Mechanical Keyboard Sound Isn't That Simple
Figure 1: I couldn't think of a more literal way to represent this article if I tried... Looking back just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that the huge influx of people that joined the hobby at the peak of the COVID pandemic were drawn to keyboards by way of YouTube, TikTok, and other audio-visual content platforms. Even as the output from these content creators has waned in recent months, their collective impact and legacy on the keyboard hobby is rather firmly etched in the history books. As a result of all of their sound tests, build logs, and opinion videos, the message is clear to any new person joining the hobby: mechanical keyboards are all about the sound. Thock this, clack that. Whether it’s keyboards, keycaps, or even singular switches, seemingly everyone new to the hobby meticulously pores over each component of their keyboard not in an attempt to figure out how it will feel in hand, but how it will sound as they’re furiously grinding their way out from...
Mar 27, 2024
1. The spacebar does feel a little mushy, and misses sometimes. I haven't noticed anywhere near the 80% misses some people are talking about; it gets it 95% of the time for me. Still not great, but I may just need to learn to type on it better. 2. My J key is depressed. It's not actuated, but the keycap sits about a millimeter under the rest. Actually, while typing this it's popped back up somehow... It seems to just be a little sticky. 3. The function layer on my 61 key is... not great. Dedicated keys to turn on layouts for games I don't play is probably useful to some, but I really want to reprogram this to have my standard layout for 60%s. Also, the WASD function, which supposedly turns WASD into arrow keys, only works for ASD. And the LED indicators showing this don't turn back off or revert to my other LED mode when I deactivate WASD mode.
Is there any way we can get the firmware or QMK support??
I'm really happy with the look of the keyboard, and I got this because I wanted to try a unique switch type. I don't understand the people complaining because they feel weird... I thought that was the point. I like it. I just really want to reprogram it.
But the problem isn't that these are different switches and so feel different. The switch mechanism itself is actually good. But I think they added foam which has made them mushy, and the stabilizers are horrendous.