Comparing Kurzweil K2700 to Yamaha DX7

The new Kurzweil K2700 supports loading FM patches. This was one of the reasons I got the K2700 into my studio - as a continuation of my old Yamaha DX7 II-D, should it some day fail. But how well does the K2700 replicate the original DX7 sounds? In this video I compare some of my favorite DX7 sounds. I use dry sounds from both K2700 and DX7 processed through the same Lexicon MX400 reverb to have a more realistic environment in the comparison.
If you like this kind of content please subscribe and like! If there is interest I will next make a video comparing and discussing how well the old K2500 patches can be loaded and played with the K2700. My plan was to replace K2500 with K2700 but it did not go so well.
#kurzweil #k2700 #yamaha #dx7 #fmsynthesis #synth #synthesizer

[@Flat8G]

Very interesting, many sounds were 100% alike, others 95-99%. No one would notice without a direct comparison like this. 🙂

[@TylerInTraining]

Precisely what I was going to say.

[@felipepaez2556]

I very much like your scientific and unbiased approach in your videos. I'm a musician and engineer with a science doctorate degree, and also love retro gear. Great playing also. Greetings

[@teddym2808]

Ok that sounds spot on to me, much much better than FM8 for example.

[@ToXball]

Very impressive how identical they sound. Thanks man

[@BlisterHiker]

Kurzweil's FM sounds fantastic and smooth. Thanks for comparison!

[@enguerran152]

5'40 : escape from NY ! Very good video, excellent sounds... K2700 is a beast...

[@DG-yo3tk]

That’s absolutely amazing

[@KieronEdwards]

Great comparison and you can see when keyed type (88 vs 71) and associated velocity response causes you to revisit the sound to check. Thanks for the video.

[@davcar23]

I think it was 99% accurate, but even between different DX7 models there was a difference; there's some videos where they demonstrate this. Great "Hymne" program BTW.

[@dgp1080]

Thank’s! Nice comparison!👌🏻

[@scottsullivan234]

The quality of the Yamaha is amazing. It was released in 1983. Top quality components. Japanese knew their stuff. The current Chinese imports are garbage.

[@mark..A]

Happy 40th birthday to the dx7 for next year

[@klaassiersma4892]

You can hear the Kurzweil has some higher resolution dac's but that's about it.,I use a mk1 dx7 (even more dirt)

[@musicbrum1]

Cool comparison ! I Didn't know that kurzweil could have so close dx7 sound, maby a authentic fm chip inside, i don't know.! Thanks for the video!

[@GeorgeAmodei21]

Very close to! :) I hear the differences but not a GAME CHANGER! :) Thx for making this VIdeo. :)

[@dare2win215]

WOW! Thanks. I'm impressed with the replication, but more impressed with how phenomenal the DX patches sound. I would love a patch list so i can reproduce these in FM8 or DX-7V.

[@activelow9297]

Firstly, thats a sick collection of DX7 sounds... envious.. Secondly, both machines sound pretty much the same.

[@LB-ko6qw]

Good video ,keep making more .

[@p.petridis9826]

I think that the dynamic 88keybed gives to the FM engine more "attitude". overall I'm very impressed by the compatibility Of the k2700! great video great job, maybe the next time you must try to play both machines with the same keybed.....

[@torbenanschau6641]

Amazing the DX7/ii gets support here. Many others only take mk1.

[@GrimVoxTech]

Yes, if you like gritty the mk 1 is the way to go as the improvements to mk II removed some of that grit.

[@user-bk4vc3ys9o]

good job, thank you very mutch///

[@BRAVETHECOLD]

I really enjoyed this comparison video. Your short, easy riffs were played consistently between the 2 boards making it easy to make a judgment without being there myself. Lol. Wonder if KurZ had any low/hi-pass filters on those Dx7 patches??? More Videos SUBSCRIBED

[@GrimVoxTech]

Thanks! When you import the DX7 .syx files they will be pure FM patches without filters. I think you should be able to add filters if you like to.

[@matthewgaines10]

Close for some DX7 patches and not so close for others. Mostly, I’m impressed. It will survive in a mix. The K2700 is definitely on my wish list along with an Akai MPC Key 61. I need more room. Thanks for the comparison.

[@jeffevansmusic]

I did not know DX sounds could be loaded up in the K2700 and yes they do sound very good for sure. But if you have a library of DX patches don't forget Native Instruments FM7/8 also load these up and they also sound excellent and identical. Cool thing with FM7/8 is you can set up to 16 layers of the same DX sound and pan and detune them too which makes for one very huge sound very similar to the TX816 rack.

[@NicolasMelis]

thanks for the comparison! i think overall Kurzweil is a bit brighter than the dx7

[@GrimVoxTech]

In my video after this one, I explained how to fix a buggy sound by shortening the envelope to prevent a "buzz" sounding longer than a short attack. This buzz made that patch sound brighter. Probably this is the reason for other patches also sounding brighter. So just a software bug/mismatch that can be fixed by editing the patch.

[@dirkkeersmaekers4343]

Very alike

[@abc-yv2js]

Great demo. We didnt hear 20 minute versions of songs. Play one a few seconds, play the other a few seconds. Very good demo sir

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

Sounds like you'll be keeping the DX7 ;)

[@sharingmatters]

4:20 great sounds

[@nataliasobolevisrael3398]

Л201.Спасибо большое за видео,интересно рассказываете,от меня лайк и прослушивание.

[@Crabby303]

The K2700 sounds brighter and more digital imo, it does a good recreation of the DX7 tones in it's engine & it has it's own sound. Not so warm as the DX7 imo. Thanks for the video.

[@Abruzzo333]

Disagree completely. The Kurzweil sounds better. Understandably since the converters are far better than those of the DX7.

[@visionop8]

I agree as well. I'm listening through a mixing console and Focal monitors and the difference is actually staggering on some patches. The bells/chimes are a nice match as are most of the emulated acoustic instrument patches but the really synthy patches are quite different, especially the bass patches. In general the DX7 sounds warmer (yes I own a DX7 MK1). The Kurzweil will do an amazing job in a live situation but I wouldn't use it to replace DX7 for recording purposes.

[@yashnu]

K2700 sounds cleaner and fuller, I agree. @@Abruzzo333

[@Stathis_P]

Nice comparison ! The two synths sound very close, kurzweil has more brightness and detail on the high end but that's not always audible and also not always better than the dx7. For example, the high end detail on the patch played on 2.00 is not so pleasing ; on the other hand, dx7 lo-fi sound makes the patch sound a little bit warmer. However the detailed sound of the kurzweil makes the attack brighter and the result slightly better to my opinion. Maybe the dx7 has little bit more bottom end. Both synths sound great in any case. Also , on 2.40 the patch makes me think of Vangelis . Nice video.

[@saxmidiman]

Had the sounds been triggered by the same board, results might be more accurate.

[@Stathis_P]

@@saxmidiman the already (barely) audible differencies are quite enough to let you make a first opinion . Besides, these keyboards use different sound engines so, even if the patches were played through midi with identical velocities, the result would also bring some slight differencies. The point is whether a keyboard fits your needs.

[@YangGor]

I appreciate the work you put into this - the shortness of the samples you gave helps, but I didn't hear strings, or wind solo instruments. . . since this is a workstation I assume this has a sequencer and so solo instruments or small 'sections' would be used alot. This does help me decide whether or not the investment would be worth it should our old precious standards go to a new 'life' ;-)

[@GrimVoxTech]

Sorry I skipped the FM string patches. I have only a few in my favorite library as I prefer using analog, virtual analog or samples for strings instead of FM. The DX7 strings I have, sound perfect on the K2700. I did compare trumpet, clarinet and calliope in this video. For wind instrument I also often prefer other than FM sounds. Harmonica and harmonium, of course, sound great with FM, also on the K2700. In general most DX7 patches sound great on the K2700, and those with some differences can be tweaked a little to improve the match. A brighter sound often means there is some modulation going on too long after the attack and can be edited to be shorter.

[@mike1575]

HEY ....I GOTCHA DX7 RITE HEAR!

[@dberrimi9]

Wow. Nice job. The sounds in the K2700 are spot on. I noticed how you were fiddling with the velocities, trying to see if the DX7 could match the K2700 when you played them both very hard. I always felt that weighted keyboards with 88 keys have a slightly better, more robust sound because of the keybed. How do you like the K2700? This is the one I'm thinking of getting. I currently have a PC3K8 and am very happy with it except for a few times it has stalled on boot-up and has required a "swift bump" to the face of the keyboard to get it to load. That's scary when it happens on a gig.

[@GrimVoxTech]

Yes the "Wurlitzer" has a buzzing sound in the sustain that the DX7 does not have. And the "Plucatan" has a very interesting digital swirly sound on release, which the K2700 does not have. At least those sound I tried with different velocities if that would have any effect, but it did not. You could adjust the K2700 velocity curve to better match the DX7 but the default is close enough. The feel of the keybed is certainly different. As I ordered my K2700 from abroad, I did not have a chance to try it out before buying. I was a bit scared how I will adapt to the weighted hammer action keys as my previous experience is only from the non-weighted keys or semi-weighted K2500. But no problem at all. The K2700 keys are light enough and really nice. I feel quite comfortable playing organ and synth sounds on it too, although it feels slightly odd - but I'm getting used to it. Yes, about stalling - the K2700 also stalled initially if I kept one of my USB stick inserted when turning on power. But they still update firmware and after I have updated firmware and changed to another USB stick this problem went away.

[@apinevekun5009]

In my opinion, emulation is easier now that it is digital. DX7 sounds can be loaded into DEXED via SYSEX. So digital is convenient. But I have the original DX7 and JUNO106." The "feeling" of "using the real thing" sparks the imagination. The K2000 is also still comfortable. There is always a desire in the world to make things compact for space and convenience. Many great machines are connected to the UAD-2 as well. However, I feel the original is superior. Even in your video, the DX7II was not inferior to the K2700 in terms of velocity. The original is the "original" and will not be eliminated. Manufacturers will go ahead with new products with the excuse that they can't be repaired or parts are not available. However, many synthesizers use fluid parts and are easily repairable. Rather, we live in an age of convenient modifications, such as floppy emulators and SCSI rasperie pies. Even old screens can be made into OLEDs. It is one thing to love the original.

[@GrimVoxTech]

So true! I certainly won't let go of any of my old synths, ever.

[@mauriciosebastianrasio3494]

Much More better dx7 so far

[@bluebull399]

Most modern software engines are 95% as good as the original. You can get that missing 5% back and more with some eq and other effects. You see this a lot on KZbin. Synth purists turning their noses up at modern replicas, daws or vst plugin softsynths. That's fine, go and pay through the nose for the original if you must. There's plenty of VST plugins that emulate the DX7 and they are free.

[@ekummel]

I love the keybed of the DX7, especially the DX7-II. But that keyboard for the Kurzweil looks really smooth...and I think that may be attributing to some of the differences in the sound. The Yamaha sounds like it has a more sudden attack while the Kurzweil sounds like it has a smoother attack. This could be due to the weight of the keys. Heaver keys require a more effort to trigger. But for the most part, the sounds would not be distinguishable to the average listener. I've had several DX7s over the decades and loved them all. I still have DX7-IIFD and there is a subtle difference between this one and an original DX7. The DX7-IIFD sounds more refined and fuller.

[@GrimVoxTech]

Yes the keybeds are very different. Good theory that they would affect the sound. But I don't think so. They affect the feel, but then you play differently to get the sound you want. I don't play by muscle memory but by ear. There is only the velocity that controls the sound and you can get the same velocity range with both keybeds. But nice that you noticed the differences. The most difficult part in emulating another synthesizer is to get accurate envelopes. I did code a DX7 emulator some 30 years ago. I did get the timbre correct but the envelopes only vaguely similar. As in my demo video of fixing one of the patches I needed to speed up the decay time, otherwise there was a brighter buzzing sound. There are probably similar differences in the attack times. They could be fixed by tuning the parameters.

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

Yes, velocity and synth action may be the reason the Kurzweil sounds a little muffled compared.

[@crandallexpo0648]

thanks for taking the time for this ☺️... does kurzweil have the classic Roland sounds as well like the mks 20 sounds by any chance

[@GrimVoxTech]

No, there is no compatibility with Roland patches. Of course you can program your own and mimic some classic Roland to some degree. The MKS 20 I think use a very peculiar synthesis of piano sounds that might be difficult to mimic exactly. The K2700 relies on a large set of piano samples, which sound very good and realistic, and string resonance synthesis can be added on top of that to get more dynamic variability.

[@crandallexpo0648]

@@GrimVoxTech yes sir I totally agree in terms of the Kurzweil piano sounds. They sound so 🔥... But I was wondering about the FM EP type sounds...

[@crandallexpo0648]

@@GrimVoxTech can you load sounds from like Kontakt Native Instruments. I seen a video of the Kronos able to do it, is Kurzweil able to do it?

[@GrimVoxTech]

@@crandallexpo0648 If they don't advertise it I doubt they will support it. Samples can be loaded in wav and other formats.

[@liviou2004]

The DX7II is quite easy to emulate because it is a 16 bits engine. But the first DX7 is a 12 bits engine. It would be interesting to compare it with the K2700.

[@GrimVoxTech]

It would be equally easy to emulate 12bit by truncating. The YM21280 and YM2604 chips have different amount of bits in different parts of the engine. You probably refer the 12bit vs 16bit to the DA-converter. Yes the DX7 mark1 sound more gritty and many likes that. The K2700 has a quantize algorithm. I suspect it could be possible to chain an FM program to that algorithm and make a gritty lo-fi version. Myself I like crispy and clean sounds.

[@jacobbrown1690]

The one on top sounds so so so much better

[@andreas-wismann]

Amazing! Would you mind explaining (or making a video about) how to export the sounds from the DX7 / DX7 II into the Kurzweil? Thank you!

[@GrimVoxTech]

Thanks! Importing DX7 sounds to Kurzweil is easy. You just put the .syx file (MIDI SysEx file) on a USB thumb-drive and then load the file to fill some program locations. But some .syx files found on the internet are different than others and won't work! Dumping the patches from the DX7 to a .syx file over MIDI is more tricky and I actually had some serious trouble dumping the .syx to my DX7 as I have not done that for maybe 10 years or so. Thanks for the good idea of video topic - I will try to make one sooner or later.

[@paulwally9007]

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE BEAST!!!!! (the synth, that is, not you).

[@Miicrowahvei]

Epäilin aksentista että oot Suomesta ;). Hyvä soundi tossa Kurzweilissa. Onks nuo patchit tavallisia DX7 patcheja tai DX7 II patcheja? Jos on DX7 II niin nehän saatta olla layered niin sanotusti.

[@GrimVoxTech]

Jep, Suomessa olen. Nuo taitaa kaikki olla DX7 patchejä. Sekin voisi olla hyvä testata miten K2700 osaa ladata DX7 II patchejä, jos osaa.

[@Miicrowahvei]

@@GrimVoxTech 👍 Jos testaat niin laita video

[@GrimVoxTech]

Pohdin hieman asiaa ja jos olen oikein ymmärtänyt niin nuo patch sysex tiedostot ovat identtisiä DX7 ja DX7 II välillä. Tuo mark II tuo vain lisää mahdollisuuden kerrostaa kaksi ääntä päällekkäin, microtuning jne. Nuo siirtyvät erillisinä sysex viesteinä/tiedostoina. Epäilen että K2700 ei tue näitä DX7 II specifisiä performance ja microtuning sysex dumppeja enkä viitsi edes testata. K2700 layereita voi olla jopa enemmän ja niitä on helppo tehdä joten en kaipaa tuolle tukea.

[@borisangeloffsimeonoff1288]

I have the original brown dx7 and I find it irreplaceable. Still looking for a coltoncraft demo 15 years old or more

[@carlosduran5640]

Fantastic los sonidos sr. Saludos Santiago Chile carlos

[@dirkkeersmaekers4343]

Where can I find the DX7 sounds?

[@Donetur]

Hello now that you have more time with the Kurz, do you regret your purchasing or not?, do you like it more than the k2500 or not?. Do you think you can make it sounding more like the k2500 if you wish? (with this darker sound which is not too cristal clear). Thanks!.

[@GrimVoxTech]

I have now almost finished porting most of the K2500 factory patches to the K2700. Almost all sound identical now, if not taking into account that the effects are different and the K2500 is much noisier and has distortion. I have started integrating the K2700 to my workflow (DAW) and have run into more unexpected trouble. I don't regret getting the K2700. It is fabulous when playing the K2700 patches and DX7 patches. But the trouble of replacing the K2500 has been totally unexpected and very very expensive time wise.

[@Donetur]

@@GrimVoxTech thanks for your answer. I am with the doubt if I should get the K2700 or the Nord Stage 3 (second hand). I would get them both if I could. I will have them both for sure as soon I can. :)

[@Donetur]

Or maybe I can… but should I? (Big debt). That’s the question 🥹 the other problem is that in my country I won’t see them very often, and now I have both available at the same time. Music is expensive and not well rewarded most of the time.

[@GrimVoxTech]

@antiarguers You can find a comparison between K2700 and Nord ( I don't remember the exact model) on KZbin. Both are good. It is about your personal preference. Viewer comments seemed to prefer more the Kurz sound.

[@Donetur]

@@GrimVoxTech yes I saw it. Thanks :). I am missing more VAST programming from the Kurz, to see how the sound tweaking behaves, as well as a video with the sounds which are not in other videos (example: scat choir).

[@angelog.spicolaiii8021]

Hell a regular old K2k sounds just as good (if not better) than the DX7 & warmer than this new K27C -although seems very impressive in it's own right. I'd like tooo see how to utilize it's massive flash memory to store big SMP-K stuff to it from the older gear so it'll go to & fro seamlessly intouthru each machine¿ thanx dude [P.S.Kurzweil's are like fine wine they get better with age as long as they're kept in a cool, dry place & are taken care of, not moved around tooo much if so gently they should last way longer than anything else there IS. No worries on stuff breakin' really there's plenty of resources & support -outhere for the future, if some thing serious does happen to arise. It's always been very well made gear inside & out []now with ZuluSCSI which's made hardware sampling viable once again folks[]

[@euin5035]

Where can I get the K2500.k27 and DX7.K27 you have?

[@lucian6172]

It's pretty much the same sound except the Kurzweil has way more velocity levels that change the sound a lot more. You should compare them without any velocity response curves.

[@GrimVoxTech]

I thought both Yamaha and Kurzweil have the MIDI standard 127 levels of velocity. But yes, response curves may be different but I don't think that can be heard very easily in this comparison. As I play by ear (in contrast to rehearsed muscle memory) I tend to play as hard as needed to get a certain sound. This means that changing a velocity curve just makes me play harder or softer and I will get a different feel of the keyboard, but it will sound almost the same. I might try some velocity curves in a later video.

[@lucian6172]

@@GrimVoxTech You should be able to get the same sound if you disable the velocity response completely or if you set them both to linear response.

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

02:02 Interesting ringing here on the 2700?

[@GrimVoxTech]

Oh yes, there are some differences. One can slightly tweak the FM parameters to make the sounds more identical.

[@saxmidiman]

My first thought was...why would we do this? But now I get it. Since a difference could be introduced just from the difference in keyboards, a truer comparison might be accomplished if you trigger the sound from the same keyboard. Just sayin'...🤓😎

[@GrimVoxTech]

As using one board to control both synths was requested earlier, I did that in my next video. But that did not help.

[@saxmidiman]

@@GrimVoxTech One thing I had forgotten...DX7 did not respond to the full MIDI range of 127...only 100. Not sure when, but they did go to full 128, maybe on DX7II. But if your DX7 is the earlier, there really is no way to cross compare with exact results. You could compress your MIDI range to max at 100 (you could do that in Reaper), that might give the appropriate results. But I keep asking myself...why do this? Not that relevant. Kurzweil sounds great...all that really matters.😎

[@mikezaw8781]

Which one better, nearly the same but...

[@xp50player]

One thing you could try is to trigger them both from the same keyboard.

[@GrimVoxTech]

Yes good idea. That would eliminate differences in velocity curves and keyboard feel. But like I demoed the sounds that had some differences between DX7 and K2700, maintained the differences no matter how hard or soft I played them.

[@MarcoBrancalion]

Not comparable, when thinking at these sound inserted in a complex mix. Real DX7II the absolute winner.... :)

[@borisangeloffsimeonoff1288]

That patch starting on 4:05 …

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

The Kurzweil sounds like there is a slight low pass filter applied, which is possible with VAST architecture, but I am almost sure you did not use a filter.

[@GrimVoxTech]

I did not use a filter. There is a global EQ, but I think/hope it was flat. But this video was kind of waste of time because the patches were totally wrongly converted, using wrong samples and wrong parameters. It is comparing oranges to apples. I later fixed the patches and now they sound identical. I did a demo video but did not have time to do a sound-to-sound comparison again, except one, as it is a very hard job.

[@danielcolfer4671]

Can you show how to load dx sounds into the k2700?

[@GrimVoxTech]

Yes. I have plans to make such a video. There are some tricks needed in some cases. It might do that next.

[@danielcolfer4671]

@@GrimVoxTech Thank you! Is it in the manual?

[@GrimVoxTech]

@@danielcolfer4671 Manual mentions that you can insert USB thumb drive and press load. But there are more details that are not in the manual. And some DX7 files do not work with the K2700 without tweaking. So it is a good idea I make a tutorial video about this subject.

[@meesvandenberg9468]

I think the kurzweil sounds a bit more harsh sometimes

[@TM-sn1cm]

4:05 what preset is this ?

[@GrimVoxTech]

That patch is "J Harp 1". Names of all patches can be seen in the video from the K2700 display. These are not preset (factory) patches but they are from my own collection. But you can probably find these online somewhere.

[@Me-by2dj]

In a mix, or even a blind test, I reckon anyone would be very hard-pressed to tell them apart... Bye-bye DX7!

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

Are you still liking the K2700?

[@aholatom]

Yes I am.

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

@@aholatom Thanks for the reply! I ended up going K2700 over the Fantom 8. Sounds like I'll need to use a DAW for sequencing to make it easier, but I'm excited for the new keys. Do you recommend any K2700 software from Kurzweil?

[@GrimVoxTech]

I remember replying to this question earlier - for some reason it has disappeared. Anyhow, the sound editor / librarian software from kurzweil.com is made by soundtower. It is buggy and seems not to have an user manual. By just browsing through sounds I messed up the patches in the K2700. Had to restore from a backup. I can not recommend it. I don't think there is anything else available. Some drivers maybe. I'm making my own software for the K2700.

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

@@GrimVoxTech Thank you for the reply. That is unfortunate.

[@Nuendo1337]

Pls send me name, song in 1:08

[@GrimVoxTech]

That would be "Leave Me Alone" by Michael Jackson kzbin.info/www/bejne/maPFd6Cmmt-CaqM

[@Nuendo1337]

@@GrimVoxTech thank you very much, + 1 subs))🤍

[@CharlesFerraro]

They literally sound exactly the same to the point where there’s a little to no discernible difference. You will never ever hear that difference in the context of a mix.

[@johneli495]

They sound pretty much the same

[@michaels8088]

Like David said,it's the same thing,and any nuances might be from the individual instruments,not the model itself..I keep saying you can buy a bad HOnda and the very next one off the same assembly line can last 40 years..That's why all this nonsense about needing 'vintage' gear is trash.They will probably break down,or need expensive maintenance..