Korg Forums

[aron]

Well it depends on something like a MacBook Pro when the fans get going, that's way louder than the Kronos.

Of course you can hear the fan in the Kronos if you get close to it or you are in a very quiet room. However the key noise and joystick controls will make a much louder noise while you are playing.

I can understand not wanting fan noise for someone that is really sensitive. Therefore they shouldn't use a Kronos, or a computer, or a laptop etc....
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[DavyP]

I suppose the fan noise issue is very subjective. It will affect players in different ways.

Personally I was quite surprised with the level of noise. If you are playing just the Kronos in a quiet room the fan noise is very noticeable. I could easily hear the drone whilst playing "quieter" sounds (like piano) wearing closed back headphones.

However I wouldn't compare it directly to a laptop/computer fan as the noise from my K is more of a drone/buzzing than a "whoosh" type of noise?? It seems to resonate through the casing. I would say that it is certainly not as loud as a computer/laptop fan in full flow, but a lot of computer fans alter their speed depending upon the CPU temperature etc.. so the noise can go up and down.

Of course the fan would be inaudible when playing live with background noise and amplification.

When next to a computer and plugged through studio monitors I admit the noise is practically inaudible.

However I found the key noise from the 61 to be very quiet and not louder then the fan noise?? I did not annoy me like the fan noise. This could be subjective??

I have seen a few other posts mentioning the fan noise but I wonder if the noise can vary depending upon the individual quality of each actual keyboard?? Some fans may be looser or aligned/mounted differently than others??
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Korg Kronos 88, Korg M1, Novation SL61 MKII, Roland JV1080 with Techno expansion, Roland D110, Yamaha MU80, KRK Rokit 5 monitors, Akai ME30PII midi patch bay, Behringer RX1602 mixer, ESI ESP1010e audio interface, Quad Core PC, Cubase Pro 9.0, SE X1 condenser mic.

Guitars: Yamaha SG700, Ovation Applause electro-acoustic, Squier Strat, Roland micro cube amp.

Former: Roland Jupiter 6, Yamaha DX9, Akai X7000 sampler, Casio CZ1000, Roland SH101, Roland TR909, Roland MC500mk2, Emu Procussion.

[jimknopf]

There seems to be a wide scope of different fan noise levels in Kronoi after all I hear from differnt sides. I seem to be in the intermediate noise level range.

I do not regard the noise as extremely disturbing. But it is very noticeable and definitely unneccessarily loud for my taste. My Thinkpad fan is a lot more quiet in normal use. So the Kronos fan will be replaced by a quality silent fan here at the next possible occasion, after clarifying possible warranty issues. It would be smaart if Korg would cooperate here, instead of preventing users from fixing the problem at their own cost. And while exchanging the fan, it will also be mounted in a way separating it's buzz much better from the casing than now.

I like my Kronos a lot. And I regard my fan as useable, but also as something of unnecessary poor quality and quite unintelligent design.
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Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5

[DavyP]

JIM...

Nice to know there are other users who find the fan noise a bit irritating. I agree with your comments. It is NOT extremely disturbing but is louder than I expected. You would have to switch the Kronos off if you wanted to do some serious accoustic recording of vocal/guitar as a sensitive mic in the same room would pick it up.

Dont get me wrong, this is a fantastic keyboard and I love it. It has so much potential and depth.

I just think the fan noise was a bit of a suprise. I also think it would be worth considering upgrading the fan with a silent model after warranty but for me it would be a 3 year wait which is quite a long time! (UK warranty is 3 years!)

You would think that Korg would have considered the fan noise as this keyboard will be used in so many recording studios throughout the world?? Maybe used a better quality fan. It wouldn't add too much to the cost?
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Korg Kronos 88, Korg M1, Novation SL61 MKII, Roland JV1080 with Techno expansion, Roland D110, Yamaha MU80, KRK Rokit 5 monitors, Akai ME30PII midi patch bay, Behringer RX1602 mixer, ESI ESP1010e audio interface, Quad Core PC, Cubase Pro 9.0, SE X1 condenser mic.

Guitars: Yamaha SG700, Ovation Applause electro-acoustic, Squier Strat, Roland micro cube amp.

Former: Roland Jupiter 6, Yamaha DX9, Akai X7000 sampler, Casio CZ1000, Roland SH101, Roland TR909, Roland MC500mk2, Emu Procussion.

[SanderXpander]

To be honest I don't think many professional studios record vocals or acoustic guitar in the same room that they mix/track keys.
Personally, I haven't noticed any fan noise in the 88 or 61 that I've tried, but that was in the shop. At quiet hours, but still.

[DavyP]

SANDER...

Your're probably right about the pro studios but I would think a lot of home studios would record vocals in the same or next room and I could easily hear the K fan in the next room!

But I suppose you can also hear my computer fan in the next room so thats another problem??? Will just have to live with it .. or get a quiet PC??

I also did not notice any noise at all when I tried the Kronos in the shop but was quite surprised when I unpacked it and switched it on back at home.

If I had set it straight up in my studio and plugged it into my monitors next to my computer I dont think I would have noticed it very much but when isolated it can be irritating!
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Korg Kronos 88, Korg M1, Novation SL61 MKII, Roland JV1080 with Techno expansion, Roland D110, Yamaha MU80, KRK Rokit 5 monitors, Akai ME30PII midi patch bay, Behringer RX1602 mixer, ESI ESP1010e audio interface, Quad Core PC, Cubase Pro 9.0, SE X1 condenser mic.

Guitars: Yamaha SG700, Ovation Applause electro-acoustic, Squier Strat, Roland micro cube amp.

Former: Roland Jupiter 6, Yamaha DX9, Akai X7000 sampler, Casio CZ1000, Roland SH101, Roland TR909, Roland MC500mk2, Emu Procussion.

[Chriskk]

[jimknopf]

As I said, it's no big deal for me, but why keep it like that, if it would be so easy to reduce the noise level significantly.

I understand that Korg had to calculate sharp to sell an advanced Oasys concept at a price beginning below 3000. But I hope for a cooperative approach towards users who are willing to inverst their own money, making a great synth even better. And fan noise is definitely a sensitive spot and should be kept as low as technically possible.

With cooperative I mean naming specs (as far as we don't know them already) and supporting exchange (if necessary at a qualified Korg service during guarantee time, though I could easily do the exchange myself).
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Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5

[PinkFloydDudi]

[Alp]

I logged on here to find others with my problem. I posted reply to another similar thread.. I also notice a burning smell in my kronos x 61.
Looks like many of these threads are YEARS old. And still no mention that I can see of the cause.

you can read that thread for finer details.

1. the keyboard is years old.
2. As long as I have had it it has always put out a smell like fried electronics/plastic.
3.I have openned it and found nothing to indicate overheated parts or faulty fan etc.
4. I jave had it on for 2 or 3 hours at a time occasionally, and it seems to run fine otherwise.

Still.. the smell. Whenever someone plays it they mention that it smells like something is cooking inside.

It seems nobody has any clue as to what it is. ???

[KK]

Very hard to tell... Basic things to check are does the fan turn, is the fan setting to off (older Kronos versions), what do you read for system temp reading in global mode after hours of saturated playing with complex combis, etc. As an example, my K2 at room temp (23 C) always stays under 55 C.

If nothing obvious, then personally I would let it on some hours with open case and try to find where the smell comes from. One can also use a thermal camera to identify if components' temp is within their range. Note that here it calls for cautious inspection where one needs to have good basics in electronics. Possible other causes could be dried or lack of thermal paste between CPU and heatsink, etc.

[voip]

Bottom cover off and thermal camera might be the way to go. A sniff around may also help pinpoint the area. There is an onboard graphics device which can run quite hot on the PC motherboard.

.