page_title: Kurzweil Music Systems
section_title: K2xxx synthesizers
hierarchical_section_title: Kurzweil Music Systems / Products / K2xxx synthesizers
caption_attribution_description: My dad's music setup. Powering that computer in the photo is a Macintosh G4, but the computer has since been upgraded. Macintosh G4 Kurzweil K2600 Mackie HR824
context_page_description: Kurzweil Music Systems is an American company that produces electronic musical instruments. It was founded in 1982 by Stevie Wonder, Ray Kurzweil and Bruce Cichowlas.
  Kurzweil was a developer of reading machines for the blind, and their company used many of the technologies originally designed for reading machines, and adapted them to musical purposes. They released their first instrument, the K250 in 1983, and have continued producing new instruments ever since. The company was acquired by Young Chang in 1990. HDC acquired Young Chang in 2006 and in January 2007 appointed Raymond Kurzweil as Chief Strategy Officer of Kurzweil Music Systems.
context_section_description: The company's flagship line of synthesizer workstations, the K2xxx series, began to make real headway with the K2000, which introduced the company's acclaimed Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology (V.A.S.T.) engine. Throughout the 1990s, updates and upgrades to the K2000 (and eventually its successors, the K2500 and K2600) ensured that the K2x series was regarded as one of the most powerful and best-sounding synthesizers/samplers available. Although initially very expensive, Kurzweil instruments were popular in top recording studios and for use with music production for film because of their high-quality sounds.
  The K2000 was released in 1990 and was initially available in four versions, the K2000, K2000S, K2000R, and K2000RS. The S versions contain the hardware required for sampling, while the R versions are rack-mountable; the versions without an R feature 61 pressure-sensitive keys. The K2000 is capable of 24 voice polyphony,  which is somewhat limited, although up to 3 oscillators per voice can be used and an intelligent voice stealing algorithm retires the playing notes which are estimated to be least audible rather than simply the oldest. Each voice of the K2000 is able to play a separate program, allowing for smooth transitions during live performance - this simple feature took Kurzweil's competitors more than a decade to match.  The keyboard came with 2MB RAM but could be equipped with up to 64 megabytes of RAM for user loaded samples. Later models included the K2000VP (keyboard), K2000VPR (rack), K2VX (keyboard w/ optional ROMs), and K2VXS (keyboard w/ optional ROMs + sampling), which were based on the same hardware as the K2000 series but had the K2500 sound set loaded.
  The K2500, released in 1996, was a substantial improvement to the K2000, increasing polyphony to 48 voices and onboard RAM capacity to 128MB. The K2500 and later K2600 models can have a single patch running 192 virtual oscillators. There were also a number of other minor improvements as well as sound expansion options (daughterboard + 8mb piano expansion, 8MB orchestral expansion ROM, 8MB contemporary instruments ROM).
  The K2500 was available in 7 versions:
  K2500 - 76 note semi-weighted keyboard;
  K2500X - 88 note weighted action keyboard;
  K2500S - 76 note semi-weighted keyboard with sampling;
  K2500XS - 88 note weighted action keyboard with sampling;
  K2500AES - Audio Elite System, Limited Release (6 Units) 88 note weighted action keyboard with sampling, KDFX effects engine, all available upgrade options, and an extensive sample library (retail cost, $20,000.00).
  K2500R - rack-mounted version (no keyboard);
  K2500RS - rack-mounted version with sampling.
  The keyboard models included a ribbon controller and an input for a breath controller, making them the most expressive electronic instruments available at the time. Additionally one could add digital input/output (I/O) to connect S/PDIF or ADAT inputs and a program RAM (PRAM) expansion for loading larger soundsets or MIDI songs into memory. If one had purchased a model without onboard sampling, one could add the sampling option, PRAM, and reinstall their operating system to have the upgraded model.
  The K2600, released in 1999, improved on the K2500 with the addition of a new effects engine called KDFX and an enhancement to the V.A.S.T. engine called triple-mode. KDFX was also offered as an upgrade for the K2500 and later made available as a standalone product in the KSP8. KDFX drastically improved the quality of effects over the K2000 and K2500's built-in effects units, and added more flexibility such as using the Kurzweil as a vocoder. But the most impressive feature of the K2600 was Kurzweil's 'Triple Strike Piano', which was one of the most realistic-sounding sampled pianos available at the time. Patches for the K2500 were completely redesigned to incorporate the KDFX and triple strike capability. The K2600 uses different type sound expansion ROMs than the K2500 (although they contain the same samples), and could have a classic keys and General MIDI (GM) soundset added.
  The Kurzweil K2661, r
caption: K2600 (1999) on home studio
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