The delay was pretty silly like 2+ months, but board is very high quality.
I used the stock stabs for a bit and they were loose, but would have probably been fine with lube + holee mod.
I had one minor issue with the casting. There were small, thin pieces of metal left in the casting that I had to break off (did it with tweezers so really hardly any metal) or they would squeeze the stab bar between the frame and the board and make it so that the keys would not depress. I say this as a PSA more than a critique, though fixing it would be nice but probably not worth the cost of a new mold for IDOBAO.
feel really bad for the person with the tight tolerances causing the acrylic to crack when they forced it back in. For those who may have similar issue in the future, I would recommended sanding the acrylic down instead of forcing it in, but hindsight is 20/20.
other notables about it are that it is surprisingly heavy and the stock usb-c cable is above average but probably worth replacing next to such a nice keyboard.
I am very satisfied.
OOh its so lovely, aluminum with a big ol weight that brings the keyboard to just a few pounds heavier than my car*! Thats quality! The bottom acrylic glow through is a primo touch and idk good layout good port customizable, south facing leds. Get it, why not?
*true statemnt
Honestly it's way better than the drop boards, but it doesn't sound particularly good and the board leaves little room for modding with case foam. I've had some strange behaviors with my apostrophe key triggering during some keyboard operations, not sure if that's my fault (switch installation issues) or the firmware acting funny. My guess is the latter because it typically only happens when I alt-tab into an application.
The in-switch backlight is kinda useless IMO, unless you really want an off-white backlight for some reason. The underglow however is great and the addition of the brass weight on the back is also good for overall sound and feel.
Built in firmware seemed to do just fine for me and worked in VIA out of the box, but I might flash it with the recommended firmware to see if it fixes my weird apostrophe issue.
Other than the somewhat crappy sound this board is a great budget 75% option - grab it on sale sometime for $140 and you really can't beat it. Even comes with stabs. Just don't expect the full luxury premium sound and feel.
Ps: looks stunning in black, orange underglow, and with Domikey Cherry Semiconductor caps :)
The hefty metal case is solid. It came with stock stabilizers which are alright but were the first things I replaced. The RGB is bright and impressive using the compatible VIA app. I'm using Black Lotus switches that have a LED diffuser, but I don't think it changes the brightness all that much from standard switches. There are 14 LEDs on the bottom and one for each key up top. I like being able to toggle the top/bottom on/off.
The form factor is fairly perfect in my opinion. It's big enough where it's doesn't feel cramped when typing, yet small enough that it doesn't take much more horizontal realty on my desk than standard 65% keyboard.
I'd read some complaints that said this board has a hollow-sounding profile, but I found it about average for keyboards that use a metal plate. It actually sounds better than I thought it would considering it doesn't use case foam due to the RGB design and acrylic bottom. I'm considering doing a tape mod around the LEDs on the back, but this isn't a deal breaker by any means.
Shown here with Black Lotus switches and GMK Cojiro caps.
After the extraordinary delays (which were not entirely the fault of Drop), the board came in looking pretty good. However, while opening up, the acrylic bottom was jammed up into the main aluminum case. I was forced to carefully pry it out with a thin flathead. Once this was done, I noticed a fair amount of the white coating on the inside of the case came off with the bottom at the corners. After the build, while reassembling, I had great difficulty getting the bottom to go back on. A crack even formed on the bottom corner of the acrylic. However, once more of the white coat on the inside got rubbed off from repeated disassembly, the tolerances opened up and the bottom now goes in fine.
Honestly disappointed on the tolerance issue and the coating, but it board looks great otherwise.
I love the look of this board, especially in white. I bought custom foam for it in anticipation of the hollow/ping others have noted, and that fixed it perfectly. I'm using it with milky yellows, and it sounds great. My biggest issue with it is that the stabilizers are god awful. My left shift sticks, the enter and backspace are a little rattle-y, and the space bar is a lot rattle-y. I really don't want to redo them at this point, but we'll see how long I can handle them.
Arrived with half the LEDs nonfunctional. I waited to open and build this as I was busy at the time it arrived and wanted a project for later. Couldn't get it fixed by Drop; no warranty and out of Drop's 30 days. If you decide to get it, open and test it all immediately so you don't get fucked over.
As far as looks go it is a really good looking board even when compared to higher end boards. Where if falls short is the sound (subjective), and features (can also be subjective.) The board does give off more clack than thock because it's encased by aluminum. The PC bottom plate and brass weight help with some of the noise problems on the higher spectrum, but its still a bit too clacky for my taste. The stabs are horrible which is a shame at this price point. Where other competitors offer better stabs. It does not flex which is subjective but the robust typing experience from a gasket mount is a plus for me and it also increases the thockiness since it absorbs noise from typing.
Okay, the good... The lighting even though it does not have per-key rgb the underglow is just such a more subtle and tasteful design. The metal anodize is simple but tasteful. I would say that other have a "nicer" anodizing process but it is nice and it's not have any flaws with my unit. Overall even among my gasket mounted keyboards and more feature packed ones it does stand out and holds its own. It's for sure not my favorite anymore but its a good entry. If you are into clacky builds this may be addition to your collection. It does have brass after all...
I will say that for 200 it is a bit pricey. There are a lot more competitive options out there. I think the key differentiation is the aesthetic. If you like the way it looks and are okay with it's shortcomings it's a good board.
This board is my second custom keyboard so I'm not an expert. If you're thinking about buying this board because you saw a YouTube video or a content creator speak highly of it and was wondering if it was worth it, then yes it is. It looks amazing and has a nice weight to it. I have a cheap setup for it right now and haven't invested much time into it but it sound great (IMO) right out the box. I'm currently running hippo linear switches (no lube) Stock stabs and some cheap amazon keycaps. I love this board and I think with some love it can go from good to great. Great