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
"The lubing was incomplete and inconsistent, the switch was not very smooth at all, and there was even a very mild and awkward bump at the bottom of the press; very awkward for a switch costing $0.64-$1 USD/each, depending on quantity and vendor. This was all during a time when Gateron was really shining in value, Kailh hadn’t yet revamped their factory, and the market didn’t have retooled Cherry MX Blacks or Tealios, etc." They come with some lube since the whole point of the Invyr panda was a linear switch that came prelubed and didn't need further tuning. Obviously, they somewhat failed at their original purpose, and the real breakthrough was when Quakemz put a halo true stem in the panda housing, creating the holy panda. Even with YOK/GSUS pandas, they come prelubed, but that doesn't matter, since you're gonna be pulling the panda stem out and swapping it with a halo stem anyway. Novelkeys YOK pandas are about $0.55 per switch. If I buy 70 pandas from NK, that's $38.5. Factoring shipping, which is around $8.50 for me, that's about $47 for pandas alone. The upside of this is that NK pandas are already in-stock, which means that you don't have to wait. On Drop, these pandas are roughly $0.57 per switch, and including $2.75 shipping, that's $42.75. There's not really a huge difference in terms of pricing, so if you want Invyr pandas, or maybe don't like the colors of the NK YOK pandas in stock, or are patient, then maybe these are for you. Regardless, you're gonna have to buy halo switches from Drop (unless you have some laying around/from mechmarket). EDIT, FURTHER CLARIFICATION: Due to the confusion on what exactly is a panda switch:
The original GB for Invyr pandas on geekhack used POM as their material of choice. These switches are as close as you can get to the original "OG" Panda, which was a Halo True stem in an Invyr housing. The confusion arises from the fact that the Massdrop Holy Pandas sold last year (the ones that came prelubed) had a polycarbonate top and nylon bottom. The original Invyr Pandas did use a non-transparent polycarbonate top housing, and a nylon blend bottom. (Source from Mech27, Source on bottom)