Korg MR-2000S Unboxing + Photos!

It's here! 

Audio samples are on the way, but first - here's some unboxing photos:

(Note: photos can only be seen by registered users.)

A few more internal pictures:

(Note: photos can only be seen by registered users.)

Getting ready to mount the Korg:
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My Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 recording interface, Fractal Audio Axe-FX Ultra (guitar effects processor) and my Behringer V-Verb 2496:
[attach=2]

I was going to upgrade the hard drive today but the IDE to SATA adapter I bought is too long, so I had to order another one. If you're planning on upgrading your Korg MR-2000S with a SATA hard drive, you need this adapter:

[attachimg=1]

Note: You will need to remove the 'HDD select' jumper on the adapter for the Korg to recognize the SATA hard drive.

I used Acronis True Image software to clone the original IDE drive to a larger SATA hard drive. I tested the cloned image on the new drive and it was successful - the Korg booted right up and played the recordings flawlessly; it's just that I couldn't physically mount the hard drive inside because the cable was too short for the adapter I originally bought. 

The new IDE to SATA adapter is here and it's working fine with a spare 160GB SATA drive I'm using for testing. 

I just ordered a 500GB SATA hard drive for the Korg for $37 off eBay. It's a 5400RPM drive, but it has 16MB of cache, which should help keep the data flowing smoothly. The specific model I got (E5K500) is made by Hitachi for Sun servers, so it's made for 24/7 operation and high reliability. It's also a little taller (12.5mm) than a standard 9mm laptop drive, so I can only really use it in the Korg - it's too tall for most laptops.

The 500GB drive came today. Here's a shot of it installed in the Korg:

[attachimg=1]

I mounted the drive a piece of plastic that I cut and drilled to match the original metal drive plate. I powered it up and the Korg had no problems recognizing the full 500GB of space. 

[attachimg=2]

The only thing that worries me is the fact that the original drive plate was metal and I wonder if they used the metal plate to shield the components underneath from magnetic interference. I hate to remove the original drive from the plate since I want to keep it as-is, in case the unit needed warranty repair work in the future - I could just swap the drive back in.

hi new kid in town. i want to buy this recorder. i have a question about your impression.

if i record cd (coaxial out ) to dsd format, want to know your impression about the soundstage, dynamic.
is it close to the original? this is what i concern most before buying this.

i am also considering tascam 1000, which sound better if i just put this player balanced out to amp.

tascam 1000 can dsd output to dsd dac like mytek, in which korg cant output dsd , this is also another factor i
concern.

please advise.

thank you.

re hard drive: any chance to use ssd?  thank you.

re hard drive: any chance to use ssd?  thank you.

Theoretically, you should be able to use a SSD drive. I haven't tested it, but it should work. Although, you may run into a problem if the SSD drive pauses once in a while freeing up sectors during a continuous write cycle. Most mechanical hard drives have 8~64MB of cache memory which helps smooth out continuous file writes, preventing data loss. Very few SSD drives that I seen have a separate cache for that purpose. If the SSD drive pauses for 'garbage collection' during a write cycle, it may freeze and cause audio glitches. In general, SSD drives are much faster than standard disk drives so it may not be a problem, but it's something to consider and test out before making the switch.

hi new kid in town. i want to buy this recorder. i have a question about your impression.

if i record cd (coaxial out ) to dsd format, want to know your impression about the soundstage, dynamic.
is it close to the original? this is what i concern most before buying this.

i am also considering tascam 1000, which sound better if i just put this player balanced out to amp.

tascam 1000 can dsd output to dsd dac like mytek, in which korg cant output dsd , this is also another factor i
concern.

please advise.

thank you.

Welcome to the forum!

According to the manual, the Korg can only record PCM audio through the coax input in the same format as the source. That means the Korg cannot be used as a digital upconverter when recording digital audio. I tried it the other night - it will not let you record a 44.1k/16bit digital audio stream in any other format except 44.1k/16bit. If you select a higher bitrate, the clock LED blinks and the Korg won't sync to it. Also, DSD recording is not available for digital recordings through the coax input. DSD is only availble using the analog inputs and outputs of the Korg. Or, you can export the .DFF audio files to your PC using the USB port and play them back through your PC (in PCM, unless you have an external DSD capable DAC). You can also convert DSD audio files to PCM using the included Audiogate software, which is easy to use and does a great job.

Since the Korg doesn't upconvert digital audio, it's basically a 1:1 digital copy, so it will sound exactly the same as the original digital source.

You're right - the Korg does not output DSD in digital form, only analog, which might be an issue if you plan on buying an external DSD DAC in the future. If the DSD DAC has a USB input, you could use it with your computer and playback the .DFF files using the DAC, via USB. Korg may add DSD digital audio playback as a firmware upgrade in the future, but as far as I know, right now it's not supported.

My main interest in the Korg is it's ability to record analog audio in DSD format, which is where the unit really shines. I'm completely sold on the DSD format. It's the closest thing I found that captures all of the nuances and resolution of analog audio. PCM 192k/24bit comes close, but the DSD format takes it even further with better dynamics, higher resolution and finer detail than PCM.

The Korg and Tascam have essentially the same characteristics. They both use the Burr Brown 4202 chipset for DSD recording. Both can record PCM up to 192k/24bit. The Korg can record DSD up to 5.6Mhz, which is 2X the SACD standard. I chose the Korg over the Tascam because I preferred the thinner 1U height and the ease of upgrading the hard drive. It's really a matter of personal preference; both units would work great for archiving vinyl or other analog audio sources. 

got a brand new 2000. love it very much.

1. the recording ability is very strong. now i only try digital recording as 24/192 wave. and very close the original source.

2. replaced the fuse to hifi tuning, more wider soundstage and detailed playback.

3. i am facing difficulty to change hard drive, tried few newer once including ssd and all is failed .
    will find older hd to try it. 

got a brand new 2000. love it very much.

1. the recording ability is very strong. now i only try digital recording as 24/192 wave. and very close the original source.

2. replaced the fuse to hifi tuning, more wider soundstage and detailed playback.

3. i am facing difficulty to change hard drive, tried few newer once including ssd and all is failed .
    will find older hd to try it.

Congratulations! 

To upgrade the hard drive, there are few things you need to consider:

   • The original hard drive in the Korg is a 2.5" laptop IDE hard drive, which has 44 pins.
   • To use a SATA drive as a replacement, you will need a laptop IDE (44 pin) to SATA adapter.
   • The Korg's operating system is stored on the hard drive, so the the original hard drive must be cloned to the replacement drive for the Korg to recognize and use the new drive - or - the drive needs to be partitioned and formatted as FAT32, with the same directory structure as the original drive including the folder containing the operating system. (It's actually much easier to just clone the old drive to the new one.)

You will also need to make sure you have the following:

   • A PC or laptop that can read 2.5" IDE laptop drives (using an adapter) and write to a SATA drive.
   • Software to clone the drive image. I recommend Acronis True Image cloning software.

In my case, I used my laptop (which has an internal SATA port) and a USB to 2.5" IDE (44 pin) adapter. I installed the replacement hard drive inside the laptop, connected the old hard drive to the IDE to USB adapter and loaded Acronis True Image from a bootable CD.

Once True Image was loaded and both drives were recognized, I clicked on 'clone drive' from the menu, selected the source drive (USB to IDE adapter) and the internal SATA drive as the destination. I checked the option to allow True Image to expand the original drive's image to 100% of the new drives capacity and started the cloning process. After the cloning process is complete, I installed the IDE to SATA adapter on the new drive and installed it in the Korg, making sure to carefully line up the IDE cable on the adapters pins. Make sure the pins are lined up correctly since the 44 pin IDE cable from the Korg also caries the power to the drive and if you install the cable incorrectly, you could ruin the hard drive or short out the Korg, so be careful!

If the clone was successful, the Korg should recognize the new drive on power up and be able to record.

Let me know if you're still having problems. 

this is what i was facing :

i had few hd and 1 very new ssd. i also followed your step including :
got a adaptor, using acronis clone.

the resulting is: 2000 can read the hd, can show the new storage. can play only 1 song, then if i
clicked forward to next song,  then frozen.

 "A PC or laptop that can read 2.5" IDE laptop drives (using an adapter) and write to a SATA drive."

this maybe the problem . when cloning the hd,  my pc is sata, and i justed plugged the hd to usb sata docking to do the
cloning.

another problem maybe the adaptor i am using, i will find another one to verify if this is malfunction.

a USB to 2.5" IDE (44 pin) adapter. - what is this? can you send me a photo? thank you.

thank you.

I attached pictures of the adapters; the first one is an IDE to USB adapter, the second one is a 44 pin IDE to 40 pin IDE adapter with the power connector. The second one allows you to use a laptop IDE drive with a PC using a standard IDE cable.

[attach=3]

Are you using the same type of IDE to SATA adapter as I am? On my adapter, there was a jumper that needed to be removed for the Korg to see the SATA drive correctly. If the jumper was left on, the Korg would lockup on power up.

BTW: Which HiFi Tuning fuse did you get (series and rating)? Are you still using the stock power cord or did you upgrade that too?