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Kronos and iLoud micro monitors

 
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DeltaJockey
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Jul 2015
Posts: 303
Location: East Gippsland, Australia

PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:10 am    Post subject: Kronos and iLoud micro monitors Reply with quote

I was wondering if anyone else had tried a set of these on their Kronos?

I know it might seem like shooting an ant with an elephant gun, but after the discussions I had been reading online, I thought I'd try a set of them out, as a portable compromise, and see if they are as capable as the hype would have one think. While they do sound very big and impressive for their size, I'm not all that happy with their robustness audio-wise, when it comes to handling the high dynamic range I enjoy from the Kronos.

The bass reflex port seems to buzz a little at certain frequencies, adding an annoying overtone to some piano notes. Though they do sound amazing, they seem to have to work hard to achieve this.
They also seem to cope well with synth sounds and EDM, but it's dynamic range and rich harmonics of the acoustic instruments which push them hard. I'm not sure I would pair them with the Kronos on the go.

I currently use a pair of Adam A3X's which I've modified to sit on tripods, and they are just excellent!.... with no compromise.
I don't play them in large areas, so don't require PA speakers.

So maybe in the end it is just hype, and they are only great in certain situations. It does go against my better judgment to really believe they could be so big, by being so small.

This is not a review of the monitors, but I was just curious to know if anyone else has by chance tried them out on a Kronos?
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The companions I can't live without: Kawai Acoustic Grand, Kawai MP11SE, Yamaha Montage8, Korg D1
Other important stuff: Kronos2-73, Studiologic NC2X, NI Komplete Ultimate 11, Sonuscore Elysion and Orchestra, Pianoteq, Experimenta Due.
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19naia
Platinum Member


Joined: 29 Nov 2012
Posts: 1216

PostPosted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 4:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Roland makes KC model speaker specifically for Keyboards and the 350 model which has a rather big low end speaker, yet can hardly handle the dynamic range of Kronos.
I used it with korg triton extreme years ago, which is a keyboard known for weak bass end of the sounds. Even so the Roland KC 350 had rattling and such when it came to bass end.
I can only imagine how much worse it would be with Kronos.

Going small is not the route. Even with highest quality speakers, there is only so small you can go before you will need to divide the load between a decent subwoofer and EQ control over what goes into the small speakers. All the amazing home stereo systems with tiny high end speaker, they use potent subwoofers and make sure the frequency range gets serviced only where it can be handled.

I had issues getting good bass sound mixed in well with my combis on kronos. Anytime i got the bass full enough, the total sound from kronos cracked up and i had to EQ down the whole thing which then defeated all the bass end work i had done.
Then i got an external bass sound engine (Boss DR-880 drum machine with included bass accompany section). I midi the external bass engine into my Kronos combis and immediately i get the right bass response/levels integrating well. All i do is adjust the external bass volume and leave the rest of the combi intact with the internal bass all EQ’d to keep the sound from cracking apart.
And all that with KRK rokit 5’s which are excellent sound with deep enough bass at that small size -as long as i keep the main volume at room level.
I don’t do gigs right now so i don’t need stage sized sound.

I sometimes get slight sound fading with the KRK r5’s when used with kronos live playing at home, especially after the built in amps get hot. Not so much issue with wave files unless i turn the main volume too high.

Kronos is a top tier sound machine and it requires top tier sound system to handle its true power. Of course EQ work can tame kronos sound power to suit what sond system you have. The sound really begins and ends at the speaker regardless of what sound engine or sond source. The best sound source makes no difference with the worst speakers and the worst sound source can really get interesting with the best speaker. Imagine low quality 1910 gramophone but through modern high quality speakers with potent, wide and fine detail frequency-range support. Eclectic quality at the very least.

I use the set list EQ which has more bands than the FX EQ options and you can store the setlist EQ setting per each setlist. 127 setlists and the 127 EQ settings that go with them.
This means you can put together a setlist(set of 127 programs or combis or songs) and EQ the setlist for a specicfic sound system and then copy the set to a new setlist and EQ the new setlist to a different sound system. 127 different sound systems if you want.

When you get used to using the kronos setlist EQ, you can EQ kronos sound to just about any speakers. It will end up dimming kronos sound richness for smaller or lesser quality speakers but at least it will get a handle on overwhelmng the speakers with frequency ranges beyond the speaker capabilities.
Frequency range is the real issue even with quality speakers. KRK has built in a sort of limiter that causes sound level to fluctuate or fade as it begins to overwhelm the speaker. It senses the frequencies coming in and limits the ones above its capabilites. Protects the speakers but takes some stability out of the sound flow from powerful sound sources like Kronos.
So you will hardly be able to get the KRK to crack up, it would rather fade sound out a bit instead.
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DeltaJockey
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Jul 2015
Posts: 303
Location: East Gippsland, Australia

PostPosted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

19naia wrote:
Roland makes KC model speaker specifically for Keyboards and the 350 model which has a rather big low end speaker, yet can hardly handle the dynamic range of Kronos.
I used it with korg triton extreme years ago, which is a keyboard known for weak bass end of the sounds. Even so the Roland KC 350 had rattling and such when it came to bass end.
I can only imagine how much worse it would be with Kronos.

Going small is not the route. Even with highest quality speakers, there is only so small you can go before you will need to divide the load between a decent subwoofer and EQ control over what goes into the small speakers. All the amazing home stereo systems with tiny high end speaker, they use potent subwoofers and make sure the frequency range gets serviced only where it can be handled.

I had issues getting good bass sound mixed in well with my combis on kronos. Anytime i got the bass full enough, the total sound from kronos cracked up and i had to EQ down the whole thing which then defeated all the bass end work i had done.
Then i got an external bass sound engine (Boss DR-880 drum machine with included bass accompany section). I midi the external bass engine into my Kronos combis and immediately i get the right bass response/levels integrating well. All i do is adjust the external bass volume and leave the rest of the combi intact with the internal bass all EQ’d to keep the sound from cracking apart.
And all that with KRK rokit 5’s which are excellent sound with deep enough bass at that small size -as long as i keep the main volume at room level.
I don’t do gigs right now so i don’t need stage sized sound.

I sometimes get slight sound fading with the KRK r5’s when used with kronos live playing at home, especially after the built in amps get hot. Not so much issue with wave files unless i turn the main volume too high.

Kronos is a top tier sound machine and it requires top tier sound system to handle its true power. Of course EQ work can tame kronos sound power to suit what sond system you have. The sound really begins and ends at the speaker regardless of what sound engine or sond source. The best sound source makes no difference with the worst speakers and the worst sound source can really get interesting with the best speaker. Imagine low quality 1910 gramophone but through modern high quality speakers with potent, wide and fine detail frequency-range support. Eclectic quality at the very least.

I use the set list EQ which has more bands than the FX EQ options and you can store the setlist EQ setting per each setlist. 127 setlists and the 127 EQ settings that go with them.
This means you can put together a setlist(set of 127 programs or combis or songs) and EQ the setlist for a specicfic sound system and then copy the set to a new setlist and EQ the new setlist to a different sound system. 127 different sound systems if you want.

When you get used to using the kronos setlist EQ, you can EQ kronos sound to just about any speakers. It will end up dimming kronos sound richness for smaller or lesser quality speakers but at least it will get a handle on overwhelmng the speakers with frequency ranges beyond the speaker capabilities.
Frequency range is the real issue even with quality speakers. KRK has built in a sort of limiter that causes sound level to fluctuate or fade as it begins to overwhelm the speaker. It senses the frequencies coming in and limits the ones above its capabilites. Protects the speakers but takes some stability out of the sound flow from powerful sound sources like Kronos.
So you will hardly be able to get the KRK to crack up, it would rather fade sound out a bit instead.


Thanks for your detailed opinion 19aia. I do agree with you, and you are preaching the converted, as I think and do pretty much what you do. I do heavily rely on the Setlist EQ for different configs, and I find it suits very well.
I was though, particularly interested in someone's opinion on this model monitor, before I decide whether to keep them.

I had been woo'd by the hype of these IK multimedia speakers which they insisting that they're different from previous technology, with inbuilt intelligent processing etc. I think the people online doing reviews in the end are quite naive when it comes to what is achievable. I wasn't able to listen to them in a store beforehand and ordered online. As I mentioned before, I have a set of Adam A3X's which are only a little bigger than these iLouds, and they are fantastic! They are a bit more money too.
I wasn't so worried about a small speaker having limited bass, rather that it could handle the audio it was capable of reproducing, wothout me having to EQ out the bottom end....or any specific points on the spectrum

I had considered finding a small stand alone sub, to go with small monitors, but with the little Adams, I don't feel the need.
There are things I could do on the Kronos, to compensate...like more compression etc, but that would defeat the purpose.

So in the end I'll stick with my little Adams...they are a gem Smile
_________________
The companions I can't live without: Kawai Acoustic Grand, Kawai MP11SE, Yamaha Montage8, Korg D1
Other important stuff: Kronos2-73, Studiologic NC2X, NI Komplete Ultimate 11, Sonuscore Elysion and Orchestra, Pianoteq, Experimenta Due.
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fomalhaut
Junior Member


Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 83
Location: Madrid, Spain

PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I wanted to leave my 2 cents. Mind you, I am not an audiophile nor a pro, and I come from using Sennheiser HD598 headphones that always sounded a little bit muddy on the low end.

I have my Kronos connected to a pair of iLoud Micro Monitors. They are small enough to put them on top of the 88 keys model.

Bass is great --these little speakers really have oomph, you can feel the air blowing on your face, but for me the winner is the clarity on the mid-high end. The SGX2 piano really shines here, you can perfectly hear the harmonics.

As a bonus that I haven't found documented elsewhere Bluetooth connectivity can stream audio while at the same time playing the sound coming from the connected RCA speakers, which makes them great for playing along without additional cables.

For the money (I got them for around 230€) it's a no brainer even for a regular computer desktop.
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Piotr1967
Junior Member


Joined: 19 Mar 2017
Posts: 58
Location: Poland

PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I, with my Kronos and Roland Juno G in my home corner, use Alesis Elevate 5 monitors and old Sennheiser HD540 Reference Gold headphones. This set fully meets my expectations Smile
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