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 feel of the keys while typing is great. They are very smooth to the touch, and aren't as loud as my OEM keys (which I had o-rings on as dampeners).
2. The size of the keys are nice, but it would have been even nicer if some of the larger keys, like enter, shift, and backspace, were just a little longer.
2. The space bar doesn't fit! I am disappointed that there's one key (the biggest key!) that doesn't match all the others on my keyboard now.
3. The plastic covering the top of the keys is also a disappointment. It is dull, and the fine scratches on the surface of the plastic is very visible.
4. I was kind of surprised that the printing of the letters and characters seemed printed poorly. I expected the typeface to be crisp and clear; instead, it's fuzzy around the edges and there are very visible blemishes printed on some of the keys. I thought maybe the plastic might be making the typeface appear out of focus, so I disassembled one of the keys and found that it wasn't the plastic, it was just a poorly printed sticker.
In summary, I really expected to be blown away by these keys. While I do like them, there are some important areas in which they could be improved.
Me:
so I like the feel of the Datamancer keys, the spacebar will be interesting as it appears they 3D printed the base, but overall I'm rather disappointed with the look of the lettering, it is a "classic" script, but it looks like they printed it on a dang dot matrix printer or a low end inkjet, rather than giving it a "retro" feel, it makes it more "cheap", so I may end up redoing the labels (its just paper after all) and try to get some higher quality stock/parchment and get some LEGIT old school feel