KORG KRONOS 3 VS KRONOS 2 REVIEW INTERNALS & CLONING KRONOS 3 DRIVE TO KRONOS 2 & LOADING SPEED TEST WITH SAME OS COPY.

[Purgatory]

KORG KRONOS 3 VS KRONOS 2 REVIEW INTERNALS & CLONING KRONOS 3 DRIVE TO KRONOS 2 & LOADING SPEED TEST WITH SAME OS COPY.

Youtube video link :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KTVMEhY7ss

This video shows the K2 internals compared to the K3 but not in English.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_bqsfWJ9RM

Seems the Kronos 3 has same motherboard (Asrock N3160TM-ITX-K) as the Nautilus from what I remember and well the faster loading is down to a mini-SATA SSD inside. The power supply looks like a downgrade to me from the K2 and RAM is still DDR3.

Ohh well was hoping for something a bit better by now in the K3 but here we are at least a new model. At least the new updated K3 OS seems to work on the K2 and should be an update at some point and if not well we know K3 owners can clone the drive and well share it to K2 users, just need to remember to reauthorise the K2 and any software that comes extra with the K3, which means buying a licence key for them.

This video shows the K2 and K3 on the same K3 OS loading speed. As can be seen seems not much faster on the K3 in reality with exactly same OS copied and expansions. Seems the K3 OS loading is just more optimised compared to the Preload on the K2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDjfeW9MTI

[KK]

Finally, someone who shows what is in there in a movie. Thanks for sharing.

I'm not surprised at all as I was expecting a very modest hardware "update". Looking quickly, there still seems to be a LAN port for direct FTP connection as none of the old interfaces works. So there is hope for people who want to do this little mod.

I don't like the new PSU though, looks really cheap - yikes. At least the new MOBO has a wider heatsink since they removed the fan (which is another thing I don't really agree with, but oh well Korg needs to make $ cutting stuff). I see they also changed a few PCBs, including the one for the LCD.

Finally, about the OS upgrade on a K2, besides the new sounds, I am not sure it is worth it unless it fixes some bugs (we will see when it becomes available). To me, it would be much easier to just add the K3 sounds I would want using PCG and sample library files.

[Purgatory]

Finally, someone who shows what is in there in a movie. Thanks for sharing.

I'm not surprised at all as I was expecting a very modest hardware "update". Looking quickly, there still seems to be a LAN port for direct FTP connection as none of the old interfaces works. So there is hope for people who want to do this little mod.

I don't like the new PSU though, looks really cheap - yikes. At least the new MOBO has a wider heatsink since they removed the fan (which is another thing I don't really agree with, but oh well Korg needs to make $ cutting stuff). I see they also changed a few PCBs, including the one for the LCD.

Finally, about the OS upgrade on a K2, besides the new sounds, I am not sure it is worth it unless it fixes some bugs (we will see when it becomes available). To me, it would be much easier to just add the K3 sounds I would want using PCG and sample library files.

Yes that PSU is scary looking and the motherboard in the K3 seems to be a special cut down Asrock J3160TM-ITX and called a N3160TM-ITX-K for Korg. If you watch the video you will see that the motherboard is missing lots of capacitors and other components on it like chips and connectors, but the board is basically a Asrock J3160TM-ITX stripped down, not even sure why they would even bother doing that and how much it really even saves them on that board that is £43.56 on sale and £58 normally https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007635235787.html , https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/J3160TM-ITX/index.asp , So what is Korg paying for that N3160TM-ITX-K that is so stripped down, £25 ? ..

Not sure why they have cheaped out so much and even that video shows the K2 has a black metal bottom on the 61,73 key versions and the K3 which is an all Black version has a bare metal bottom, the 88 key versions come with a wooden bottom K2 and K3.. but why not have a black bottom on the K3 with a painted metal bottom to protect it from future rusting too.

Not that impressed and now see why they didn't talk too much about the internals apart from saying all new parts blaa blaa, DDR3 is not new and mini-SATA SSD is not new and no faster than a good SATA 3 3.5" SSD. Should have been a newer motherboard with DDR4/5 RAM and NVME SSD and have space for more than one NVME SSD and the SATA 3 ports. This K3 version is the cheapest version I bet ever of the Kronos to make.

Also N3150TM-ITX motherboard https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/N3150TM-ITX/ as another one that looks like the K3 board but lacking the Intel N3160 CPU (2016 release) on the board https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... tions.html a 10 year old CPU soon on the K3 .


Just to add the K2 had this motherboard (but again a Korg version that was stripped down), Asrock IMB-140D Plus https://www.asrockind.com/en-gb/IMB-140D%20Plus and had an Intel Atom® Processor D2550 (2012 release) on it from memory as it was an updated D2500 that could do 4 threads where the D2500 could not and 2 cores were 2 threads only, so no hyper threading. Also if you look at the K2 motherboard that also had a mini-SATA on the underside but wasn't used and removed from the Korg version of the motherboard as can be seen here from the K2 motherboard removed from a K2 https://reverb.com/uk/item/26634501-kor ... otherboard .

K2 came out 2014 with a CPU 2 years old by then.

K3 came out 2025 with a CPU 9 years old.

Anyone see the issue here ?

[KK]

Hi again,

I checked the video again this morning and I was incorrect earlier. The RJ-45 is gone on the new MOBO (what we see instead is the HDMI jack) so no possibility for direct FTP connection like on a K2. And the MOBO components you mention as missing (similar to what they did in the K2) are what was not used like the MOBO audio section.

At least Korg told the truth that this K3 was basically made because they were completely out of replacement components for the K2 as they were so old. It is also true that the K3 boots somewhat quicker, but as I figured out months ago there are also false placebo "improvements" declared by Korg as great upgrade selling points.

As you can see in the other video, the LCD is exactly at the same angle, therefore not offering a "better vision" (except a possible very limited improvement of viewing angle that remains to be confirmed), nor it responds any quicker either as we can see here when the guy pushes on the KSC Auto-Load tab, etc.

And I agree with you there is nothing to write home about the mini-SATA, already in the Nautilus as well. So as you found out, the amount of time critical parts like the new MOBO will continue to be available for replacement might end up even more limited that when the K2 came out.

In conclusion, don't get me wrong, I am glad the K3 is available, since anyone owning a K2 that has recurrent problems can replace his/hers, same with gigging musicians who need a backup keyboard. In my case, I might just get some of the new K3 sounds if/when they become available.

[SeedyLee]

Not sure what the issue with the PSU is? It looks to me to be a linear power supply, versus the switch-mode PSU in the K1, which should be quieter and more reliable? The smaller PSU is possible because the K3 consumes much less power, and therefore generates less heat than previous models.

It's easy to point out that the new components are cheaper and missing features compared to older versions - no ethernet on the motherboard, no SATA hard drive etc. But all of this means less heat, which means there's no fan and a simpler power supply. Seems like a win to me?

[AntonySharmman]

Not sure what the issue with the PSU is? It looks to me to be a linear power supply, versus the switch-mode PSU in the K1

Kronos 3 PSU is in architecture the same as in Kronos 1/2 , SMPS but in 2 boards , the second stage is a Korg design pico PSU of
distributing voltages of motherboard , working also in switching mode nothing is linear there.
Enhance ENO-1612 120W PSU had all voltage stages in the same board , at Kronos 3 PSU , first Chinese board provides 12V at 5A and
this voltage drives second Korg pico PSU board (KLM55492) that creates voltages -12V/5V/3V etc ...

Before 12 years I had suggested in forum to replace Enhance ENO-1612 with a simple solid laptop PSU 12V /5A and a pico PSU 12V
Dc-DC ATX Power Supply like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/405965943604
Now they did it in Kronos 3 ...

The only problem for me technically , is that the on board m-Sata disk is permanently set at sata port 0 and can't change externally
so we can't boot from a second spare boot SSD when connected at port 1 as I do in Kronos 1/2 with external rear Sata slot I have made.