Calling all satisfied Kronos users - help needed, please!

[McLaren]

Hi All,

I am a newcomer to music, to Korg, and to workstations, so am throwing myself at your mercy.

I am very computer literate and have mastered all sorts of other things – in the air and on the ground – and need to keep learning.

I am newly (early!) retired, and am living a life-long dream by buying a Kronos (it’s on order) after considerable research, much of it from your own rave reviews.

I need a challenge which will last for years. Although Korg will inevitably launch many future models, the current Kronos will more than do me for the rest of my days.

However, I have just one question, please – can anyone guide on an amp/ speaker combination that will do this machine justice?

Before everyone writes (as I would, and has been written here) “it depends on your taste”/ “how long is a piece of string”/ etc., I only need to know – what do I need to really do this unit justice?

I don’t need anything more than will fill an average sized room, so no huge grunt.

…So, in summary – I just need to know, please – when you sit down with this machine, and place your fingers on the keys, what do you need to have plugged in the back that will truly deliver the machine’s true capabilities – that will make it sit up and beg - without overkill?

Thanks in anticipation.

[Rigel]

This is my setup. The speakers are Yamaha HS80M self powered monitors.

[GregC]

Hi All,

I am a newcomer to music, to Korg, and to workstations, so am throwing myself at your mercy.

I am very computer literate and have mastered all sorts of other things – in the air and on the ground – and need to keep learning.

I am newly (early!) retired, and am living a life-long dream by buying a Kronos (it’s on order) after considerable research, much of it from your own rave reviews.

I need a challenge which will last for years. Although Korg will inevitably launch many future models, the current Kronos will more than do me for the rest of my days.

However, I have just one question, please – can anyone guide on an amp/ speaker combination that will do this machine justice?

Before everyone writes (as I would, and has been written here) “it depends on your taste”/ “how long is a piece of string”/ etc., I only need to know – what do I need to really do this unit justice?

I don’t need anything more than will fill an average sized room, so no huge grunt.

…So, in summary – I just need to know, please – when you sit down with this machine, and place your fingers on the keys, what do you need to have plugged in the back that will truly deliver the machine’s true capabilities – that will make it sit up and beg - without overkill?

Thanks in anticipation.

get the best. These are darn good- event ASP8's

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr04/a ... /event.htm

[dfahrner]

If you're just going to use them at home in an average-sized room, I think that most any good-quality powered studio monitors will work - the Events are kind of at the high end, the Yamahas somewhere in the middle, and I've been using Behringer Truth B3030As (the low end)...spend as much money as you can on (two) name-brand monitors, maybe a minimum of say $150 each...unless you're playing loud / bass-heavy music, you probably don't need a subwoofer or anything with a bass driver bigger than 6"...if you're going to be playing other places, and moving things around, that's a whole different thing, and one reason that I like the Behringers is that anything that sounds good on them sounds good on other speakers too (that's what studio monitors are supposed to do)...just my opinion, of course, and we know what opinions are like...

df

[DavyP]

Check this link for a previous discussion about which monitors to use with the Kronos......I personally use the Rokit KRK 5's which are loud and sound great in a small room. You could run a balanced cable straight from the Kronos into them for a very clear and quiet connection!

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

[GregC]

You could run a balanced cable straight from the Kronos into them for a very clear and quiet connection!

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

Very important point, IMO. A direct connection provides the most perfect audio signal. Mixers in between can often interfere with the Kronos quality or obscure some detail . Trust your ears

[jeremykeys]

In your case I would say whatever your budget will allow. There are so many studio monitors out there now that I can't mention even 5% of them. If money is no object, I would go for a pair of Dyne Audio monitors. They have several models. I'm not sure if they have a self powered set but if so I would definately go that route.
If you are only playing for your own enjoyment and seeing what the Kronos will do without getting a computer involved, then you don't even need a mixer. Just a direct connection from the Kronos to the input of the powered speakers.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask anything, anytime!

[SanderXpander]

I have a set of DynAudio BM5As, I really love them. They could use a sub but my room is a bit too small for one. Your room is an important factor, actually.

Although, while I realize you want to get the best from your new toy, technically the sky is the limit and I don't think that's realistic. Are you making this a career change and are you planning to build a pro-level production studio, or are you a hobbyist who wants to get a top notch experience?

I'm guessing the latter. In that case budget is a definite consideration. My DynAudio set cost me I think around 900 bucks for the set and you can double that for adding a sub. Just to give you an idea. Can you give us a ballpark figure of what you are expecting to spend and what your dream use case is?

[McLaren]

Hi all and thanks for the very helpful advice. This is hugely, hugely appreciated.

The Kronos is for amateur use, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

I tend to shy away from bass-heavy stuff, so don't need a sub, but just seek clarity of sound. Ideally £500-£1000 budget, but I could stretch to £2000+ if it really blew me away. But maybe not beyond this, as it's potentially doubling the cost of the unit.

Again, because this is for home use, I don't need massive volume. Just one aim, in summary - as much clarity as possible without going OTT - ie without going beyond the point where I would need to spend a massive amount to achieve a real difference.

Hope this helps - and again, thanks. The Forum is most welcoming.

[DennyC]

This is my setup. The speakers are Yamaha HS80M self powered monitors.

This is almost exactly what I'm using. They sound great to me.

Denny C

[Bertotti]

I have the irk rocket 5 but I do not use them with my Kronos, I did at first but soon realized the bass I wanted wasn't there. I now use a couple QSCK10 pa, yes in my house, I also use sony headphones and Behringer DT880pro headphones. The headphones by far sound the best but the QSC are damn good! Rockets will do in a pinch but you will want a sub for them.

[laughing_bear]

I can recommend them here:

http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/reco ... KeVdr5rnWU

http://www.dv247.com/pa-systems-and-liv ... 8p--203659

[McLaren]

Thanks, Rigel, dfahrner, DavyP, GregC, Jeremykeys, SanderXpander, DennyC, Bertotti and Laughingbear – thanks to you all for excellent advice.

It’s great to be able to get recommendations from people who have been using the same workstation and getting the most out of it.

I now have an excellent shortlist. The Kronos doesn’t arrive until the end of Feb, so I have a couple of months to hear everything.

Just for fun, I'll report back, so you know!

Cheers!

[QuiRobinez]

I have a set of DynAudio BM5As, I really love them. They could use a sub but my room is a bit too small for one. Your room is an important factor, actually.

Although, while I realize you want to get the best from your new toy, technically the sky is the limit and I don't think that's realistic. Are you making this a career change and are you planning to build a pro-level production studio, or are you a hobbyist who wants to get a top notch experience?

I'm guessing the latter. In that case budget is a definite consideration. My DynAudio set cost me I think around 900 bucks for the set and you can double that for adding a sub. Just to give you an idea. Can you give us a ballpark figure of what you are expecting to spend and what your dream use case is?

excellent advise.

the room, the way of use and even the musical style you are playing are key factors of determining which monitors are the best for your situation.

For instance, when you use it just in your 'home' studio, then nearfield monitors are probably the best choice, if you also want to perform gigs with them then stay away from nearfield monitors.

I think a budget around 1000 is more then enough to buy quality speakers. Personally i use the KRK VXT8 which is around 1100 euro but these are quite heavy on the bass (i choose them for that purpose, since i create a lot of dance music) so probably not the best choice for your situation.

DynAudio, Genelec, Adam and KRK are good monitors to start looking into.

[SanderXpander]

If you are planning to produce music and do semi-serious mixing, you're probably better off spending, say up to a thousand bucks for monitoring, and then half again that (or more) on acoustic panels (not just the eggshell foam) and other room treatment.

Some basic rules -
1. Whenever possible, set your speakers up so they are against the short wall, in other words you want to give the sound waves the longest possible free trajectory before they hit a wall.
2. Ideally, try not to have any hard surfaces facing each other, such as two straight stone or wood walls. Put acoustic panels on the initial reflective surface if you can, otherwise something like a thick rug is good.
3. Something like a solid chair, heavy beanbag or couch in a corner can help a lot with problematic bass frequencies. Professional bass traps are better but expensive.
4. Consider putting an acoustic cloud along the ceiling above your monitors. They catch mainly high frequencies and you can make effective ones yourself cheaply.


This may seem over the top for you, but you asked for the best experience and considering what you're spending on monitors (and the K) this will make a much bigger difference on your clarity of sound than spending twice as much on monitors.