Korg Forums

Sharp · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:07 am Post subject: Kronos feedback.

Hi all.
Just back from hearing the Kronos so.... here goes.

Design....
The surface finish is a brushed finish so there's never going to be any issues in keeping it clean unlike say... a Triton. The knobs feel good, so too do the sliders and all the buttons. The 3R key bed on the 76 note unit feels really great, and the 61 key feels like a M3. The body is sleek with very nice curves. Feels very nice to touch. There are no ventilation holes at all, and considering everything else I just said, the Kronos is by far ready for the road. The underneath of the 61 is metal, where the underneath of the 76 is wood.

Sounds.
The Kronos has all the fidelity of the OASYS and this is very exciting. OASYS users will know that magic I'm refering to, well Kronos has it. KORG are throwing around the words “The Game Has Been Changed” and now I know what they mean. They were only words to me until I hear what they have done here.

HD-1
Take everything you know about the OASYS and now add Gigabytes of new sounds in the form of new EX-s libraries. 9 in total and they sound seriously good.

The 7 Engines the OASYS has are all in the Kronos and they all sound just as good. There is no compromise in sound quality, and this is not a cut down version of the OASYS. It sounds just as good in every way... and better.

The two new EXi's sound divine. SGX-1 is by far the most realistic piano I've every hear from any workstation. The Kronos is able to stream the samples so your looking at 2 Piano's that are both 4GB each. I believe they have 8 layers to them and they are all unlooped. Total natural decay. The on screen controls over changing the sounds tone are really great. You can decide how much you want to lid open on the piano and the 3D model of it on the screen moves the lid accordingly.

EP- 1 offers everything you need and the effects simulation in this area is very impressive. You can really go after a very person sound and the results simply do not fail. It's really that good.

Some random comments.
Kronos can preload your own personal samples on bootup.
Loading 1GB takes about 10 seconds...lol.... yeah, it's fast.
You can switch from sound to sound, or between different modes and while still holding down a note, your sound is not cut off, ever.
HDR is 24 bit, OASYS was 16Bit

Anyway.... got a question, ask.
I'm very tired and it might be better if you just ask specifics rather than me rambling on.

Regards
Sharp

SpIdErWeB · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:16 am Post subject:

Hi Sharp,

First of all, thanks for the feedback.

Then, can we copy and then load our own sample on the SSD?

If yes, can we use WAV, AIFF, Akai format?

What is the boot time (with and without sounds)?

Thanks

WorknMan · Junior Member Joined: 14 Aug 2010 Posts: 67

Sharp · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:24 am Post subject:

MartinHines · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:26 am Post subject:

I suspect Korg has reserved the real-time use of the SSD for their functions (audio recording, Korg sample playback). Allowing real-time playback use of the SSD for user samples might compromise the stated polyphony of the different Korg instruments.

I could, of course, be entirely wrong about this.

Sharp · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:27 am Post subject:

davidnaggar · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:31 am Post subject:

Thanks for the report Sharp.

Glad to hear the fidelity has the Oasys "sparkle."

How long does it take for the Kronos to boot up?

Is the Kronos silent, or will the fan be audible (in a silent room)?

Is the RH3 physically less taxing to play for extended periods than the Oasys RH2?

Thanks.

Sharp · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:45 am Post subject:

Sharp · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:46 am Post subject:

Shot Video taken with my iPhone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybmRxm7kdPQ

Regards
Sharp.
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CfNorENa · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:49 am Post subject:

Many thanks for the report Sharp -- I feel much more confident about the Kronos than I did before. Your words count for A LOT more than either the marketing hype or (obviously) internet chatter.

Sequencer: can you confirm that this is missing the goodies included with the M3 Xpanded (track view, piano roll, drag and drop)?
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Korg gear: Kronos 73.
Other gear: Oberheim SEM | SCI Prophet 5 | Roland MKS-70 | Waldorf Microwave XTk

davidnaggar · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:53 am Post subject:

Thanks Sharp.

SpIdErWeB · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:54 am Post subject:

Sharp · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:57 am Post subject:

Sharp · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:03 am Post subject:

A few more things popped into my head....

The screen on the KRONOS is one of the best I've seen on any KORG. It's able to produce the darkest blacks, and I didn't notice any ghosting at all on the screen caused by grids. Resolution is higher than the OASYS too, so the screen is very crisp and sharp.

OASYS PCG files can be loaded into Kronos.

You can OPEN your PCG files on the SSD and audition them without loading. (Kevin wanted to know that one)

PADs can be triggered from the screen.

Regards
Sharp.
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CfNorENa · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:03 am Post subject: