You’ve met the man behind Solarized already, but we haven’t yet delved into the theme itself (or where Ethan’s keyboard journey has taken him). Let’s take a look at the second half of Ethan’s responses to our questions as he gives us a peek behind the curtain at Solarized—and the state of his current keyboard collection. How many different iterations has the Solarized theme gone through before arriving at its current state? Would you be willing to share some early-stage work in progress versions with the readers?  I spent months on it—REAL months of churning through design variants, testing in different lighting conditions, playing with different color models. It was grueling, but I could see the end result I wanted from the very beginning. A bit of trivia that I don’t think I’ve published elsewhere is that it was originally called Janus (after the Roman god with two faces), but I realized right before I released it that there was another unrelated code project that used...

Image credit @zhugunic https://drop.com/talk/67372/gl-2-k Do I need an amp? What are these acronyms like DAC, DSP, or DSD? What even are all the components that make up an audio chain? Let’s take a beginner’s look at the core, essential building blocks of a digital audio chain, and lay it plain what each piece does. We can cover the major pieces separately, but I’ll still include a few tips to optimize playback here. Please hit the little bookmark button and feel free to check and share this guide whenever you need a reference! For people who need a visual and audible explanation, or are worried it would take too long to get a working knowledge of the audio chain, here is my YouTube video on this subject that is just 7 minutes long!  I like writing though, so let’s get started with an overview, then break it down into what each piece does and how an upgrade would benefit the final sound quality. Signal Path Image credit @SpeleoFool https://drop...

Spring has truly sprung here on Drop. We’re more than excited for the season—and for the summer ahead. We have some amazing stuff coming up in the next few months. New headphones, new keyboards, new keycaps, BMR1 speakers arriving… 😉 To celebrate Spring, we wanted to help you clean up—in more ways than one—with our Spring Cleaning 2023 Event. ▪️ Visit our Spring Cleaning 2023 page now! The campaign runs for the rest of the month, ending 11:59 p.m PT 3/31/2023. ▪️ Help us clean a desk, and you’ll get a coupon. Coupons last for one day only and expire at 11:59 p.m. PT. ▪️ Each day you can come back and clean a new desk to reveal a new coupon. ▪️ The coupons vary (there are plenty of them) but here are few examples of what to expect: ▪️ $30 off orders over $200 ▪️ 15% off any Audiophile product ▪️ 30% off select keycaps  ▪️ Free headphones ▪️ Free switches ▪️ And more! ▪️ While you’re doing some Spring Cleaning with us, join our giveaway at the bottom of the page for a chance to win a...

Designer of the iconic Solarized theme and storied multi-disciplinarian, Ethan Schoonover, has graciously agreed to answer a few questions for the Drop community. In fact, his answers were so thorough that we’ve decided to split them in two—this first post primarily about Ethan himself, and the second focusing on his development of the Solarized theme and the current state of his mech keys interest (spoiler: he has put together some impeccable workstations).  With that being said, let’s get started!  Tell us a little bit about yourself and your history - relevant to mech keys or not. We want to get to know the person behind the iconic Solarized design. Where are you from, what is your “day career”, what are your other hobbies and interests? What is something we wouldn’t know about you from reading your About section?  I have a mixed technology and design background. Typical 80s kid story where I taught myself how to code, mixed in with having two professional artists for...