TEST OF AJAMSONIC UPGRADE KIT FOR KETRON AUDYA

[♔Chello]

TEST OF AJAMSONIC UPGRADE KIT FOR KETRON AUDYA

      DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!
   

       
Notice the unappealing sticky note with the name on it, as well as the very unprofessional soldering on the disk pins.

(Previously published on Chellos Song Styles)

 - AJAMSONIC SSD with the factory hard drive contents plus the full AJAMSONIC Upgrade. 
The AJAMSONIC SSD offers the following features not found on the standard AUDYA series product:

* Over 130 New Styles and Rhythms with extended measures
* Over 80 Pro Workstation quality sounds
* Arpeggios you can now play using lead voices!
* New Live Guitars to accompany old and new styles
* New Guitar Mode for manual strumming at will
* Over 1200 New Live and Studio Audio Drums
* Very easy to install with complete installation instructions and user manual

Carrier: USPS (with tracking number)
Sent from Ketron USA: 03.06.2020
Arrived to the Norwegian Customs Service: 12.06.2020
Arrived at my local delivery point: 09.07.2020


Installation / Connection:
No documentation was included - only the SSD.
Ajamsonic has had this SSD specially made, so that it can be connected directly without any adapter. 
Audya uses an IDE connection, and this is integrated in the SSD. 
Plug & Play..?


Disassembly of cabinet / assembly of SSD:
Luckily I found an Audya service manual online.
It was therefore easy to disassemble the cabinet, because the manual clearly described which screws had to be loosened in the correct order.
It was necessary to loosen the frame with the keys to access the original hard drive.

The SSD was almost impossible to mount because the manufacturer (or Ajamsonic) has soldered two pins to the end of the IDE connector to make a jumper. 
This was very poorly done - the soldering was matte gray and there was spilled solder on the pins.
I still managed to get good enough contact after a bit of trouble, and mounted the disk and then screwed everything back together.

When I turned on the power, the screen was black - no power.

Consequently, the whole process had to be repeated to find the cause.
I have some experience with electronics, and performed a standard troubleshooting, which consists of first checking if all connections are properly installed.
Everyone was OK.

I also have some experience with IDE connections, and know that it is possible to install this type wrong way, because there is no barrier at the ends of the connections.
With this in mind, I reversed the connection, which was almost impossible due to the short cable.

After mounting everything, I turned on the power again - and the system started up as normal.
The manufacturer has thus installed the adapter for SATA to IDE the wrong way.
Does Ajamsonic not know what quality control is?


1st start-up:
Ajamsonic claims that the system should take about 3.5 minutes to boot, and mine used 3:40. 
Approved. 
Without Ajamsonic, it used 1:05.

Also according to Ajamsonic, everything should now work if I have OS 4.2 or higher. 
This is not true, because I have OS 5.4c, but the display shows the following error message: *** CORRUPT STYLE.
This applies to all styles with blue dot in front of the file name - none of these can be played.
All other styles work as they should.

This problem should be fixed by updating the SYSTEM - INIT folder, but this is not visible with Ajamsonic. 
Updating the OS should make this visible, but there is no change.

The consequence is that blue dot styles cannot be played.


Compatibility between standard Audya and Ajamsonic:
It has been reported that as many as 2/3 of my styles made for standard Audya with Audio drums does not work properly with Ajamsonic.
I have therefore tested all these styles with my Ajamsonic system.


Standard Audya has some features that do not work optimally:
* USB host connection makes very loud noise through the PA system.
* The USB host connection is unstable and disconnects constantly.
* Most Audio styles do not work optimally at the end - drums are cut before they are finished.


With Ajamsonic installed:
USB noise is unchanged and as high as before.
USB data transfer from host to PC is more unstable than before.

I have tested 77 Audio styles I have made from MIDI with standard Audya, and all of them work; only 3 work poorly, but all 3 can be good by changing drums.
The 74 is just as good with Ajamsonic - only 3 got worse.

I have also tested endings for styles - if they end before the drums are completely finished.
All internal styles I have tested now work well, while a few of my own still end prematurely.
The compatibility must therefore be said to be fully satisfactory.


Sound quality compared to standard Audya:
Standard Audya has a generally high quality, and Audio drums are better than anything else I have heard.
Even though the sound is only 16bit, it can compete with the best on the market - it only lacks the lowest and highest frequencies.

The sound with Ajamsonic installed is at first impression just as good, but a more critical listening test reveals that something is wrong with the sound - it seems that the sound is compressed.

I take the disk out of Audya, and connect it to the PC to check which files it contains.
A big shock:
Most wave files are replaced with Mp3 files ..!

Is this how Ajamsonic has managed to squeeze so much more data into its 64GB disk?
The original is at 80GB.
The file system is otherwise totally different from Ketron's, with a folder structure that is duplicated up to several times.

It is certainly no wonder that Audya becomes unstable with Ajamsonic.


Pros:
* Previous hard drive noise is gone


Cons:
* No installation instructions are included
* No declaration is included
* No manual is included
* The adapter on the SSD disk is mounted the wrong way
* Poor soldering made to make jumpers on the SSD disk adapter legs
* No blue dot (Ajamsonic) styles can be played
* After using USB host to view the files on PC, the system needs to "reinstall". This is a standard automatic procedure, but it now takes much longer time than before.
* USB host for PC is more unstable than before
* No sticker with Ajamsonic logo included
* Poorer sound than with original file system - so what's the point of buying this ..?


Final conclusion:
Some newer Yamaha and Korg models provide a deeper and more detailed bass and more details high up in the frequency range than what Ajamsonic is capable of.

The functionality depends on the fact that Pen Drive 2011 "Styles & Sound Upgrade" must be installed, and this must be purchased in addition and installed at the end.

After receiving and installing Pen Drive 2011 from AJAM, it turns out that no internal Audio styles can be played - ONLY blue dot styles.

Installing this does not solve the problem, but creates a new problem, which is even more extensive.
The Upgrade Kit has obviously not been thoroughly tested by the developer, and only creates problems for those who install it.


Follow-up:
I removed the Ajamsonic SSD from my Audya, and installed the original hard drive.

With optical connection (via coaxial to optical converter) the sound is now better than with Ajamsonic - it is cleaner and more detailed.
I have some ideas as to why this is so, and will explain this in a later article.


Afterwords:
I immediately after the purchase sent a complaint to Ajamsonic, but they largely failed to respond, even though I sent messages directly to their website, their email address, their Facebook and Twitter page.
I also sent a complaint to PayPal at the same time, asking them to cancel the transaction. They asked me to try to resolve the dispute through dialogue with Ajamsonic.

By appointment, I sent the disk back to the US, but received no response back.
Time passed, and after 6 months of complaints, I was informed by PayPal that the deadline had been exceeded, and no refund could be given.
At the same time, I received a package from the US, which turned out to be a new SSD from Ajamsonic.

I had then sold my Audya, and was so lucky that the same buyer also bought the SSD disk (at half price), although I could not guarantee that it worked - it had an even uglier soldering than the first.
Both disks also turned out to be of an expired early SSD type, which Ketron stopped selling several years ago.


I neither can nor will recommend anyone to buy this product, as it does not work properly.
DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM AJAMSONIC!