sound system for korg kronos

[RonF]

QSC

They are amazing...and can get LOUD!

[madbeatzyo111]

A similar question was raised in the M3 forum. Here's the thread with some good info.

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... ht=monitor

[shap]

Per my other thread, you definitely need a subwoofer to get good quality piano sound out of a Kronos or any.other synthesizer.

[chilly7]

hello everyone. im looking for inputs with regards to finding a good sound system for my 88 kronos. im used to acoustic piano so getting a sound system for a workstation is new to me.

i will only use it in my apartment mostly for practice and songwriting. i would like something that doesnt take too much space, not heavy to move around, stereo sound, preferably with headphone outputs for use at night. the sound and not too big size is important to me. i dont know if i need a keyboard amp, studio monitors, or pa system. if it helps , i would like to be able to play and use microphone at the same time. i also play guitar so extra inputs if possible will help. thank u.

Well i was alway dreamed about these moniors.
http://www.neumann-kh-line.com/neumann- ... tors_O500C
with
http://www.neumann-kh-line.com/neumann- ... itors_O900

p.s. probably Sina already have them or going to buy too

[Bertotti]

I have a set of the KRK RP5 and the QSC K10. With music the KRK tend to fatigue my ears the QSC do not but it has been suggested it is because when using the KRK I am listening much more intensely. The KRK do get a bit flubby with my wavedrum at any real volume the QSC just nock the tone out of the ball park. I have not tried a Kronos through either, I don't have one yet.

[Slovenec]

I can also recommend the KRK Rokit monitors. I have the original Rokit 8s and they are fantastic monitors for what they're worth. The newer versions are a big step up in sound quality from what I've heard so you really can't go wrong with them in your room.

If you want something more like a compact PA, check out the Yamaha Stagepas systems. The bigger one is the Stagepas 500 and it packs a nice punch for a little PA. I'd also steer away from dedicated keyboard amps for your particular needs. You could look at a pair of Quest QS200i 8" active compact speakers. These have an amazing sound for their size.

[orpheus2006]

Apropos subwoofer: RCF announced a new series of studio monitors including a 10" sub with very attractive pricing. Unfortunately they are not yet available.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5c5AHoB2s

[danatkorg]

Per my other thread, you definitely need a subwoofer to get good quality piano sound out of a Kronos or any.other synthesizer.

That would imply that no good quality sound is possible from systems without subwoofers. I'm afraid that's going to be a hard sell, and speaking from both a personal and professional standpoint, I don't agree.

- Dan

[shap]

Per my other thread, you definitely need a subwoofer to get good quality piano sound out of a Kronos or any.other synthesizer.

That would imply that no good quality sound is possible from systems without subwoofers. I'm afraid that's going to be a hard sell, and speaking from both a personal and professional standpoint, I don't agree.

- Dan

Umm.. No, respectfully that's not what I said. I referred specifically to piano sounds, not to sounds in general. Perhaps I should have emphasized that I was talking "in studio" here, but since the thread topic is monitors rather than PA scenarios, I didn't think that was necessary. The problem at its most basic is that conventional monitors have limited response below 42hz. There aren't many instruments that go down there, but double bass and piano are among them. I wouldn't expect any issue for instruments that aren't quite so deep into the bass end of the range.

My experience on both the JBL LSR 4300 monitors and the Adam A7's was that the low end was inadequate on both the Motif XF and the Kronos 88 in the absence of a subwoofer. The deficiencies were very plain to hear. It doesn't take a side-by-side comparison to make the difference very immediate. It does depend a bit on what you mean by "good". For the sampled pianos, my metric for "good" is pretty simple: do they sound like the real thing? That's more or less the point of sampling the pianos, so it seems like a reasonable metric. The answer, absent a subwoofer, is "not even close".

But this wouldn't be the first time that you turn out to know something I don't, so perhaps you can explain what you are thinking about. How do you get a decent sounding low end and/or the characteristic growl of a piano out of the piano samples when your monitors don't reproduce those frequencies?

[Jeremy Bender]

In connection with this topic I would welcome some thoughts please.

I currently have my keyboards inc my Kronos 88 running through an old Soundcraft Spirit folio mixer into a Pioneer A400 hifi amp (100 watts) powering some old Mourdant Short hifi speakers (they are fairly large with reasonable bass extension - for hifi...).

I expect this will prompt some laughter but it does sound ok.

I listened to some KRK Rokit 8 monitors last week in store with a K61 and it sounded very good but just wondered what views people have on how much an improvement some decent monitors may make (if any).

I don't really want to have to get a subwoofer if I can help it
Danatkorg - what do you use out of interest?

[danatkorg]

Per my other thread, you definitely need a subwoofer to get good quality piano sound out of a Kronos or any.other synthesizer.

That would imply that no good quality sound is possible from systems without subwoofers. I'm afraid that's going to be a hard sell, and speaking from both a personal and professional standpoint, I don't agree.

- Dan

Umm.. No, respectfully that's not what I said. I referred specifically to piano sounds, not to sounds in general.

To put my response another way, if pianos don't sound good, then a sound system has failed in the general case. But, this seems like merely a semantic disagreement.

Perhaps I should have emphasized that I was talking "in studio" here, but since the thread topic is monitors rather than PA scenarios, I didn't think that was necessary. The problem at its most basic is that conventional monitors have limited response below 42hz.

My great but not particularly esoteric HR824s are nominally flat (within 1.5dB) down to 39Hz, and extending below that naturally; the more recent mkII version claims a little lower for flat response, down to 37Hz.

These will accurately produce the fundamentals of piano notes down to low D# (coincidentally the lowest note that I generally use on acoustic pianos, quite separate from my studio monitors). At such low pitches on the piano, the fundamentals are generally significantly quieter than the overtones; there appears to be some question about how important those ultra-low fundamentals are, since our brains generate the "phantom fundamental" by themselves based on the higher harmonics.

You mention "growl;" this seems like it would be in the harmonics, much higher than the sub-bass.

My experience on both the JBL LSR 4300 monitors and the Adam A7's was that the low end was inadequate on both the Motif XF and the Kronos 88 in the absence of a subwoofer. The deficiencies were very plain to hear. It doesn't take a side-by-side comparison to make the difference very immediate. It does depend a bit on what you mean by "good". For the sampled pianos, my metric for "good" is pretty simple: do they sound like the real thing? That's more or less the point of sampling the pianos, so it seems like a reasonable metric. The answer, absent a subwoofer, is "not even close".

In that case, I'd seriously suggest treating your room. Standing waves can have quite dramatic effects, causing both extreme peaks and extreme nulls. Bass traps can be extremely helpful in reducing these problems.

I understand that it is possible to set up a great audio system using a subwoofer, and that there are situations in which one or more subs are necessary. I also understand that subs can simply make the audio more impressive, and that this may be pleasant to listen to. However, subs also introduce additional variables into the monitoring setup, including crossovers and multiple speaker placement, which can easily cause more problems. Also, in a room with bass problems, a sub will just add more energy to the existing peaks and nulls.

Put another way: a sub may be the icing on the cake, but if it seems like it's making the difference between bad and good, that would indicate acoustic problems which should be addressed before worrying further about the transducer side of the equation.

In general, unless you need a sub for a specific purpose (for instance, if you're mixing for 5.1 delivery), I think the best approach is to start with room treatment and a good pair of powered nearfields.

Hope this helps,

- Dan

[SanderXpander]

I'm wondering also if distance from the speakers perhaps makes a difference while playing. In my (untreated) room, I normally don't hear much sub bass until I move at least an additional meter back from my normal working position. My monitors are Dynaudio BM5As and while they are small and don't offer very good accuracy in the low end, for the size of my room they definitely add enough sub oomph for my pianos. Especially when I move back a bit.

That said, in relation to piano sound I don't think any digital instrument is ever going to replicate the feel of actually playing a grand. In recordings (especially "in the mix" ) it already has been hard to tell the difference for quite a while.

[Arjan]

My great but not particularly esoteric HR824s are nominally flat (within 1.5dB) down to 39Hz, and extending below that naturally; the more recent mkII version claims a little lower for flat response, down to 37Hz.

I have to agree with Dan here. I too have Mackie HR824's (original version) and I definitely don't need a sub with them; they go plenty low and loud as-is for their intended purpose as near-field speakers in a studio environment.

For my live rig I do have dedicated subs because at high SPL (higher than you'd ever use in a studio) you won't be able to get sufficient level for low frequencies from an 8" woofer; it's simply not able to displace sufficient amounts of air. You can certainly go extremely low on 8" speakers but there's a limit to how loud you can get it without ridiculously high speaker excursion.

[michelkeijzers]

For live I use 2 JBL Eon10 active speakers (old ones). Some say you need 15" at least but I don't like too much weight

For home I ordered KRK G5 Rokit ... going to install it tonight.

[panrixx]

For home I ordered KRK G5 Rokit ... going to install it tonight.

Do you mean KRK G2 Rokit 5 (RP5)?

Have have those and have no complaints.