please tell me my fan is faulty

[tomd]

Got a Kronos 61 yesterday. It was an open box at my local guitar center and was sent from another state. My feeling is that it was a return and probably because of the fan noise. It is in my bedroom/studio which is a pretty quiet environment. The fan noise is very noticeable. I think if you recorded an audio track it would probably pick up the fan noise. (My mike requires phantom power so I have been unable to test that.) So far this and the small fonts on the screen are my only two complaints. I don't think the fan is defective. It's as loud as a desktop computer. If it is replaceable under warranty I'll do that otherwise I think I can live with it.

[Hal2001]

I must admit, these discussions about fan noise were originally a concern to me and made me reluctant to pre-order the K, however, now that I got my K88, I really have to concentrate extra hard and try to hear any sound from it, even in the normal piano bench sitting position. I really have to lower my ear to the left end of the K88 to hear anything, and then I actually have to move my ear behind the keyboard, not just on top to subtly hear what's going on. So, I'm a very picky guy and my conclusion is that, with the K88 I received, there is no fan noise issue because it does not even enter my consciousness now, even when sitting on the bench, with no sound between songs. At Guitar Center I heard just a little fan sound from their K61 when bending my ear down to the left rear of the keyboard, but being in a store made judgement difficult. But, my new impression is that my K88, in my totally quiet home studio room, is at least 2x quieter than the K61 I checked out in the store. Based on several of the prior postings, I was even afraid I would not want to leave the keyboard on when not playing, cause of unwanted sound, but again, I'm leaving it on all day and it's sitting pretty, and sitting nice and quiet. So, I don't know if the K88, with a bigger cabinet would muffle the sound more, or what, but I am very happy to report that my original concern is non-existent. I want to spend more time with this keyboard before making any overall reviews, but, since I am so happy about this particular issue being a non-issue, I want to relieve others who may have such a concern. If you hear bothersome fan noise I'm thinking it's a defect and not normal. I'd be curious to hear if other K88 owners think it's quieter than the K61.

[michelkeijzers]

The only reason I can imagine is that if the fan is on one side and since the 88 version is longer the distance to your ear is a little bit further (like 4-5 inches or so) ... shouldn't matter that much tough I guess.

Another reason might be that the space inside the casing for a 61 is smaller, resulting in faster or narrower air flow.

[Kim]

Another reason might be that the space inside the casing for a 61 is smaller, resulting in faster or narrower air flow.

This was my thought as well. Most complaints have come from users of the 61 key version. I haven't heard any coming from the full 88 key version. It's logical to assume, that the bigger the case, the more air there is to keep the heating components cool. That's one reason, why I decided to order the 88-key Kronos. I'm still waiting for mine, so this theory remains to be proven right.

[DavyP]

Just picked up my Kronos 61 today. Unpacked it and placed it on my dining room table. Switched it on and was quite surprised at the noise coming from the fan!!! Seemed quite loud to me. About the same as my PC tower. I could hear the fan noise above the quieter Kronos sounds (like piano) even though I was wearing headphones!! I feel disappointed as I don't think it will be possible to record from a microphone in the same room without switching the kronos off! I could even hear the noise in the next room! Not sure if it's normal or faulty?? May be less noticeable once I get it into my studio room with my PC and put it through my monitors. I did not notice any fan noise when demoing the Kronos in my music store yesterday although there was some element of background noise present which may have masked the fan noise.

[DavyP]

Just listened to Maphills audio recording and it sounds very similar to my fan noise. In fact it sounds pretty much exactly the same. There is a loud whirring when it is first switched on, then it goes quiet for about 20 seconds (lovely), then it comes back on and settles into a constant droning. Looks like this is standard behaviour. Maybe the 61 and 73 are similar but the 88 is quieter due to it's larger size??? It will probably affect owners in different ways. Depends upon what other noises and equipment are in the same room etc.. I must admit I found it a little annoying and was unexpected. However I suppose it is basically a computer and that is the price you pay for the fantastic flexibility and versatility of this instrument!

[Chriskk]

There are many high quality cooling fans that are virtually silent. After the warranty expires, one may want to replace the stock fan with one of those.

[DavyP]

Thanks Chris. Might look at that after 3 year warranty! Would you say that this noise is normal for the Kronos??? I can actually hear the fan sometimes when I am playing the K wearing my closed back headphones! Is it worth looking for a swap or do you think it will be the same??

[Hal2001]

Thanks Chris. Might look at that after 3 year warranty!

May I ask how you got a 3 year warranty? I only got the 1 year additional that Korg gives for registering with them, ie. total of 2 years. Thx.

[DavyP]

Hi Hal

Check out this link....

http://www.korg.co.uk/support/warranty/ ... rranty.htm

I live in the uk and Korg are offering a 3 yr warranty. Dunno if this is because we pay a lot more for the same products... LOL!

BTW I have just set up the Kronos 61 with my studio monitors and it sounds awesome. Didn't notice the fan noise next to my PC. Think I might have over reacted. I do think it can be a little noisy but I've never had a keyboard with a fan inside. I do think the fan is noticeable when unamplified in a quiet room if using headphones and could be a problem if recording vocals or guitar with a condenser mic.

[Hal2001]

I live in the uk and Korg are offering a 3 yr warranty. Dunno if this is because we pay a lot more for the same products... LOL!

Well, that's great for you. Maybe they believe that the Brits have better manners towards their instruments and therefore the Kronos will last longer there than in the US. I'm already overprotective of mine and just hooked it up to a UPS battery backup with surge protection. I want it to be protected from any momentary electrical outages since the manual says to wait 10 second before turning the Kronos off when it has gone off. Sometimes power outages are as brief as a second or two.

[DavyP]

Hal..

Good point !..

I've looked at a UPS and think I will invest in one for all my studio gear Inc Kronos. Sounds sensible with this type of SSD technology. It's not your typical everyday synth keyboard and a large financial investment.

[maphill]

Measurements with CEM DT-805, range down to 30dB:

Listening position, then directly over the master slider, and then off for reference:
On slow, dBA: 36.1..... 38.0..... 33.8
On fast, dBA: 36.0..... 37.6..... 33.6

Mark.

Now that I have my replacement KRONOS, additional measurements:

Listening position and right over the "Master" fader:
dBA: 35.8........39.0

Given that these are within a dB of each other, it is unlikely that they are outliers and likely that this is the typical fan noise.

My main concern on the 2nd unit (just like the first) is that there is a lot of low frequency noise, probably from the fan coupling to its mount. This "hum" (versus a "whish") is audible even away from the unit. I wonder if an anti-vibration fan gasket would help. I haven't made an acoustic recording near it yet to see if it is audible.

Those who play loud music regularly probably won't hear it. Those of us who are more sensitive/OCD might be slightly annoyed by it.

(Still an awesome keyboard)

Mark

[NavidSyed]

It is too loud, I just go a silent pc for my home studio which is very quiet ( 20 dBA ) now KRONOS is suppose to be the centerpiece of the studio, but the noise is...argh, why couldn't Korg put a quiter fan ?

[sparkie]

It is too loud, I just go a silent pc for my home studio which is very quiet ( 20 dBA ) now KRONOS is suppose to be the centerpiece of the studio, but the noise is...argh, why couldn't Korg put a quiter fan ?

Sure seems to be a lot of fan noise issues, as mine was noisy as well but I overlooked it. Maybe MartinHines will comment here since he is somehow connected to Korg Product Support? What do you say Martin?