Korg Forums

[omvibraphone]

Hi all,
As previously posted on here, I'm humming and ha-ing between a Kronos 1 61 and LS88. One issue which has come is running temperature. Is there any difference between the Kronos 1 and 2 in terms of temperatures? I've read various posts mentioning temperatures of about 50-70 for the Kronos 1, but can't find any similar discussions on the Kronos 2. Does the metal grill on the top make a big difference?

[Mike Conway]

[KK]

The K2 grill hides two narrow 3,5'' zones of diagonal vents, so actually on a 88-key K2 you could say that the 54'' grill is about 85% aesthetic. One is located near the CPU PCB and the other near the other main PCBs under the control surface.

This design probably helps cooling the internal components to a certain extent, but IMHO the major improvement between the K2 vs previous Kronos models about this is the much more massive heatsink on the CPU board. Compare the pics below, with the black heatsink on an older Kronos vs the tall aluminum colored one on a K2.

But despite these improvements, a K2 at decent ambient temperature will easily reach the 60 C zone while at work. If you worry, it is not very hard to add a better/extra fan.

[voip]

The orientation of the fins on the K2's CPU heatsink is not ideal for dissipating heat in its location in the Kronos i.e. when the motherboard is horizontal, so the improvement in CPU cooling in the K2 over the K1 is not as great as the increased heatsink size might suggest.

The slider control slots and the gaps for the keys and in between the keys are the main routes for air movement into and out of the Kronos when the fan is running, and the metal case itself makes a contribution to heat removal.

The majority of the Kronos' internal components reach relatively low temperatures during operation. The main CPU and and NM10 Express Chip are the devices that get hottest during use, with the latter's heatsink running considerably warmer than the main CPU heatsink. However, 50-70degC is not particularly hot for silicon semiconductors so, under normal conditions, failure due to heat is unlikely.

Direct exposure to the sun is likely to make the biggest difference to internal temperatures, so best avoided.
.

[omvibraphone]

Thanks for the comments, appreciated. I've seen a few pages on the internet showing how to add an extra fan and improved heat sink to a K1, has anyone tried this, and did it make a significant (and worthwhile) difference?

[KK]

[omvibraphone]

Regarding the grill part of things, has anyone ever tried to retrofit a grill onto a K1? I'm guessing for a skilled metalworker it could be an option? Or just a pipedream?

[KK]

You can't fit a K2 grill on a K1/KX body. For a custom design, you would first have to disassemble your unit into a bunch of separate parts, just like when I modified my K2 to have an adjustable angle screen. Such a disassembly is risky. Again, an additional fan is a much easier solution.

[SeedyLee]

I had a K1 and it would typically operate between 74 and 79 degrees Celsius with fan-mode set to "Slow", depending on ambient temperature.

The K2 typically sits around 60 degrees C with the fan set to "Off".

I tried all the fan mods for the K1 but they were more hassle than they were worth - it seems the fan settings on the K1 (PWM Duty Cycle and Frequency) were tuned for the OEM fan and did not play nicely with after-market fans.
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Current Equipment:
Korg Kronos 2 88, Reface CS, Roland JV-1080, TE OP1, Moog Subsequent 37, Korg ARP Odyssey, Allen & Heath Zed 18, Adam F5, MOTU MIDI Express XT, Lexicon MX200 & MPX1, Yamaha QY700, Yamaha AW16G, Tascam DP008ex, Zoom H6, Organelle, Roland J6 & JU06A

Previous: Triton LE 61/Sampling/64MB/4GB SCSI, MS2000BR, Kronos 1 61, Monotribe, NanoKontrol, NanoKeys, Kaossilator II, Casio HT3000, Roland VP-03, Reface DX, Novation Mininova, MPC One

[Sharp]

Where you live probably greatly effects the temperature too. Here in Ireland it’s cold as feck all year around except for the 2 days of summer we get

I'd say our home is about 19C all year around, between summer and heating the place during winter.

Regards
Sharp.

[chris]

I think that the cooling is not only linked to the fan or fan setting but my guess is that they changed the type of insulation material around the processor for a more performant one in terms of thermal insulation in the Kronos 2.
Just a thought.
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Chris (Belgium)

[voip]