Also the Pa1X (61 Key with internal speakers) will have a BETTER sound system than the PA80 has. It says it will be sufficient even for Live performance use!

How big of a crowd and [Room] before it reaches its limit is another question though. If it has even an inkling of the sound system that the Technics KN7000 has then were in for a real treat.

Best regards,
Mike

Accurate Speaker System (Pa1X only)

Some companies add speakers to a finished keyboard, almost as an after thought. Do the speakers really match the sound output of the keyboard? But Korg was driven by the pursuit of RX Technology. To achieve a stunning sound, we decided to get the best possible sound system and then design the keyboard around that. The result? A sound system in an Arranger keyboard that will amaze and delight you, and ensure your audience believes they are listening to the real thing!

The Pa1X uses a powerful, high quality custom designed bi-amplified two way bass-reflex box speaker system driven by studio quality power amplifiers. The speakers match the amplifier and faithfully reproduce the detail of the Pa1X sound engine.

Volume? The Pa1X has more power than ever before! Whether you use it to play internal sounds and styles or maybe just to listen to an audio CD, the Pa1X gives you the best sound system in an Arranger keyboard]

Whats does this mean? speakers an option? or only on the 61 note version?

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 07-22-2003).]

I think there will be 2 versions 1 which we already know about PA1-X Pro with 76 keys no speakers and the other one will be a 61 key with builtin speakers and they both will be out next year some time in jan-feb I think it is written some where on the korgpa.com site. (not the release date it is my guesstimate)

from www.korgpa.com website...
Sounds quality

The amazing sound quality of the Pa1X simply has to be heard to be believed. We want you and your audience to feel like there is a real band on stage – we want the experience to be real....

Unfortunately, the trumpet player has to shut up when the saxophonist plays his part

I still can not believe that they dropped the ball on the polyphony issue. While there are better and worse ways to implement voice allocation, the math does not lie - if there are not enough voices to go around, something will have to give.

As I read each piece of info about the PA1X, a little voice in the back of my mind keeps saying "...nice, but it only has 62 voices of polyphony".

That's just too bad. I hope you guys are not as put off by this as I am.

Regards,
Alex

Yes polyphony is an issue but I have heard some very complex arrangements on Triton (62 polyphony) since I am guessing Korg did not redesign the sound chip or anything it is same with maybe few different samples kind of Mega voices with a fancy name RX the real RX seems to be the operating system which allows for on screen help and more user friendly than PA-80 was well these issues can be addressed by Korg only that why they are still stuck with 62 note polyphony and one more drawback is that effect placement in PA1-X is same PA-80 not like Triton I mean come on Korg isn’t suppose to be a true professional arranger workstation ?

A Keyboardist should NEVER sacrifice Sounds for features. Okay, that is a good point but if the Pa1X/Pro which apparently has absolutely fantastic sounds, should we also have to sacrifice features? In other words, the sounds are there, ie., Fantastic Sounds on the Pa1X/Pro, but they have scaled back one of the most important FEATURES for an Arranger Keyboard; an abundance of Polyphony! Korg deliberately decided to make the Pa1X/Pro to have 62 note Polyphony. I consider their decision an extreme lack of foresight on their part. The Pa1X/Pro could have been the new Arranger World's Monster Keyboard supplanting any and every thing else on the Professional Arranger Market including the Tyros, Ketron SD1 Plus, 9000Pro and Technics KN7000. But they choose to limit the Pa1X/Pro's viability and acceptance in the Arranger Keyboard Market by providing it with a miserly amount of Polyphony.

Sometimes I think these Keyboard Manufacturers don't necessarily WANT to sell a bucket load of Keyboards to the masses. They just want to tease us, squeeze us, manipulate the market, anger us, frustrate us, and all the while laugh at us in our predicaments. I pray to God I am wrong but that is the impression I get sometimes.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: "the customer is and never has been number one in the eyes of the Keyboard Manufacturers. They reserve that roll for themselves much to the chagrin of the buying public and oftentimes their 'loyal' customers. I think they may have a love for Music (but not necessarily ) and they want their customers to be satisfied to a reasonable extent but the bottom line for them is increasing their revenue and prospering as an entity. In other words, the buying public is way down on the totem pole in my opinion in regards to what is important in their eyes. Were just a number, a figure $$$, an avenue or vehicle by which they become wealthy, and I'm sorry to say "little else".

Best regards,
Mike

[This message has been edited by Idatrod (edited 07-23-2003).]

"A Keyboardist should NEVER sacrifice Sounds for features." Never say "never". It depends on what else you might have.

Sounds and polyphony are easily supplemented with a module. It is harder to deal with inadequate style storage, poor chord recognition, lack of vocal harmony, slow transfer rates, lack of continuous controllers including aftertouch, a bad navigation system.

Also, Korg is criticized since its cards do not add polyphony while Yamaha's do. On the other hand, Korg's 62-note polyphony applies to the added sounds as well as the original sounds. In the case of Yamaha, the added sounds have only their own polyphony and do not benefit from the keyboards base polyphony. For example, Yamaha's VL voices have 1-voice polyphony, period. Also, the added polyphony is not available to the original voices. Basically, Yamaha allows you to have 2,3, or 4 synths in one case, but integration of these synths is limited.

62 Korg voices beat 126 Yammies anyday. It's all in how you allocate it.

I guess I still don't understand the polyphony issue. Maybe if your going to do classical concert you might run out of notes. But 62 notes is a lot for jazz, rock and roll and country unless your going to have 12 guitars struming the same notes.

Dave, I have to agree with you here. I had a lengthy conversation with my Korg Distict Sales Manager this morning regarding the issue of 62 voice polyphony. Here's what he had to say:
First, all Triton products have no more than 62 notes of polyphony. Even the Triton Studio 88 has just 62 note polyphony, although there are two seperate boards in this instrument each having actually only 60 notes each. So, if you think you have 120 total notes to work with, you are wrong because you can not "share" the polyphony with the same kinds of sounds. Piano, etc. have their own 60 notes and other sounds have their own.
Now, regarding voice allocation, Korg uses the system of "least significant allocation" which means the sound with the lowest volume will be dropped if needed. Because Yamaha uses many sounds with 4 waveforms per foice and Korg never uses more than 2 waveforms per voice, Yamaha sounds can use up more polyphony with the same number of fingers being used for sounds. He also reminded me of how many Tritons are being used in the world and that the issue of lack of polyphony has not been a problem that Korg have received calls about from users.
These are just a few points I wanted to share with you.
For whatever reason Korg has, the Triton chip and polyphony issue is remaining unchanged for the time being and Korg must have decided that to change the manufacturing process at this time would be too costly.
When I think of how many i30's i've sold and in the past year how many PA80's I've sold, and most of my customers are pro players using these keyboards for playing live in resteraunts and clubs, I have not heard complaints about notes being dropped off. I would hope that many of you will hold out and get to try this keyboard when it hits the market in October.
My rep also told me that it is quite possible there will be a PA1X with 61 keys and speakers possibly in other countries, but as often is the case, the USA division has only choosen to bring in the pro 76 key model for now.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California