MC Systems (MCS) has been around for over 40 years. The loudspeakers from Groningen in the Netherlands look super chic, are technically very interesting, have a top finish and simply sound fantastic. And yet they are more or less unknown on this side of the border. It’s time to put an end to this flaw. Time to test the MC Systems MP 3.1.
If we look at Germany from a hi-fi perspective, we find a lively scene with a number of manufacturers, good stores and many highly interested fans. But the Dutch are a bit better. Although the country is considerably smaller than Germany and “only” 18 million people live in the Netherlands, the Dutch hi-fi scene seems livelier, more active and more interested. And it is in this scene, very close to the German border, that the MCS transducers are created – under the hands of a man who is not immediately suspected of running a noble loudspeaker company. We are talking about Rob Meyst, Dr. Rob Meyst, to be precise.
The man is a successful dentist and drills thick loudspeaker boards – for relaxation, so to speak – instead of into his patients’ teeth. In both cases, precise work is undoubtedly a great advantage. A medical background doesn’t seem to be a bad thing when developing hi-fi anyway: In Rosenheim, for example, the former ophthalmologist Helmuth Weber also develops excellent speakers under the brand name AudiaZ – his AudiaZ Opera D is one of the best speakers up to 50,000 euros and a reference at LowBeats.
But we digress. Rob Meyst has been operating on two tracks for decades: the medical practice on one side, the loudspeaker factory on the other. And he does almost everything himself: The development, but also – when he gets the urge – the entire construction of the systems with crossover soldering and all the bells and whistles. It seems that Mijnheer Meyst needs a lot of balance and very little sleep…
What’s special about the MC Systems MP 3.1
The enclosures come directly from the neighborhood in Groningen and are excellently made despite some challenges in the construction. Your fingers really like to go for a walk… The characteristic feature of many MCS models, but also of the MP 3.1, is the combination of lacquered MDF cabinet plus solid wood baffle.
This solid wood front is several centimetres thick, allowing various acoustically favorable specifications to be implemented. For example, the generous chamfers that avoid sharp edge reflections. Or the turned-in waveguide (a kind of short horn) in front of the tweeter, which can be reliably found in every MC Systems model. Meyst: “I only see advantages in the waveguides. The radiation in the lower frequency range is slightly more directional and is therefore similar to the radiation behavior of the midrange driver, I increase the efficiency through the horn and I also place the tweeter so far back through the waveguide that it fits perfectly with the phase of the bass-midrange driver.” I can’t argue with that.
In the standard version (pair price: 12,500 euros), the MP 3.1 is equipped with the excellent ring radiator tweeter from SB Acoustics. The Indonesian premium manufacturer with Danish DNA is the house and court supplier for almost all MCS drivers. But of course SB Acoustics has even better tweeters in its range – for one, the best beryllium tweeter on the market. It has a crazy efficiency of 95 decibels and sounds outstandingly fine. This is also available in a special version of the MP 3.1, which costs 16,000 euros and which we also tested…
Thanks to the waveguide, Meyst can pull the tweeter down to 2,000 Hertz, after which the 16 bass-midrange driver takes over. Strictly speaking, there are two of them, which are mechanically connected and sit one behind the other – see the sequence of pictures:
Connoisseurs see the construction and nod knowingly: “Ah, a compound system, as used by Linn or Wilson Bensch.” Such compound systems (Linn calls them cloudy “Isobaric”) allow – correctly calculated – a very deep bass from small cabinets. But that is not Dr. Meyst’s approach. He wants the most precise impulse possible. To achieve this, he bolts the two bass-midrange drivers together immovably using a metal rod and reverses the polarity of the rear one. The result is an impulse-corrected push/push system: if the cone on one side vibrates in the cabinet when it pops out, it is immediately damped by the counterforce on the other side. Audio Physic does it this way, T+A does it this way and so do many others. But I have yet to see such a solution inside the cabinet.
However, this vibration-damping concept only makes sense in the bass range – the rear driver is therefore decoupled with a large coil above 250 Hertz; Meyst did not want to create a dipole system. The mid-range component radiated to the rear is absolutely negligible.
Practice
The measurements of my colleague Jürgen Schröder made me doubt whether Rob Meyst is a magician rather than a dentist. Point one: I already mentioned that the tweeter is unusually efficient (2.83 V/m). This doesn’t normally matter because almost all tweeters (especially modern AMTs) can play much louder than the midrange and bass drivers that play along. The basses in particular have a hard time if they are also supposed to produce some bass. The treble level is then normally reduced considerably.
But Meyst manages to conjure up over 90 decibels of efficiency (2.83 V/m) from this combination of two 16 centimeter bass-midrange drivers plus a cleverly calculated cabinet. Please bear in mind that a crossover – no matter how high-end it is – only ever makes the drivers quieter, so I wonder how the dentist from Groningen manages this feat.
But I was even more impressed by the impedance response of the MP 3.1, and that’s point two: such a clean, linear impedance and phase response can otherwise only be found in active speakers. Even the two usual humps in the bass range (cabinet resonance and bass reflex tuning resonance) are almost undetectable. How does it do that?
Rob Meyst explains this trick as follows: “Because the two basses work against each other, they significantly dampen the resonance frequency. We have also constructed the two reflex tubes in two parts: There is a tube within the tube and both are tuned differently. This allows us to achieve a perfect ‘load’ on the bass-midrange drivers and a very deep and harmonious tuning.”
You could say that. And it remains to be said that such high efficiency combined with such linear impedance/phase behavior is ideal for tube amplifiers, but also for all other transistor or digital amplifiers that do not come with endlessly stable power supplies. I consider the design of the MP 3.1 to be great art.
However, the doctor cannot completely override the laws of physics: the maximum sound pressure remains at 102 decibels (continuous) or 114 decibels (short-term) – see measurements:
Two 16-centimeter woofers are still quite small woofers with a limited level, no matter how tricky the cabinet is. But 102 and 114 decibels are still a lot. And the level limit corresponds quite well with many amplifiers that impose themselves. An absolute dream combination, for example, is the 300B amplifier called Leo from Westend Audio. I have mainly listened to it. But a Soulnote A-1, for example, or even a comparatively small Rega Elicit Mk5 sound fantastic with this speaker.
Hearing test
After the set-up and long discussions with Dr. Meyst about the perfect impulse, I expected a sound with a precise, dry, springy bass. But things turned out differently. The MP 3.1 certainly offers a very firm bass, but one that is blessed with volume and warmth – which is particularly good for the vocals: in “Jubel, Trubel, Eitelkeit” by Hotel Rimini (album: Allein unter Möbeln), the MCS modeled the voice of singer Julius Forster so present and tangible in the listening room that everyone just thought: Oops, what’s happening here? It has to be said that the sound engineering at Hotel Rimini is always excellent and all the instruments and vocals are perfectly staged. But this performance in the listening room was exceptionally good.
How finely she worked out the characteristic fragility of the voice, how dreamily sure she followed the bass lines – everything sounded vivid and tidy and impressively real. Then suddenly violin chords fly into the recording from all sides. And once again the Dutchwoman creates this wonderful mix of fine transparency and high coherence. The unagitated resolution of the beryllium tweeter is simply the finest…
Away from German chanson to electropop: to Yello: “Till Tomorrow” with Till Brönner starts with rich, deep electro bass, which quickly pushes many systems to their limits. Not so the MP 3.1: it follows the rich black shades, pushes the basses pleasantly firmly into the room and doesn’t allow itself to be caught out by any imprecise cheating. Above all, it manages the feat of always delivering just the right amount of bass. With most loudspeakers, the ratio of bass to treble changes at different levels. With the MCS, this is always the same and always perfectly balanced.
If you ask me about the best loudspeakers in this class, I immediately give you two answers: the Piega Coax 611 with its fantastically transparent sound and the Burmester B28, which is not quite as delicate but has an even better grip. Both are also absolute highlights within their product ranges. The MP 3.1 expands this illustrious circle with a transducer that sounds a little more coherent/homogeneous overall and that little bit finer and less stressed in the high frequencies. The bottom line is that it is probably the most suitable for the majority.
Conclusion MC Systems MP 3.1
A masterpiece: beautifully made, technically well thought out, high-end ingredients (best and very expensive drivers and crossover components) wherever you look and the sound of the MP 3.1 is beyond any doubt. What’s more, it is so electrically undemanding that even a portable radio should be able to make music with it.
For me, the MP 3.1 is one of THE discoveries of the year. It remains inexplicable why such a jewel has been slumbering undiscovered on the other side of the border for decades – even the author of these lines has to take a good look at himself, especially as some dealers have been stocking these Dutch beauties for several years. But now MC Systems is firmly anchored in our consciousness. And knowing full well that Doctor Meyst has at least seven more models in his portfolio, I can say with certainty: more from this beautiful theater very soon…
MC Systems MP 3.1 | 2025/11 |
 | |
Outstanding | |
Reviews
SoundUsabilityWorkmanship |
| The rating always refers to the respective price category. |
| | Very fine, expressive and holographic sound |
| | High efficiency |
| | Ideal impedance and phase response |
| | Very good workmanship |
Distribution:
MC Systems
9794 Groningen NL
Dealer network
www.mc-systems.com
Pair price (manufacturer’s recommendation):
MC Systems MP 3.1: 12,500 euros
MC Systems MP 3.1 (Beryllium): 16,000 euros
Technical data
| MC System MP 3.1 Beryllium | |
|---|---|
| Technical concept: | 2-way floorstanding speaker, bass reflex |
| Tweeter configuration: | HT: 1 x 28 mm beryllium dome tweeter |
| Mid / bass driver configuration: | TT: 2 x 16 cm paper cone |
| Nominal impedance: | 3.4 Ohm |
| Efficiency (2.83 V/m): | 90.1 decibels |
| Maximum level (continuous/short-term): | 102 / 114 decibels |
| Minimum power for maximum level: | >80 watts |
| Dimensions H x W x D: | 105.2 x 18.6 x 36.5 cm |
| Weight: | 35.2 kilograms |
| All technical data | |
Teammates and opponents:
Test Westend Audio Leo: 300B tube amp with 2 x 20 watts
Test integrated amplifier Soulnote A-1
Test integrated amplifier Rega Elicit Mk5: the perfect flow
Aluminum floorstanding speaker with ribbon coax: test of the Piega Coax 611
Test floorstanding speaker Burmester B28: primus inter pares
