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
A special limited edition Realforce 87UB Silent with 30g domes. They've released a few ANSI 104 boards but nothing 87 ANSI. This board would counter the compact 35g Plum boards that have popped up. They already make 30g NIS boards in Japan so they already have the formulas/domes.
A full size 104 55g board. Realforce already has two SKU's for this so I don't know what the hold up is. The only unsubstantiated theory I have is Elite Keyboards has some sort of deathlock or contract on the 55g domes themselves. My guess is Topre has a huge MOQ on these that EK won't buy into but at the same time EK won't give permission for anyone to use the 55g domes in any keyboard but theirs. Stalemate and the consumer loses. Topre needs to figure it out because the clones are getting closer by the year; In Korea you can now buy 62g EC models for example.
Also, I would like to see more options for Devlin Q-Series low profile caps. The sticking point is they do not have the molds for 6.25" space bars. Mechsupply used SP DSA for that but I think an even better option would be Devlin L-Series which is currently used on the Cherry G80-3850 models.
Speaking of low profile, I would love to purchase a board using Kailh's new low profile ML clone switches.
Also I would like to see a group buy for Cherry MX Silent Red switches.
I think that's it :)