Dilemma - Kronos X or New Kronos

[ebrown7b]

I am in the market for a new 88-key Kronos and Korg so nicely decided to announce a new model and relieve my anxiety about whether my new purchase would be made obsolete in the near future (not really obsolete, but you know what I mean...). However I now have a dilemma. Do I wait for the new model or buy the Kronos X 88-key model that my local Guitar Center is closing out for $400 less than the new model? It looks like the only hardware changes are gold-plated connectors and the new look / wood end panels. On the software side, the new Berlin piano would be an extra purchase with the Kronos X88, but I have yet to find a cost for that. It seems reasonable to expect that it wouldn't be priced more than the existing pianos in their expansion library. There is also the question about the new presets. Will the presets / banks be updated with the new OS 3.0 update? I really like the idea of all of the song-based patches and would hate to miss out on them.

Does anybody have any reliable information on when the new Kronos will be shipping? I actually put an order in for one on Nov 13, but didn't get a real estimate for the ship date. Guitar Center's web site says 2-3 weeks. Musician's Friend says Dec 15 and Sweetwater says January, 2015.

Are there any other differences between the two that I missed?

[phil55]

$400 less than a new one is not such a good deal IMO. If it was around 40% off I'd be more confident about the value. I paid $1000 CDN for mine (K73) and put about $200 worth of work and parts into it.

[slowtrain]

I'd wait for the new one to arrive as well. The case is much nicer. It also has more ventilation, and I think the touch screen may be at a better angle. $400 more for the newer one seems well worth it. I don't think You'd be missing out on anything else but the new piano though. OS3 will be a free upgrade from Korg for the older models (Thanks Korg ). The presets/banks will be part of the OS upgrade. The new piano is supposed to be really good.

[GregC]

Does anybody have any reliable information on when the new Kronos will be shipping? I actually put an order in for one on Nov 13, but didn't get a real estimate for the ship date. Guitar Center's web site says 2-3 weeks. Musician's Friend says Dec 15 and Sweetwater says January, 2015.

Let's have some fun with that date by Mf or whatever GC is saying.

Today is 11/17.

The K2(new Kronos) in quantity, would have to be sitting at customs at the port of LA. It will need to clear customs, loaded in a container, trucked to upstate NY, unloaded, inspected, counted into inventory, prepped for shipment to various retailers, paperwork created, etc, etc.

Then they are likely shipped to a central location of MF/GC. Which might take another week.

So I am skeptical that the K2 is sitting in LA in quantity today. I would guess, at best, some are being prepped, for container loading in Japan or whatever country where they are assembled, boxed up. Or maybe not .

Sweetwater seems to be more realistic with January.

even so, a betting man might say February.

[Bertotti]

I would wait for the new one no doubt about it!

[GregC]

it might be difficult to wait beyond Xmas. I know I am impatient when a new board comes out.

lots of sales take place before Xmas because of the tradition of getting gifts at Xmas, for example. and being off from work around the holidays allows one to immerse into the Kronos.

so while there are facts to weigh out, the pros and cons of either, the purchase is also an emotional decision.

without a doubt, the X88 is a fantastic board. Maybe we need to see if there are any other factual differences between the X and K2

[karmathanever]

Hi Greg,

I reckon i would go "new" if I was in your position unless a used board in outstanding condition was available.
My "Rule of Thumb" is similar to phil55 - around 50-60% of original cost if in great condition.

I empathise with your frustration - I am the same - if it's there, I WANT IT NOW.

Good luck my friend, hope your KK frustration is eased and resolved.
Let us know what happens.

Pete

[GregC]

Hi Greg,

I reckon i would go "new" if I was in your position unless a used board in outstanding condition was available.
My "Rule of Thumb" is similar to phil55 - around 50-60% of original cost if in great condition.

I empathise with your frustration - I am the same - if it's there, I WANT IT NOW.

Good luck my friend, hope your KK frustration is eased and resolved.
Let us know what happens.

Pete

Hey Pete, I am very happy with what I have, thank you.

And I can't afford the K2, either, so that takes too much thinking out of it.

I was actually replying to Bertotti and trying to put myself in the opening posters shoes.

But I am counting the days for the V3 upgrade

[burningbusch]

Does anybody have any reliable information on when the new Kronos will be shipping? I actually put an order in for one on Nov 13, but didn't get a real estimate for the ship date. Guitar Center's web site says 2-3 weeks. Musician's Friend says Dec 15 and Sweetwater says January, 2015.

Let's have some fun with that date by Mf or whatever GC is saying.

Today is 11/17.

The K2(new Kronos) in quantity, would have to be sitting at customs at the port of LA. It will need to clear customs, loaded in a container, trucked to upstate NY, unloaded, inspected, counted into inventory, prepped for shipment to various retailers, paperwork created, etc, etc.

Then they are likely shipped to a central location of MF/GC. Which might take another week.

So I am skeptical that the K2 is sitting in LA in quantity today. I would guess, at best, some are being prepped, for container loading in Japan or whatever country where they are assembled, boxed up. Or maybe not .

Sweetwater seems to be more realistic with January.

even so, a betting man might say February.

Not to quibble on port of entry, but Seattle, Tacoma or Portland saves you ~two days vs. coming into LA from Tokyo. Add to that the backup coming into LA. Port of LA makes sense coming from China.

http://www.searates.com/reference/portdistance/

Busch.

[GregC]

Does anybody have any reliable information on when the new Kronos will be shipping? I actually put an order in for one on Nov 13, but didn't get a real estimate for the ship date. Guitar Center's web site says 2-3 weeks. Musician's Friend says Dec 15 and Sweetwater says January, 2015.

Let's have some fun with that date by Mf or whatever GC is saying.

Today is 11/17.

The K2(new Kronos) in quantity, would have to be sitting at customs at the port of LA. It will need to clear customs, loaded in a container, trucked to upstate NY, unloaded, inspected, counted into inventory, prepped for shipment to various retailers, paperwork created, etc, etc.

Then they are likely shipped to a central location of MF/GC. Which might take another week.

So I am skeptical that the K2 is sitting in LA in quantity today. I would guess, at best, some are being prepped, for container loading in Japan or whatever country where they are assembled, boxed up. Or maybe not .

Sweetwater seems to be more realistic with January.

even so, a betting man might say February.

Not to quibble on port of entry, but Seattle, Tacoma or Portland saves you ~two days vs. coming into LA from Tokyo. Add to that the backup coming into LA. Port of LA makes sense coming from China.

http://www.searates.com/reference/portdistance/

Busch.

good knowledge. I suppose Korg can pick the optimum port of entry for the west coast

[Bertotti]

Yes before Christmas does make it hard. In a few weeks I will be 49 and I find the older I get the more patient I become that and I have gotten used to doing without to buy things for the family instead, so practice makes it easier for me anyway. I love my x61 and as much as i would like the new case I am in no rush to move to the 2. Should we find out the original or X isn't capable of using any new internals of the 2 then I would think twice about selling it and moving on. I guess I would just want to know more about the guts of the 2 before I would choose between the three different models, my concern is relying on any component no longer made by the original manufacture.

[crazylounyc]

After Christmas would be a bad thing to do for Korg. But I guess korg can afford it. Most people are hunting for after Xmas sales and some people are just plain broke or conservative with their money after spending so much over the holidays. Then you have the returns people which will make availability of cheaper returned keyboards that are marked down as "Open Box".

Most live musicians will wait a few weeks to months before they change their gear. They don't wan't to buy a lemon keyboard and it craps out during a live session. They will wait for reviews before taking the plunge.

[ahutnick]

I see that American Music Supply has the new Kronos listed as expected Dec 1. Of course it remains to be seen if that's even remotely true.

[GregC]

After Christmas would be a bad thing to do for Korg. But I guess korg can afford it. Most people are hunting for after Xmas sales and some people are just plain broke or conservative with their money after spending so much over the holidays. Then you have the returns people which will make availability of cheaper returned keyboards that are marked down as "Open Box".

Most live musicians will wait a few weeks to months before they change their gear. They don't wan't to buy a lemon keyboard and it craps out during a live session. They will wait for reviews before taking the plunge.

Korg got the jump on January Namm. If sweetwater says january, I think that's more realistic

Kronos has already been thru all the birthing pains 3 yrs ago. So I would expect a reliable launch with the K2.

I think more than 50% of kronos sales go to the home based serious musician and the casual player ( like myself).

Once folks see Peter Gabriel, Herbie , Jordan , etc with the k2, the excitement will take off, no matter the month the k2 is available.

[psionic311]

ebrown7b, if I were you, I would wait for the new Kronos! The main reason for me would be that it's a *3rd generation build*, and has these improvements:

Better angled display. It's frustrating and physically demanding at long stretches to have to crane your neck just to see the display. Argh. It's hard enough that the text is so tiny, and made worse with extended exploring/ learning/ programming. It's made worse again if the Kronos is not the top board in a multi-keyboard setup. The new Kronos seems to have an easier viewing angle for the display.

New ventilation grill. In order to keep the front panel physical layout the same, Korg engineers were ingenious to kill two birds with one stone. Angling up the whole front panel not only takes care of the major issue with the Touchview display, but it also allows for the new addition of the vent grill to better dissipate internal heat, allowing for lower fan speeds. This likely solves the fan noise issue many have repeatedly brought up, via both lower fan speed requirements and hopefully a better quality fan.

Drag and drop touchscreen. It's much more intuitive to touch an onscreen fader and immediately move it, instead of having to touch it then manipulate the value fader or inc/dec buttons. It's *possible* OSv3 will give this functionality to all us current Kronos owners, but it's *definite* that the new Kronos will have it.

Pre-installed max RAM and larger SSD. You mention getting a Kronos 88, not the 88 X. You'll want the expanded RAM to enjoy all the new sound goodies loaded into the new model. I just got my Kronos in May this year, and already hit a wall since I installed EXS16 Funk and Soul Brass. Besides, it looks like you'll get some of EXS16 and EXS15 (Choirs) for free with OSv3 (listed as EXS18), and can immediately take advantage of newly designed programs and combis incorporating the better brass and voices. I can already see a future of post-OS3 users with the smaller SSD who are bemoaning the mixed blessing of a beautiful but larger Berlin piano...

Finally, imagine you did buy the Kronos 88 now on impulse instead of wisely waiting a month or so. You'll have that "why didn't I just wait!!" feeling months and years down the line when you encounter these very issues that the new Kronos would have solved...