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68% would recommend to a friend 
NYM96 Aluminum Mechanical Keyboard
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NYM96 Aluminum Mechanical Keyboard
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273 Sold
Product Description
This 96-key mechanical keyboard kit strikes a perfect balance between a fullsize and tenkeyless board. It’s got everything you need—including function keys, arrows, and a numpad—but it doesn’t waste an inch of space Read More
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Customer Reviews
3.8
(64 reviews)
5star(23)
4star(21)
3star(8)
2star(6)
1star(6)
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Sound
SilentLoud
Feel
StiffFlexible
Build Quality
4.0
(1)
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keyboard_arrow_downmboles
0
Aug 9, 2023
Activities:Work & Gaming
Paired Switch:Clicky
Keyboards Owned:4
checkVerified Buyer
My daily driver
Over all this is a great keyboard only complaint is the weight of the base. Can double as a murder weapon
Recommends this product? Yes
EDCer123
73
Jul 29, 2022
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When I first got the keyboard, the switch slot for the number 2 key did not work when I tested it with a pair of tweezers and a keyboard tester website. I did this before soldering on the switches, so I was able to avoid wasting time with the soldering. I contacted Drop support and they offered two options: I can either return the product for a full refund or I can still keep it (since it was a DIY kit, I had the option of fixing the problem myself) and they can issue me a partial refund. Replacing just the PCB was not an option since they don't stock spare parts. I chose the partial refund and ordered a replacement PCB from the manufacturer. The replacement PCB passed my tweezer test, so I proceeded to solder and assemble the keyboard, which went without a hitch.
I should note that it is much easier to solder and assemble keyboards like this if you have the right tools and know the right techniques. Even if you have assembled other keyboards before with no issues with the tools you already have, assembling this keyboard with those same tools may not be as easy if the they are not quite right for the job. This may be the reason for the some of the complaints I noticed in some of the other reviews here. So investing (euphemism for spending more money than you would like) in the right tools can save you a lot of trouble and time in building keyboards.
After building the keyboard, I flashed a VIA-compatible firmware into it using QMK and was able to then easily change the key mapping using VIA. For those who are new to this, VIA makes it very easy to remap the keys because it does not require building and flashing a new firmware every time you want to change the mapping. If all you had was QMK and you wanted to remap keys, you would need to configure the firmware source code with your new mapping (the actual steps for doing this is not as hard as it sounds), compile/build the firmware into an executable, and then finally flash it into the keyboard. This can be a bit daunting for anyone who is not technically adept, regardless of whatever others might tell you about how "easy" it is. I don't have problems with firmware building and flashing, but I also recognize that not everyone is like me, so I try to give them a fair warning if they want to jump into this as a DIY.
Why the relatively high 4 stars when the first PCB was defective? The reason is because the build quality of the aluminum case is very good, I like the key layout, and I felt that this keyboard gave a lot of flexibility in how you can customize it. Plus the replacement PCB did not have any quality issues. My pet peeve is how many people describe certain keyboards as "high-end" or "low-end", since those terms are HIGHLY subjective. There is no keyboard police who dictates which keyboards are "high-end" or "low-end". People just apply those terms based on their personal and subjective opinions. It seems that the main criteria for a "high-end" keyboard is that it is in very limited quantity and very, very expensive, with "hard to get" and "highly coveted" being other criteria. And, of course, people may also say that it "looks" much better than other keyboards, perhaps not realizing that aesthetics are highly subjective and that there are others who may not like the looks of that keyboard.
I've seen quite a few "high-end" keyboards and the amount of DIY work and time you need to put into them to customize them to your liking does not seem all that different from the amount of work you can put into customizing many of the same qualities into this NYM96 keyboard. The fact is that, whatever you put into customizing a keyboard, such as lubes, gaskets, and foams, will age and degrade over time, so that they may not last as long as you expected after some number of years. I've seen rubber parts like gaskets and foams age, rot, and sometimes even disintegrate into little, very messy pieces after a few years. It's for similar reasons why mechanical watches need to be overhauled (internal mechanisms cleaned, relubed, gaskets/seals replaced, etc.) periodically to keep them in good working condition (and why I no longer buy them; skilled watchmakers who can do the maintenance work competently are scarce and their fees are quite high). So if you like the looks of this NYM96 keyboard, especially with your favorite keycaps on it, you can customize it and put a lot of work into it to make it as "high-end" as you like. Or you can decide that what many others find "annoying" or "terrible" (like rattling stabs) do not bother you at all and just put minimal work into building this keyboard. It's all up to you and your personal preferences.
(You may have sensed a lot of eye rolls in some of what I said above. I'm especially attuned to how people use "high-end" and "low-end" in referring to keyboards because I'm also very familiar with how the "high-end" fine art market works, you know, the type of art that costs tens of millions of dollars or more. There is a bit of a controversy among some respected art critics that the term "high-end" is rather arbitrary and subjective and there are many who don't agree that many of the contemporary abstract art that have sold for tens or even over a hundred million dollars in recent years are really high-quality art. Yes, there are highly respected art critics who will agree with you if you look at quite a few of these high-priced abstract art and say "that looks like something my two-year-old can draw". Branding, word of mouth, and/or publicity seem to play greater role in how much the buyers are willing to pay for these arts.)
As for me, I mostly care about using the NYM96 keyboard for its main purpose, as a computer keyboard, while also enjoying its build and aesthetic qualities with my favorite custom keycaps on it (my keycap preferences tilt toward retro style), and not really being finicky about, for example, how exactly the enter key needs to sound or feel like. In those respects, I have been quite happy with this keyboard. It looks and works just fine for me.
For those interested, there is also a carrying case available for this keyboard on Aliexpress. Just search for "Carrying Case for Melody 96" on that site. I got that case and I like it. It is a hard shell case that fits this keyboard perfectly and protects it well. It makes carrying the keyboard and its cables easier and more convenient if you need to carry it between, for example, your home and work. Or you can use it to protect your "investment" from dust and other elements if you're one of those who baby your customized keyboard.
(Edited)
dropisascma
0
Mar 24, 2022
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IT IS A KIT BEWARE
Horrible for someone who has never put anything together it was a clear bait and switch for those who wanted a difficult keyboard layout to find but have no clue what to do and support is horrid
Recommends this product? No
fuseman30
154
Keyboard Club Member
Feb 5, 2022
checkVerified Buyer
My favorite build so far!
Love the look and feel of this board! Talk about a chunk of aluminum. I topped it off with the DROP MT3 DASHER KEYCAP SET, Cherry MX switches and RUNJRX screw in stabs. 
fuseman30
154
Keyboard Club Member
Mar 11, 2022
@puddingfarmer nothing soldered, everything was separate.
Rocknlefty
2
Keyboard Club Member
Feb 3, 2022
checkVerified Buyer
The board is okay...
It's not a bad "starter" board. But does require modding to bring it up to snuff. Also, I hope I'm not the only one but the mounting screws not being magnetic made a HUGE pain to actually put together. But overall it's a fine board I suppose. Though VIA support would make it easier, QMK is easy enough I suppose.
JG_Esq
2
Dec 25, 2021
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USB Port stopped working soon after receipt.
The quality control here was very poor. Some keys stuck, the switches were soldered off kilter creating a staggered typing experience, and the USB port died soon after I got it. DROP offered a discount on another one, if I wanted it. Bad experience made me question using this platform for a replacement keyboard in the future.
Recommends this product? No
Jaxterjay
2
Nov 22, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
Great looking keyboard
Looks nice, thought it would come fully assembled as it was not specifically mentioned in the description that it would be shipped as a kit.
Was disappointed to receive the item as a kit, especially since shipment was delayed twice and having waited months for it to arrive.
Upon installation, keyboard had to be configured as well and there were no spare Keycaps provided to match with customised configuration, so basically while there was option to self configure, the standard Keycaps that came with the keyboard was limited. 
Recommends this product? No
Scrimbowo
19
Oct 15, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
Great
This was my first time soldering a keyboard. None of the parts that came with this kit had any quality control issues, however, the LEDs on the motherboard are not practical, as the lights are on the perimeter of the board and are locked to red; plus, there is no capslock indicator light. Despite this, I am satisfied with this product and I would recommend it to others who are looking for something similar.
I used Gateron Silent Black Ink switches, the Domikey BoB keycap set, Durock v2 stabilizers, and a gray & black custom coiled USB-C cable.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
nanonic
7
Aug 1, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
Excellent
I sourced a YMDK hotswap PCB for this build as that supports VIA firmware. Then added Durock v2 screw in stabs, lubed those and with Cyberpunk colorway Kaihu BoxRoyals and WoB SA caps this thing is awesome smooth and has a great sound.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
nanonic
7
Oct 17, 2021
Good question: Looked back through my AliExpress orders and that is the Layout C which from memory I picked so that I could still have a right control.
To get the sounds I like I had to put drawer liner foam between the plate and the PC and also on the bottom inside the case. Without the foam between the PCB and plate it sounded rather rude.
PurpleTurple
60
Jun 30, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
An ok starting place, but NOT what I expected for a preassembled keyboard
Overall: If you want something complete that you can just use, look elsewhere. This needs love before it will be usable out of the box. The key mappings do not even match the keycaps. Good grief.
PRO:
It is heavy. It has lots of keys. It is (slightly) smaller than a full size.
CON:
-The rubber feet do NOT come preinstalled and do not quite fit the recessed spots that are on the case. At this price, with the assembled option, that's poor form.
-The board comes mapped with a different layout than the keycaps. I understand that it supports QMK, but this must be called out in the product description. Not cool.
-At the time of leaving this review, the link to QMK programming in the product description is both dead and external. DROP, if you sell things that are broken without installing extra software or flashing firmware, maybe you ought to host the instructions or send them to the customers. Relying on external sites makes you look bad when the sites are down and leaves your customers with ZERO information on how to make their brand new product usable.
-This one I knew, but the right shift key is smaller than standard. It isn't much of an issue, but took more getting used to than I thought it would have.
UPDATE:
I have just tested it and the right control key does nothing at all. I get that the mapping can be fixed, but this seems to have a bad switch. I opened a ticket with support. =(
Further update:
I asked if this could possibly be due to or fixable with firmware. Support says, yes, use the link. I say what link? They send me a link to the drop webpage for the product. That is where the (still) broken link on https://mechkeys.ca/ which has been down since I got the product last week. I have asked for a return label. I hope they can at the very least send me one as I do not own a printer.
Update: They will not send me a label. I have asked to have the case escalated. I do not recall owning a printer being a requirement for returning a defective product. There is a well understood, supported, and standard way to do this. Include the return label in the original box. I hope escalating via support can work this out.
Update: Drop support tells me that they understand it might be inconvenient for me, but it is impossible for them to send me a label. I find it hard to believe that they do not have the technology and capability to send me a label. They suggest that I get my friends and family to help get me a label. They too would have to print it and mail it to me. I figured that "support" might be able to "support" me here and help out. Nope. They suggested I use a public library, but due to details that are none of their business, that isn't a safe option at this time.
I encourage you to think about any order you might place. IF you end up having to deal with "support", you will get anything but support. This has been the case for me at least.
Update: The link that is supposed to help users configure this is still broken weeks later.
Update: I have returned the product, and for some reason, drop refunded all but 30 cents of the price I paid. Support is going strong getting absolutely every single possible thing wrong. It is starting to become impressive.
Update: Turns out that a portion of my refund for the faulty product was withheld because of VIP points. This strikes me as extremely odd since *some* of those points were given to me as part of an agreement reached after DROP had me ship back another faulty product for replacement, TOLD me they had the replacement in stock, then when I shipped it back, they said they didn't. In a really really poor attempt to make sense of that transaction, they gave me some points. Looks like if they feel like causing you an issue, they can withhold refunds due to these points. Be careful if you have or use VIP points. You will soon find out it is a way to make sure they can scam you later.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? No
PurpleTurple
60
Sep 2, 2021
It isn't that simple. They both CAN, and they also say they can't. This means that it is both lazy and a lie.
highfive
5
Oct 15, 2021
PurpleTurpleThank you for taking the time for writing this review, explaining the difficulties you experienced, and the very literal nickel and diming by Drop. To me, a review like yours is exactly what I'm looking for. Much obliged.
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