Kronos vs Oasys, start the fight!

This comes from Mark and other contributors of Korg Forums. For those of you who like to know about this:

 

 

Known Differences:

DIMENSIONS
– KRONOS mid-sized is 73 keys and “weighted”. OASYS is 76 and synth-action. KRONOS does have 61 keys version. OASYS doesn’t.

– KRONOS is smaller
KRONOS 88-key: 57.28” x 16.18” x 5.71” (1,455 x 411 x 145 mm)
KRONOS 73-key: 48.94” x 16.18” x 5.71” (1,243 x 411 x 145 mm)
KRONOS 61-key: 41.42” x 14.25” x 5.28” (1,052 x 362 x 134 mm)

OASYS 88-key: 57.40” x 19.06” x 5.31” (1,458 x 484 x 135 mm)
OASYS 76-key: 49.84” x 19.06” x 5.31” (1,266 x 484 x 135 mm)

– KRONOS is lighter
KRONOS 88-key: 50.71 lbs. / 23.0 kg
KRONOS 73-key: 44.75 lbs. / 20.3 kg
KRONOS 61-key: 27.56 lbs. / 12.5 kg

OASYS 88-key: 70.99 lbs / 32.2 kg.
OASYS 76-key: 56.44 lbs / 25.6 kg.

HARDWARE
– Atom Dual Core (KRONOS) vs. P4 2.8 (OASYS)
– KRONOS power consumption is 60W, OASYS is 130W
– OASYS had vents on sides, KRONOS does not and relies on holes for sliders, etc.

SCREEN
– OASYS has 10.4″ TouchView 640×480 Display. KRONOS uses an improved 8″ TouchView display with 800×600
– OASYS has pivoting screen, KRONOS doesn’t
– KRONOS has improved graphics (more pictures of instruments, effects), but smaller font.

CONTROLS
– OASYS has physical pads, KRONOS doesn’t, but has a pads screen page.
– OASYS has LED’s around the Knobs and next to the Sliders. KRONOS doesn’t.
– Many KRONOS buttons are smaller than their OASYS counterparts.
– KRONOS joystick is “shallower” and somewhat smaller
– KRONOS pitch/mod wheel has a round shaft, where the OASYS is rectangular

I/O
– KRONOS has 2 USB A Ports for storage, CDRW, etc. OASYS has 4 USB 2.0 Ports and CDRW.
– KRONOS has USB connection to computer (stereo audio / MIDI).
– KRONOS has 4 Individual Outs and 2 Main Outputs, OASYS has 8 Individual Outs and 2 Main outputs.
– KRONOS has 2 Inputs, OASYS has 4 Inputs (2 of which are Phantom Powered Mic Preamps).
– OASYS supports ADAT and Wordclock (via the EXB-DI card), KRONOS lacks this option.

MEMORY
– KRONOS uses 30Gb SSD, OASYS uses 40Gb HDD

SYNTHESIS
– KRONOS comes with 12 Gb of samples, OASYS comes (without optional EXs) with 1 Gb.
– KRONOS has long-sampled, 4.7G piano from SSD – SGX-1
– KRONOS has EP-1, Electric Piano Modeling Synthesis
– KRONOS has smooth sound transitions, even from prog to combi.
– KRONOS has 8 velocity zones per oscillator, OASYS only has 4 velocity zones per oscillator

– Polyphony
________KRONOS: _____OASYS:
SGX-1: –100 voices——— 0
EP-1: —104 voices——— 0
HD-1: —140 voices——— 172
AL-1: —-80 voices ——— 96
CX-3: —200 voices ——— 172
STR-1: —40 voices ——— 48
MOD-7: —52 voices ——— 52
MS-20EX: -40 voices ——— 48
PolysixEX: -180 voices ———172

NOTE: Effect usage does not lower the polyphony on KRONOS as drastically as on the OASYS. It many cases, it does not drop on the KRONOS at all.

KARMA
– KRONOS KARMA is the same as OASYS – however, like the M3, drum track is implemented in all modes. (source: John Lehmkuhl )
– KARMA on the KRONOS is version 2.2.8, while the OASYS has stopped at 2.2.6 (only minor bug fixes are the difference)

SEQUENCER
– KRONOS sequencer is higher resolution (480 PPQN) and has M3’s SysEx editor.

PROGS/COMBIS
– 96 new combis on the Kronos, and the other 384 are exactly the same as they were on the OASYS (source Stephen Kay)
– You can load OASYS Programs, Combis and Sequences into the KRONOS but NOT vice versa

FEATURES
– KRONOS has set list mode.
– KRONOS has current Korg support, OASYS support is closed down.
– On OASYS, you had to pay extra to unlock some engines/content. On KRONOS aLL DSP models and sample libraries are included. Nothing needs to be purchase or unlocked for the factory content. (source: John Lehmkuhl)
– KRONOS records audio in 24 bits, OASYS does 16 bits. NOTE: KRONOS internal sampling resolution is 16 bits.
– KRONOS can load stereo wav files, OASYS does twin mono.

Known Similarities

– MS-20Ex, PolysixEx, CX-3, AL-1, STR-1, MOD-7 synths are the same.
– Internal hardware/OS signal resolution is the same.
– ADCs and DACs are the same.
– Both have a fan.