The MSP3 is the baby of Yamaha's MSP range — the largest model, the MSP10, was reviewed in SOS April 2000, and the middle MSP5 in SOS February 1999. The latest addition to the family is very similar in styling and construction to the MSP5, but is a powered speaker rather than an active one.
It measures 236 x 144 x 155mm (hwd) and weighs just 4.5kg. The light weight is due in part to the moulded plastic cabinet onto which the metal rear panel is screwed. The internal volume is roughly 2.5 litres, with a small amount of acoustic damping material, mostly at the top. A pair of narrow ports exit the front baffle just below the tweeter.
The two drive units are manufactured by Yamaha (is there anything they don't make?) and are magnetically shielded. The 10cm woofer works alongside a 2.2cm metal-dome tweeter, the crossover point being set at a relatively high 4kHz. A perforated metal grille protects the woofer, while a phasing ring performs the same duty for the tweeter, which is set back in a dished wave guide designed to help control dispersion. The drivers are both 4Ω units powered by a single IC amplifier chip of 20 Watts — sufficient to deliver 98dBSPL at one metre.
At the foot of the front baffle are four small rotary controls. To the left, bass and treble tone knobs apply a sensibly restricted ±3dB boost or cut (centred on 100Hz and 10kHz respectively) with centre detents. The controls to the right adjust the level of the two rear-panel inputs, allowing two signals to be mixed, if so desired. A green LED below the woofer lights when the unit is powered.
The flat metal rear panel acts as both heat sink and chassis for the amplifier electronics and power supply, but only becomes vaguely warm to the touch after prolonged use. At the bottom of the panel is a rocker switch to turn the unit on, a captive mains lead, and three input sockets. A phono connector accepts unbalanced signals at -10dBV (Line 1), while an XLR wired in parallel with a TRS quarter-inch jack socket receives balanced signals at +4dBu (Line 2).