Among nature’s great patterns and playthings, marble is a true marvel. While the material itself might be a bit too heavy for a keycap set, the style is something we’ve always wanted to implement Read More
Wow! Double shot PBT that's thicker than your average, with perfect, sharp legends. Was worried coming from ASA doubleshot PBT, but the legends here are so much better and even with the lower profile of DCX, the sound is just as good.
Got these earlier than expected, haven’t put them on yet because I was expecting some new switches to go with them. The quality on these is awesome and the color is superrrr pretty! Only flaw is I am missing some caps but again I didn’t expect to receive them this early so it’s prob a QC issue
Disclaimer:
Even though I’ve been lucky enough to be able to be a part of the Drop Liaison program where I get the opportunity to review things that Drop sends me, this review of the DCX Green Marble keycap set is NOT a part of that program. Drop did NOT tell me to write this review, they did NOT send me this set for free (I paid for it with my own money), and I don’t get any sort of kickback, “kudos” or benefit from doing this review. I simply was excited to try Drop’s first DCX PBT set and wanted to share my thoughts.
Also know that these are just my personal opinions, and as we all know in our hobby, your preference and what you enjoy takes precedence over what others may think. Our opinions may not align, and that’s fine!
Background Info:Earlier this year, Hoff wrote an article about the differences between DCX, DCD, and DCL (https://drop.com/talk/138066/dcx-vs-dcd-vs-dcl-drops-keycap-profiles-explained?discussion=true).
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On top of being a great read, I was very intrigued that DCX had an option for PBT, especially doubleshot PBT. While there weren’t any PBT DCX sets until the release of this keycap set, DCX Green marble, the thought of having an in-house doubleshot PBT option had my attention.
I’ve had many ABS DCX sets as well as a few DCD sets (Akatsuki Indigo, Hundred Acres, Bird Jungle), and in terms of keycaps in general, I have a good balance of ABS and PBT sets in my collection, but it had been some time since I actually had a doubleshot PBT set (I only had dye-sub PBT up until DCX Green Marble shipped), so I can’t necessarily compare DCX Green Marble to any other doubleshot PBT keycap sets, but I’ll do my best comparing it with the PBT dye-sub sets that I do have, namely JCS Arabic, XMI Vintage, CRP round 6, and DCD Hundred Acres.
I hope that the DCX PBT line continues for reasons I’ll talk about below in the rest of my review, but I think Drop’s got a winning idea here with PBT doubleshot DCX offerings.
Aesthetics/Looks:
I’ll “cheat” a little and refer back to the Geekhack review I wrote on DCD HA compared to the JCS, XMI and CRP sets I mentioned above in case there are people that are interested in thickness measurements and/or digital microscope pictures.
Please refer to the imgur linkhttps://imgur.com/gallery/dcd-hundred-acres-geekhack-review-pictures-AxXYzS0 as I don’t necessarily want to flood this article with the dozens of pictures I took, but here are the measurements between all of those sets and DCX Green Marble and a few of the pictures in that imgur gallery.
Row 1 1/! Key
XMI - 1.57mm
JCS - 1.77mm
CRP - 1.41mm
DCD - 1.73mm
DCX Green Marble - 1.54mm
Row 2 Q Key
XMI - 1.57mm
JCS - 1.77mm
CRP - 1.47mm
DCD - 1.61mm
DCX Green Marble - 1.72mm
Row 3 A Key
XMI - 1.69mm
JCS - 1.69mm
CRP - 1.45mm
DCD - 1.63mm
DCX Green Marble - 1.49mm
Row 4 Z Key
XMI - 1.61mm
JCS - 1.72mm
CRP - 1.37mm
DCD - 1.66mm
DCX Green marble - 1.62mm
XMI: R1 1/! key (1.57mm)
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R2 Q key (1.57mm)
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R3 A key (1.69mm)
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R4 Z key (1.61mm)
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JCS: R1 1/! key (1.77mm)
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R2 Q key (1.77mm)
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R3 A key (1.69mm)
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R4 Z key (1.72mm)
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CRP Round 6: R1 1/! key (1.41mm)
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R2 Q key (1.47mm)
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R3 A key (1.45mm)
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R4 Z key (a Y, but in German layouts, it's a Z, and it's in R4 profile for CRP R6 2551 HAD (1.37mm))
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DCD: R1 1/! key (1.73mm)
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R2 Q key (1.61mm)
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R3 A key (1.63mm)
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R4 Z key (1.66mm)
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DCX Green Marble: R1 1/! Key (1.54mm)
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R2 Q key (1.72mm)
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R3 A key (1.49mm)
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R4 Z key (1.62mm)
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Control (Top to bottom XMI, JCS, CRP (two pictures. Grdst/Strg and Abbr), DCD, DCX Green Marble
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While it’s a bit more difficult to compare between the sets since all but Green Marble are based off of beige, the crispness and boldness of the DCX Green Marble set is pretty good! No blurriness either. But again, Green Marble is the only doubleshot PBT set I have and the other four are dye-sub, so take that into consideration.
In terms of thickness, DCX Green Marble is middle-of-the-pack. Not the thickest and not the thinnest when compared to the other sets.
But arguably the most important thing for most people is how keycap sets actually look. The uniqueness of DCX Green Marble with the “no two sets will share the same marbly look” is a big selling point. On top of that, something that I personally was surprised about was that the set wasn’t low contrast - meaning that the legends were not hard to see even though they’re in white on a green background.
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As someone who doesn’t necessarily enjoy blanks or low contrast sets, that’s a benefit for me! Even though I touch type, I do look down at my keyboard every now and then. And - another huge selling point - the set looks even better in-person compared to pictures! At least under my lighting. It definitely is a conversation starter as well with many of my coworkers remarking how they liked the look of the finishing.
If you think you’ll like the set based off of the pictures alone, you won’t be disappointed.
Sound:
In terms of sound between the five sets, here’s a sound test video that I recorded. Yes, we all know that sound tests aren’t necessarily accurate even if your actual set up is as accurate as can be (since we all hear differently), but at the very least, you’ll be able to tell which keycaps are higher pitched compared to others and which are lower pitched.
https://youtu.be/v0FoYEVEUD8?si=b4Uay5_pH44CbDoo
To my ears, DCX Green Marble was the highest pitched set between the other four (DCD HA, CRP round 6, XMI Vintage, JCS Arabic).
It’s not as high pitched as GMK or KKB to my ears, but DCX Green Marble definitely is the brighter sounding than my dye-sub PBT sets!
Feel:
I would not classify DCX Green Marble as “textured” by any means, but it’s also not completely smooth. There is just enough grip on the keycaps to where your fingers aren’t sliding everywhere when typing (although if you have very sweaty fingers, you may disagree with me), but they aren’t as smooth as CRP round 6, which is the smoothest PBT set I have. Overall, however, all five keycap sets feel very similar.
Closing:
Overall, I’m very happy with the look of the keycap set, the sound, and the feel. I put more stock in aesthetics than anything else when it comes to buying keycaps, and while I had concerns that the legends may be difficult to see due to them being on a green background, I’m glad to report that it’s a non-issue.
I was able to use the minimum 30% DKC coupon on the $79 pre-order price to get the set for $58 shipped, and for that price, I think it’s well worth it for a doubleshot PBT set. Are there cheaper doubleshot PBT sets? Absolutely. But none (that I know) that have the same marbly look. This is an easy recommendation for me for those that want a higher pitched PBT set and love the look!
I received my Drop DCX Green Marble Keycaps so far ahead of schedule that I didn't even have the chance to order a keyboard for them. Alas, my spouse was kind enough to volunteer her keyboard.
From what I understand, each set of these is unique as the pattern is randomly created when injecting plastic into the molds. I find that really aspect really endearing, and I'm glad that mine came out so good.
In real life the legends are bright and clear, and the PBT on a DCX profile make them feel really familiar.
If you like the aesthetic, I would definitely recommend.