Liviou2004 wrote:Hellcliff wrote:Hi all, i want to buy New Kronos 2 73 keys, and i have been thinking, is it a right time to buy it, or wait for the next "kronos", it has been 7 years since 2011 kronos launched.
please give me your advice. thanks.
It is not so easy to give you an advice on what could happens in the next months.
Some say that there will be a Kronos replacment in january.
What is sure, the vast majority of Kronos owners do love it for many reasons. So,
buying one, you won't be disapointed.
But, since Kronos is near of 8 years old and there was no software upgrade for more than one year and a half, there are many chances to see a new Korg flagship appearing next. Will it be a workstation, hybrid synthesis or whatever ? Who knows !!
This is always a good topic to stay on top of- ' how to not be surprised by a product transition '.
Here is the issue , as I see it:
1) We are aware that our favorite keyboard is aging( 7-8 yrs). There is really nothing essentially wrong with the K. It can provide more years of musical enjoyment.
2) The price is high - $3000-$3500. Thus it viewed as a long term purchase. Private parties cannot easily sell their used K to recover their Purchase price. especially here in the US, retailers have abundant stock of refurb K's promising additional warranty. This puts the private party seller at a huge disadvantage.
3) Korg, like other MI co's do not share their product strategy. They only 'preannounce ' the new replacement if its available to ship in 6 months or less.
4) Given this possibility, and the resale purchase risk, a new buyer wants to fairly have a chance to evaluate the current aged product (like the K2) vs published spec of a newer great keyboard, that is perceived as the K2 successor.
5) While January NAMM is historically a good event window, its no longer a reliable time stamp. MI cos will ignore waiting for NAMM and announce a new product at any time. Yamaha and MODX is a good example,
6) Can this uncertainty be mitigated ? I think there are signals at retail, a new buyer can investigate. This is from a US perspective, where many dealers carry significant stock of K2's.
Korg protects their retail dealers so they don't get caught with product inventory that will not sell. Thus the term " Product transition ".
One tactic is for Korg to lower the price(lets say $500) at retail, in order to move out the aged product. This, I believe, is a signal that a new product is imminent.
7) Retailers generally get a heads up on product transition. And have more knowledge than us buyers. So we have to look at certain clues and changes at retail applying to a board like the K2.
I am a Korg watcher. Many of us are. Since we have invested heavily in our K's , we are sensitive to product transition. I like to plan, plain and simple.
Korg does not help out my desire to plan. I don't expect that to change.
I think the above explains the issue and what we, as owners, should be aware of. I know this is over analytical but its how I see it
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