Speaker brand Mission has unveiled its first-ever network music player. Compact, and fully featured, the new 778S is designed to sit alongside the company’s well-regarded 778X integrated amplifier, released in 2022.
The 778S mirrors the proportions and design language of the 778X, measuring just 236 × 98 × 357mm. Compact and contemporary, its symmetrically arranged front panel sports twin rotary dials flanking a dimmable OLED display.
Dual-band Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet handle network duties, while USB-C enables direct connection to a PC or Mac. Two USB-A ports support local storage, allowing the 778S to function as a self-contained digital library player.
Analogue outputs include both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA, alongside coaxial, optical and USB-A digital outputs for users who prefer an external DAC. There’s also a 6.35mm headphone socket, backed by a dedicated amplifier stage, enabling the 778S to operate as a standalone head-fi streamer.
Rather than developing a streaming platform from scratch, Mission opted to collaborate with specialist Silent Angel…
Partnering with Silent Angel
Rather than developing a streaming platform from scratch, Mission opted to collaborate with Silent Angel, a specialist whose reputation has been built on stable, performance-led network audio products. Founded in 2014, Silent Angel has spent the past decade refining a streaming ecosystem that prioritises signal integrity and usability over feature bloat.
The result is a custom implementation of Silent Angel’s streaming engine within the 778S, running on ARM Cortex-A72 and Cortex-A53 multi-core processors. Control is handled via a dedicated iOS and Android app derived from Silent Angel’s VitOS platform, offering a clean, responsive interface that feels engineered rather than ornamental.
All expected services are present and accounted for: Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Spotify Connect and TuneIn Radio are embedded directly, each supported at its highest available quality. AirPlay 2 adds Apple-friendly flexibility, while full UPnP/DLNA compliance ensures seamless integration with NAS drives and third-party control apps.
For many music fans, Roon readiness will be the clincher. The 778S supports RAAT natively, allowing it to function as a transparent endpoint in a Roon-managed system.
At the heart of the 778S lies ESS Technology’s ES9038Q2M DAC, a 32-bit chip from the Sabre family.
The post-DAC stage uses a Class A active filter designed specifically for the ES9038Q2M, maximising dynamic range while maintaining low noise and distortion. Balanced analogue circuitry feeds the XLR outputs directly, preserving signal integrity for users with compatible amps.
Built for hi-res, made for listening
The 778S supports PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz and native DSD up to DSD512, alongside a comprehensive list of lossless and lossy formats including FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, APE, MP3, AAC and OGG. In short, it plays everything.
PCM streams are upsampled internally to 352.8kHz or 384kHz before conversion. By pushing artefacts further from the audible band, reconstruction filtering can be gentler, helping to preserve transient detail and spatial coherence, says the company. Users who prefer a more hands-on approach can disable upsampling and choose from five DAC reconstruction filters to tailor the sound.
The Mission 778S network music streamer will be available from late January in black or silver, priced at £799.
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The Luxe Review 
Speaker brand Mission has unveiled its first-ever network music player. Compact, and fully featured, the new 778S is designed to sit alongside the company’s well-regarded 778X integrated amplifier, released in 2022.
The 778S mirrors the proportions and design language of the 778X, measuring just 236 × 98 × 357mm. Compact and contemporary, its symmetrically arranged front panel sports twin rotary dials flanking a dimmable OLED display.
Dual-band Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet handle network duties, while USB-C enables direct connection to a PC or Mac. Two USB-A ports support local storage, allowing the 778S to function as a self-contained digital library player.
Analogue outputs include both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA, alongside coaxial, optical and USB-A digital outputs for users who prefer an external DAC. There’s also a 6.35mm headphone socket, backed by a dedicated amplifier stage, enabling the 778S to operate as a standalone head-fi streamer.
Partnering with Silent Angel
Rather than developing a streaming platform from scratch, Mission opted to collaborate with Silent Angel, a specialist whose reputation has been built on stable, performance-led network audio products. Founded in 2014, Silent Angel has spent the past decade refining a streaming ecosystem that prioritises signal integrity and usability over feature bloat.
The result is a custom implementation of Silent Angel’s streaming engine within the 778S, running on ARM Cortex-A72 and Cortex-A53 multi-core processors. Control is handled via a dedicated iOS and Android app derived from Silent Angel’s VitOS platform, offering a clean, responsive interface that feels engineered rather than ornamental.
All expected services are present and accounted for: Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Spotify Connect and TuneIn Radio are embedded directly, each supported at its highest available quality. AirPlay 2 adds Apple-friendly flexibility, while full UPnP/DLNA compliance ensures seamless integration with NAS drives and third-party control apps.
For many music fans, Roon readiness will be the clincher. The 778S supports RAAT natively, allowing it to function as a transparent endpoint in a Roon-managed system.
At the heart of the 778S lies ESS Technology’s ES9038Q2M DAC, a 32-bit chip from the Sabre family.
The post-DAC stage uses a Class A active filter designed specifically for the ES9038Q2M, maximising dynamic range while maintaining low noise and distortion. Balanced analogue circuitry feeds the XLR outputs directly, preserving signal integrity for users with compatible amps.
Built for hi-res, made for listening
The 778S supports PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz and native DSD up to DSD512, alongside a comprehensive list of lossless and lossy formats including FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, APE, MP3, AAC and OGG. In short, it plays everything.
PCM streams are upsampled internally to 352.8kHz or 384kHz before conversion. By pushing artefacts further from the audible band, reconstruction filtering can be gentler, helping to preserve transient detail and spatial coherence, says the company. Users who prefer a more hands-on approach can disable upsampling and choose from five DAC reconstruction filters to tailor the sound.
The Mission 778S network music streamer will be available from late January in black or silver, priced at £799.
Audio Pro brings rock ’n’ roll energy to wireless Hi-Fi with stylish Drumfire W speakers
If you’re looking for a Bluetooth music system with a little more edge, then Swedish audio brand Audio Pro has you covered. The brand has just expanded its W-generation speaker range with the Drumfire II W and Drumfire D-2 W. First launched in 2018, the Drumfire line has developed a following among listeners drawn to…
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Amazon is looking to carve itself a lucrative slice of the booming lifestyle TV market, with the announcement of the Amazon Ember Artline Fire TV series. The Ember Artline marks Amazon’s debut in the fast-growing gallery TV sector. The category is currently led by Samsung’s long-running The Frame series. Like its inspiration, the new model…
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