Evening all. I finally found a dealer that sells the Technics brand of Keyboards. I called them and was very surprised they carried not only Technic's Flagship KN7000 but the new KN2400 and KN2600! And they had them all IN STOCK! So I scurried down to check them out. The KN2600 and 2400 are almost identical in specs. The ONLY differences are the KN2600 has SD Memory capability but NO floppy drive while the KN2400 HAS a floppy drive but NO SD Memory slot. The other differences are the KN2400 DOES NOT have a "modulation wheel" (just a pitch bend) while the KN2600 has BOTH. The 2600 has "40" more sounds than the 2400 (1,064 VS 1,024). The only other difference is the KN2600 has 2 extra Watts more output power per speaker, ie., KN2600: 20W X 2 VS KN2400: 18W X 2.

There is no after touch on either, just initial touch sensitivity. Both have 64 note polyphony.

So how does it sound? Well, I thought the sounds were very good. It has a very good Grand Piano Patch plus the Brass and Woodwind sections were very good also. Some of the Guitar voices were good too. Although I thought some of the Organ sounds were rather thin sounding. I was surprised because Technics Keyboards have been known for their quality Organ sounds.

It is very sleek looking and all of the buttons are well layed out. The weight is almost identical, ie., KN2600: 11.7kg [25.7 lbs.] VS KN2400: 11.4kg [25.1 lbs.]

Here are some of the CONS:

The output volume although decent is not outstanding imo. In playing some of the Keyboard sounds I had the volume MAXED OUT yet the volume was less than I anticipated. It definitely would need external speakers in almost any given Gigging environment.

The internal Sequencers PPQ timing resolution is only 1/96, ie., 96 PPQ and I felt the Backing Accompaniment tracks although colorful in many ways, lacked the expressive rich sound I get with my PSR 2000 for instance. Of course you may disagree with my assessment once you hear it for yourself. I asked the salesperson how much Wav ROM the KN2600 had but he didn't know. It could be that the Technics Keyboards utilize another Sample technology other than Wav ROM.

Although most of the sounds sounded pretty good I did notice a slight "Synthesized" sound to many of the patches. Maybe that would be reduced or eliminated if the sound was routed to a good external sound source.

It has no Vocal Harmony chip but it does have a Mic input 1/4". You will need to buy an external Harmonizer if you want Harmony in your Mix.

The price for the KN2400 is: $1,395 [879 GBP]
The price for the KN2600 is: $1,895 [1.195 GBP] Of course you may be able to find them cheaper somewhere.

I also played the KN7000 briefly and the Volume output on it is OUTSTANDING! Much better sound through the speakers. And the Organ sounds on the KN7000 are stupendous. It has to be played in person to realize how awesome it really sounds. Kudos! to Technics for making such a fine Keyboard in the KN7000. But you will have to pay dearly for it though. The price was $3,995 [2.520 GBP] Again, you may be able to find it cheaper elsewhere. But if your an Organist at heart you won't be disappointed in the KN7000 IMO!

Best regards,
Mike

Ida,
I assume that when you said the 2400 didn't have the modulation wheel, the pitch bend stick will function as both? Like some other synth/keyboard's when you can press the pitch bend stick forward and the sound would modulate. If not, that would be weird, no modulation at all?

That's a good question KN_FAN. But I don't think that is the case. If that was the case then the KN2600 would have just the Pitch Bend/Modulation function together in one too wouldn't you think? As it is the KN2600 has two 'separate' wheels whereas the KN2400 has just 'one' wheel that looks the same as the one on my PSR 2000, ie., "Pitch Up/Pitch Down" (no side movement at all). I believe it is basically the same on the KN2400 as it is with the Yamaha PSR 1000 where it too has only a Pitch Bend wheel with NO Modulation capability that I am aware of.

PS: KN_FAN just call me Mike or Idatrod NOT Ida, please??? Ida has a feminine ring to it (here in the USA) and as you know I am NOT a female. Thanks,

Best regards,
Mike

Sorry Id..I mean Mike

Proves again Technics got its own strange way determining what features that worth taking off the lower model.

(don't get me wrong- I used to be a devout fan for about 15 years).

Hi Mike

Thanks for the side-by-side. I'd like to find a place around here that has all 3 keyboards, too. Or at least the 7000 and 2600. I'm thinking the 2600 would be fun to have (if I could get it at a great price). But, if it sounds substantially inferior to the PSR2000, I guess I probably won't play it much.

Tom G.

Hi Mike

You mentioned the extra 40 voices on the 2600. Do you know are these 40 super sounds that you'd miss if you got the 2400? Similar maybe to Yamaha Cool, Sweet,Live sounds?

You mentioned the styles maybe didn't have the tone of the PSR2100, do you think the PSR2000 wins out here or the KN2400/2600, or to close to call?

Also wondering what your opinion is if it's worth having both PSR2000 and a KN2400/2600, or better off having one real good one like the Tyros or maybe the KN7000?

Thanx

Scott Langholff

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 07-08-2003).]

I forgive you KN_Fan..

I believe it all has to do with marketing KN_Fan. Someone who is a beginner and doesn't need all of the bells and whistles and wants the lower price of the KN2400 will buy it. But I would think Technics would rather people buy the KN2600 pricing it at a point where people would be willing to spend the extra cash for a more full featured Model with all of its advantages. And in doing so Technics makes more profit on the higher end model too.



Tom, it DOES NOT sound substantially inferior to the PSR 2000. It sounds VERY good. But I wanted to mention that some of the voices sound a little cheesy. But not REAL cheesy. Just a little to my ears. A LOT of the sounds are really good but to get the full benefit a person should probably run the sound through a good external sound system. Again let me state that there are many great sounds on the KN2600 and it is a very worthy Keyboard in my estimation. Plus you get the added benefit of SD Memory storage capability. And SD Memory is not like a Smart Media Card where the storage limit is 128Mb. SD Memory is up to 1Gig sized cards right now but I am not sure the KN2600 accepts Cards up to that size. From what I gathered from the salesperson it sounded like it could hold Cards beyond 128Mb's. The KN2600 might also use the Mini Secure Digital Cards which has a limit of 256Mb. Still that is 128Mb more than the largest Smart Media Card. I should have asked the salesperson if it uses the Mini Secure Digital Cards or the regular SD Cards. I guess it slipped my mind in all of the excitement.



Hi Scott,
As to your first question: I don't have the foggiest. I was wondering the same thing after I got home. There are 34 Drum Kits in both the KN2600 and KN2400 so that's not part of it. The 40 extra voices could be in the USER Voice category but I'm not sure.

I'll tell you what, if I get the chance this week I will call the store and ask a salesperson if he or she knows the answer to what exactly are those 40 extra voices. I might also be able to find that info by digging around on the Net.

Question number 2: The answer to that one is kinda hard. The sounds on the KN2600 were comparable in quality to the PSR 2000 imo. I think the KN2600 has a better Grand Piano sound but not by much. NOTE: The KN2600 has true FULL SIZED Keys on it like the Korg PA80 and several other non-Yamaha Arranger Keyboards have, which is a BIG Plus in my book. The Key feel was also much better on the KN2600 imo. None of that spongy feel that the PSR 2000 has. Also I didn't get to try ALL of the voices on the KN2600. If I did I probably would have ended up spending a few hours there and they were getting close to closing time so I couldn't have tested them all today any way. But I will hopefully get back there sometime in the near future to give it a more thorough going over. If they haven't sold out of their stock that is!

Question 3: Scott; to tell you the truth, if I had my druthers I would get an Arranger that is that REAL GOOD one your talking about, instead of one or 2 mid range ones. That is just my opinion of course but the High End Arrangers whether it be a Tyros or the KN7000 or the new Korg PA1-X/Pro just offer so much more in terms of features in addition to the better quality sounds. Plus High End Arrangers usually have a better build quality to them so they would tend to last longer imo. Plus another nice feature is the ability to upgrade the OS's which oftentimes is a good Future Proofing of your Keyboard, ie., it will keep its cutting edge longer before you would possibly consider upgrading to a new Keyboard again. But if a person is short on funds then the PSR 1100/2100 or the KN2400/2600 would be excellent choices imo for a good mid range Arranger Keyboard[s].

Best regards to all,
Mike

Thanks for the excellent reply Mike. It's very easy to read into what you're saying. I really appreciate the input.

If you can find anything on the 40 voices on the web, then you are a better searcher than I am. (hmmm..searcher,is that in the dictionary?)

Scott Langholff

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 07-09-2003).]

Technics KN2600 Update:

Good morning to all. After a little investigation (and a good Translation software) , I have found the information that Scott requested.

First off let me say that the KN2600 uses "Standard SD Media Cards" NOT the 'Mini SD Digital'. The Mini SD Digital format's capacity is 256Mb as I stated in my previous post.^ But since the KN2600 uses regular SD "Secure Digital" Cards it will indeed be able to use Cards up to 1Gig in size! Talk about your almost Hard Drive capacity (it is actually bigger 'in capacity' than some Hard Drives made even today "like IBM's Micro Drive") that is "removable" and supports Audio files not just, let's say, Midi only like Floppy Drives on a Keyboard basically only do. A Giant leap forward folks!!

Now the 40 'extra' sounds on the KN2600 are actually 40 extra "Styles", ie., Music Accompaniment backing style files. There are no "pumped up" or Super Voices like some people may consider Yammie's Sweet!, Live!, and Cool! voices are, on the KN2600. I myself don't consider the Sweet!, Live!, and Cool! voices in that way like I would the Mega Voices, which imo are extraordinary in sound quality. Too bad you are not able to play them effectively on the Tyros. Maybe you WILL be able to on the new Motif ES. We shall see.

Summer NAMM 2003. July 18th-20th. Nashville, TN USA. Nine days and counting...

Best regards,
Mike

Mike,
Thank you for that great review. I will eventually check it out myself. I do like organ sounds (I use to own a Hammond L100 & Leslie 122), so its disapointing that the sounds are thin. Can you comment on some of the other sounds compared to the PSR2000? Flute, sax, violin, etc.
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