a big deal, until you realise its last one was released nearly 40 years ago, in 1983 (that's the same year that saw Return of the Jedi hit cinemas). Thankfully, it looks like the Mission 778X was worth the wait.

The original 778 launched six years after Mission was formed. It combined decent build quality, simple controls and a broad range of inputs in a relatively affordable package. After it, Mission didn't stop making amps – it just did so under its new Cyrus brand offshoot. But now we have a new model under the Mission name.

The 778X offers similar benefits as the original 778 but updated to meet today's standards. 

Thanks to its range of inputs, it will play nice with all your digital and analogue music sources. These include asynchronous USB Type B and three S/PDIF sockets (one coaxial and two optical), as well as three stereo RCA inputs (two line-level plus an MM phono input for turntables). And outputs? Its digital come in optical and coaxial varieties, while pre-out sockets mean you can hook it up to an external power amplifier.

Of course, Bluetooth is onboard too for wireless playback from a computer or mobile device, and it supports the aptX and AAC codecs.

Two rotary controls on the front of the unit adjust source selection and volume, while the white LEDs surrounding them show your current settings. There are also a power button, IR sensor and 6.3mm headphone port on the front.

Inside is a hi-res DAC based around the ES9018K2M chipset from the Sabre32 Reference family. Because this uses ESS Technology’s 32-bit HyperStream architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator, it should provide great dynamic range and low distortion. Hi-res PCM files are supported up to 32-bit/384kHz, and DSD to 11.2 MHz (DSD256).

The Mission 778X is available this month for £549 / $799 / AU$1199. 

It also comes packaged with some of Mission's standmount speakers: you can bundle it with two Mission LX-2 MkII speakers for £649 (saving you £130 on buying the devices separately), or with two Mission QX-2 MkII for £799 (saving £150).

The amp comes in silver or black, while the speakers are available in matt black, matt white or walnut.

MORE:

Read our Mission QX-2 MkII review

Check out the best speakers around

And the best stereo amps

Joe Svetlik
Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jjbomber
    45W into 8 ohms, saves you asking!
    Reply
  • manicm
    It looks like a re-badged Cyrus One, only with less power. Probably is.
    Reply
  • Hifiman
    ‘After it , Mission didn't stop making amps – it just did so under its new Cyrus brand offshoot. But now we have a new model under the Mission name.’.
    Well I am looking at the Mission Cyrus 1 that I bought in 1984 and still love using. It was a good number of years before the word ‘Mission’ was dropped from their integrated amps.
    Reply
  • djh1697
    I had an original Cyrus one from the early 1980's, it had the serial number 384. I used it for a long time due to its excellent phono stage, I sold it a few years ago when I went fully Naim amplification.

    Sadly the DAC ES9018K2M is built around MQA, Mediocre Quality Audio, very sad :(

    The earlier ES tone board was an excellent product that is sadly discontinued.
    Reply
  • nopiano
    I appreciate that these announcements are in effect Press Releases, rewritten. But leaving ‘we’ in the text is a dead giveaway, Joe!
    Reply
  • Gray
    Looks OK.
    Always nice to see a full sized headphone socket.

    In the same way that Kellogs say they don't make cornflakes for any other company.....do we think that Cyrus has nothing to do with this? :unsure:
    Reply
  • Sundries
    380 deep though - too big for my rack
    Reply
  • podknocker
    This new amp is very similar in spec and concept to the Quad Vena 2 amp, or amps in the 'One' range. The Mission 778X will probably use the same parts as those inside these amps. I very much doubt it will sound anything like a decent Cyrus amp. It's also underpowered, doesn't have a streamer built in and it's a huge device. It's going to be very tricky getting it to fit many shelves, due to the depth. A very impractical and average spec amp. I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. If I was starting again, with a new system, I'd spend £599 on a Bluesound Powernode Edge. Nearly as powerful, a tiny footprint and a BluOS streamer inside.
    Reply
  • robdmarsh
    podknocker said:
    This new amp is very similar in spec and concept to the Quad Vena 2 amp, or amps in the 'One' range. The Mission 778X will probably use the same parts as those inside these amps. I very much doubt it will sound anything like a decent Cyrus amp. It's also underpowered, doesn't have a streamer built in and it's a huge device. It's going to be very tricky getting it to fit many shelves, due to the depth. A very impractical and average spec amp. I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. If I was starting again, with a new system, I'd spend £599 on a Bluesound Powernode Edge. Nearly as powerful, a tiny footprint and a BluOS streamer inside.
    Well I sincerely hope they've upped their DAC game in the "Edge" version of the Node. The DAC in the Node 2021 sounded pretty lackluster in my opinion.
    Reply