Kronos Build Quality?

[GregC]

The ram being unseated is a likely culprit, even hopefully so in comparison to anything more serious. A number of people in the past had reported this, and will definitely cause a system startup failure, for sure. If it were the ram, too bad having to send it in for service for such a diy project that would void the warranty, even though there would be no downtime. It would be hard to believe multiple units leaving the factory new would have your issue, though possible for some reason. Nonetheless, sorry to hear of your troubles and good luck to you.

we don't know. Its like doing dental work on the Internet.

The worst possible outcome is for a new owner to mess around inside the new Kronos, close it up, and its still defective. And the dealer might claim voided warranty upon later inspection. Not worth any hassle.

The recommendation is still promptly return/exchange to the dealer. State suspicious damage on delivery, take photos, nevertheless state its defective.

I think its worth 1 more try for a good factory SE from ZSounds.

[Devnor]

My guess is the memory or a connector has come unseated. You're in LA. Take it to service center. This kind of stuff is the nature of the beast. Congrats on the new K2 SE.

[GregC]

My guess is the memory or a connector has come unseated. You're in LA. Take it to service center. This kind of stuff is the nature of the beast. Congrats on the new K2 SE.

Funny world we live in. Given what we have read over the years , our expectations on a $3300-$3800 keyboard might be slipping.

The expectation is when you buy a new keyboard, its suppose to be flawless, work 100% all the time. Included in this expectation, is proper care/solid packaging when shipping. I still hold this quality expectation, Kronos, Roland, Yamaha etc.

Its a shame an owner has to go thru all this hassle on 3 Kronos.

[DJCobbSalad]

Got the exchange process started, have to wait for the "Returns Team" to follow up with me on time frame etc. again but they're taking care of me. At least the SE is still working most of the time and since the architecture allows for such easy date transfer I can keep building my sounds and setlists when it's co-operating. I'm just making sure to save to a USB drive every time in case the Kronos decides to not ever turn on again.

Edit - I just looked at the Korg service center locations, there's one very near me. I wonder if it's worth trying to involve Korg support and see if I can take it over there first, or just wait on the next new one and hope for better luck.

[timbukktwo]

The ram being unseated is a likely culprit, even hopefully so in comparison to anything more serious. A number of people in the past had reported this, and will definitely cause a system startup failure, for sure. If it were the ram, too bad having to send it in for service for such a diy project that would void the warranty, even though there would be no downtime. It would be hard to believe multiple units leaving the factory new would have your issue, though possible for some reason. Nonetheless, sorry to hear of your troubles and good luck to you.

we don't know. Its like doing dental work on the Internet.

The worst possible outcome is for a new owner to mess around inside the new Kronos, close it up, and its still defective. And the dealer might claim voided warranty upon later inspection. Not worth any hassle.

The recommendation is still promptly return/exchange to the dealer. State suspicious damage on delivery, take photos, nevertheless state its defective.

I think its worth 1 more try for a good factory SE from ZSounds.

Of course we don’t know; dental work on the internet- now that was funny!!

[GregC]

Tu.

we don't know. Its like doing dental work on the Internet.

s.

Of course we don’t know; dental work on the internet- now that was funny!!

I just had to make a bad analogy

Over the past few years, I have seen numerous posts to the effect " Oww, my tooth aches whats going on, it never hurt before, will it go away like last time ?"

[mgibian]

I just LOVE this Kronos forum!

For what its worth, I'm still waiting on my SE 61 from Sweetwater, so can't tell you its state on arrival. I wonder if the delay has been that they've been getting rejected on arrival from Korg as I've gotten multiple ship dates only for them to quietly go by with no shipment.

[daddy]

So I'm about to return my third (!!!) Kronos 61 in less than 2 weeks due to manufacturer defect. Is this normal? I need a keyboard that actually works for gigs, I was pretty stoked about the Kronos sounds but starting to feel like this was the wrong product choice.

The purchase history:

#1: Kronos 2 61 (Korg Refubished): Arrived DOA (System Startup Failed)
#2: Kronos 2 61 (New): Joystick issue (Caused pitches to change randomly)
#3: Kronos 2 61 SE (New) - 3 System Startup Failed messages in first 2 days, 2 last night during the first rehearsal with the keyboard.

So... is it time to look at a different brand of keyboard? What the hell is going on?

SSD was my problem "System Startup Failed messages" with a new Kronos 2. I changed it and I solved the problem.

[GregC]

So I'm about to return my third (!!!) Kronos 61 in less than 2 weeks due to manufacturer defect. Is this normal? I need a keyboard that actually works for gigs, I was pretty stoked about the Kronos sounds but starting to feel like this was the wrong product choice.

The purchase history:

#1: Kronos 2 61 (Korg Refubished): Arrived DOA (System Startup Failed)
#2: Kronos 2 61 (New): Joystick issue (Caused pitches to change randomly)
#3: Kronos 2 61 SE (New) - 3 System Startup Failed messages in first 2 days, 2 last night during the first rehearsal with the keyboard.

So... is it time to look at a different brand of keyboard? What the hell is going on?

SSD was my problem "System Startup Failed messages" with a new Kronos 2. I changed it and I solved the problem.

Knowledge is our friend

Thank you for reporting this !

[BobTheDog]

Double

[BobTheDog]

When I got my 88 the first two were faulty, the third seemed ok.

At the time this freaked me out about the quality, but that third one has been no problem for 7 years.

I think I was just being given previous returns for the first 2.

[GregC]

When I got my 88 the first two were faulty, the third seemed ok.

At the time this freaked me out about the quality, but that third one has been no problem for 7 years.

I think I was just being given previous returns for the first 2.

I also recall the various defect problems of year 1.

I don't know your dealer.

But when I spoke to 2 US dealers about a factory new K, i stated, "you better not ship me some one else's return ", they fell all over themselves, proclaiming they would NEVER play games like that.

Its difficult to estimate what the ' defect rate ' was in year 1. For sure, not every Kronos was defective. My 88 was and is perfect for example. And it is STILL perfect. Thats no accident, its supposed to be perfect.

Just the same, in hearing from new K owners the past 4-5 months, new owners have to be observant and make sure they have a perfect Kronos. Defects for whatever reason tend to surface quickly- within 30 days.

[Poseidon]

"you better not ship me some one else's return ", they fell all over themselves, proclaiming they would NEVER play games like that.

Shipping some one else’s return is a common practice.
Close friend of mine have 10 returns a months, and he does sell those products as new, however he make sure that they are not defective. Many returns are simply when customers change mind for no apparent reason.

[GregC]

"you better not ship me some one else's return ", they fell all over themselves, proclaiming they would NEVER play games like that.

Shipping some one else’s return is a common practice.
Close friend of mine have 10 returns a months, and he does sell those products as new, however he make sure that they are not defective. Many returns are simply when customers change mind for no apparent reason.

Of course I clarified " factory new ' to the US dealers- that was in my post.

We know factory new is factory sealed. Thats the context.

Sometimes product context is important- I bought a Z stand that was 'like new' from Amazon. I knew it was a return. I am not picky about a $60 item - not too much.

A $3800 keyboard ? I am going to be very clear , as a buyer , what I expect.

As far as how on line sellers operate, they are free to present their offers as they feel necessary. I had my own Amazon business for 10 yrs- so I know about all the variations on ' condition '.

[BobTheDog]

Many moons ago I got an Atari 800 from a store, took it home and it was faulty.

So took it back and they replaced it with another one, got that home and also faulty.

So back to the store for the third try, got it home and it was faulty. Looking closely I realised it was the same one they had originally given me.

So took it back and complained that it was the first faulty one they gave me and they said "But we only have the two of them", I was incredulous. I wonder how many people had been returning those two machines!