Round 5 and Round 6 kits for sale!

Khers · 27 Mar 2018, 09:37

green-squid wrote:
Khers wrote:
green-squid wrote: [...]
Also, this is a curveball question, but these keys are MX, but doesn't this forum hate MX switches? Or are there any other good ones (besides BOX)?

And yes, there is that Xmit hall effect one too that supports them, too.
Wherever did you get that notion?
Thomas said they are disappointing (I agree that MX black is very boring)

And chyros is this forum?

I personally really like vintage blacks and don't find them particularly boring at all.

hansichen · 27 Mar 2018, 09:38

green-squid wrote:
Khers wrote:
green-squid wrote: [...]
Also, this is a curveball question, but these keys are MX, but doesn't this forum hate MX switches? Or are there any other good ones (besides BOX)?

And yes, there is that Xmit hall effect one too that supports them, too.
Wherever did you get that notion?
Thomas said they are disappointing (I agree that MX black is very boring)

That's ONE opinion by a Cherry hater, so what? Vintage black won the award as the best switch in the latest deskthority awards and it was a deserved win. There is a reason why most people use mx style switches and why people use vintage blacks in custom boards for ages now.

green-squid · 27 Mar 2018, 09:40

Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?

Khers · 27 Mar 2018, 09:42

green-squid wrote: Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?

Nixies

samuelcable · 27 Mar 2018, 09:43

Khers wrote:
green-squid wrote: Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?
Nixies

only nixies if you have way too much money to spend on a top housing

samuelcable · 27 Mar 2018, 09:44

green-squid · 27 Mar 2018, 09:44

Khers wrote:
green-squid wrote: Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?
Nixies

But those are so hard to find (and so expensive!)! Any other ones?

hansichen · 27 Mar 2018, 09:50

MX clears aren't bad but vintage blacks and Nixies are top of the line

samuelcable · 27 Mar 2018, 09:55

green-squid wrote: Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?

Retooled blacks are OK with a small bit of lube but not many pre-built boards have retooled yet, vintage blacks are very, very common to find and a lot better than modern non retooled blacks

Khers · 27 Mar 2018, 10:06

samuelcable wrote:
green-squid wrote: Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?
Retooled blacks are OK with a small bit of lube but not many pre-built boards have retooled yet, vintage blacks are very, very common to find and a lot better than modern non retooled blacks

FTFY

samuelcable · 27 Mar 2018, 10:08

yeah that too

depletedvespene · 27 Mar 2018, 11:03

green-squid wrote: Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?

There's Chyros' MX banshees (you won't believe the sound they make!

).

Now, seriously: Chyros is just one member in this forum with his own, well-known taste, and everyone else's may (or may not) differ. You do your own research and determine what do YOU like the most - it may end up even being MX blues...

Blaise170 · 27 Mar 2018, 14:37

Deskthority as a general forum tends to hold older, vintage stuff in high regard, but most people don't hate the new stuff, just not as interested in it. I'm not a huge fan of Cherry myself, but I still have a large amount of boards with Cherry or compatible switches.

Techno Trousers · 27 Mar 2018, 16:54

green-squid wrote:Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?

I'm in love with the Kailh+Novelkeys box jade thick click switches. Best MX mount click switch ever, IMO.

green-squid · 27 Mar 2018, 16:59

Techno Trousers wrote:
green-squid wrote:Forgot to mention vintage MX black, but I've only used modern MX black.

Are there any other good ones?
I'm in love with the Kailh+Novelkeys box jade thick click switches. Best MX mount click switch ever, IMO.

I have mentioned that.

zslane · 27 Mar 2018, 19:03

The reason a lot of folks don't care for Cherry MX switches is that their tooling has gotten cheaper and the quality dropped over the years. In the meantime, clone makers have stepped up their game considerably, and so now you see Gaterons being preferred in some cases, especially with linears.

For my own part, I avoid MX switches because they are too noisy, and I'm not even talking about clicky switches like MX blues. I'm just talking about the annoying bottom-out and upstroke noise the sliders make on impact. That noise drowns out what might otherwise be a very pleasant, soft click of MX blues. All the clones are the same. Sure, there are dampened versions of red and black now, but I found that dampening the impact noise only make the scratchy slider friction much more noticable, and I just didn't like that sound.

Consequently, I only use TMX switches (Topre switches with MX-compatible sliders). I get the soft pillowy tactility of Topre, along with its sublime thock sound upon bottoming out, and with silencing rings installed on the sliders, I get virtually no upstroke noise. And best of all, I get to use all my favorite MX-stemmed keycaps. It is the best of both worlds!

lukenukum · 27 Mar 2018, 19:18

zslane wrote: The reason a lot of folks don't care for Cherry MX switches is that their tooling has gotten cheaper and the quality dropped over the years. In the meantime, clone makers have stepped up their game considerably, and so now you see Gaterons being preferred in some cases, especially with linears.

For my own part, I avoid MX switches because they are too noisy, and I'm not even talking about clicky switches like MX blues. I'm just talking about the annoying bottom-out and upstroke noise the sliders make on impact. That noise drowns out what might otherwise be a very pleasant, soft click of MX blues. All the clones are the same. Sure, there are dampened versions of red and black now, but I found that dampening the impact noise only make the scratchy slider friction much more noticable, and I just didn't like that sound.

Consequently, I only use TMX switches (Topre switches with MX-compatible sliders). I get the soft pillowy tactility of Topre, along with its sublime thock sound upon bottoming out, and with silencing rings installed on the sliders, I get virtually no upstroke noise. And best of all, I get to use all my favorite MX-stemmed keycaps. It is the best of both worlds!

full credit to you here Zslane, you guys are seriously hardcore. before finding this forum i never appreciated the granular level of variables one could get to when choosing a keyboard!!! the problem is there's probably 12 phrases within those few paragraphs of yours which i now need to go and research...

Blaise170 · 27 Mar 2018, 19:23

No, the problem is my life was perfectly fine not knowing all the granular level of variables of keyboards. Now I can't use rubber dome keyboards anymore and I have over thirty keyboards.

lukenukum · 27 Mar 2018, 19:27

Blaise170 wrote: No, the problem is my life was perfectly fine not knowing all the granular level of variables of keyboards. Now I can't use rubber dome keyboards anymore and I have over thirty keyboards.

Hah, hmmmmm... That is a problem! The search for perfection may never end...

Iggy · 27 Mar 2018, 19:34

Blaise170 wrote: No, the problem is my life was perfectly fine not knowing all the granular level of variables of keyboards. Now I can't use rubber dome keyboards anymore and I have over thirty keyboards.

So you mean to tell that you were happy with rubber domes until you met mechanical keyboards?

green-squid · 27 Mar 2018, 19:42

zslane wrote: The reason a lot of folks don't care for Cherry MX switches is that their tooling has gotten cheaper and the quality dropped over the years. In the meantime, clone makers have stepped up their game considerably, and so now you see Gaterons being preferred in some cases, especially with linears.

For my own part, I avoid MX switches because they are too noisy, and I'm not even talking about clicky switches like MX blues. I'm just talking about the annoying bottom-out and upstroke noise the sliders make on impact. That noise drowns out what might otherwise be a very pleasant, soft click of MX blues. All the clones are the same. Sure, there are dampened versions of red and black now, but I found that dampening the impact noise only make the scratchy slider friction much more noticable, and I just didn't like that sound.

Consequently, I only use TMX switches (Topre switches with MX-compatible sliders). I get the soft pillowy tactility of Topre, along with its sublime thock sound upon bottoming out, and with silencing rings installed on the sliders, I get virtually no upstroke noise. And best of all, I get to use all my favorite MX-stemmed keycaps. It is the best of both worlds!

Thank you for your input! However, Topre is even worse in that regard! When I discovered that MKs were a thing one year ago, I saw this video of that TKl realforce and I thought 'oh! a cool retro looking keyboard!'. Then I went to the amazon link and my jaw DROPPED! $150+/- dollars it was..

Blaise170 · 27 Mar 2018, 19:45

What's sad is that these days $150 for a keyboard is pretty reasonable. My most expensive keyboard is my Varmilo VB87M which cost me about $200 after getting an aluminum case for it.

samuelcable · 27 Mar 2018, 19:47

I'd argue that the realforce is worth about 150, they seem really well built and have some of the best tactiles (imo) however on the other hand is the hhkb which I don't think is worth the retail price of 220 dollars for how weak it feels in comparison. but this is of course just my opinion many people love the hhkb and I don't mean offense to them

zslane · 27 Mar 2018, 23:51

green-squid wrote: Then I went to the amazon link and my jaw DROPPED! $150+/- dollars it was..

When it comes to the high quality stuff, this hobby can be expensive. The cost of SA keycaps is proof enough of that. My philosophy is that if you're going to spend $150 for keycaps, you might as well spend an equal amount (if not more) for a keyboard worthy of them.

mecano · 28 Mar 2018, 00:58

zslane wrote: The reason a lot of folks don't care for Cherry MX switches is that their tooling has gotten cheaper and the quality dropped over the years. In the meantime, clone makers have stepped up their game considerably, and so now you see Gaterons being preferred in some cases, especially with linears.

Gateron made pretty disastrous switches top, I had to use cherry top from mx browns to cure that.

m0ka · 28 Mar 2018, 02:17

zslane wrote: The reason a lot of folks don't care for Cherry MX switches is that their tooling has gotten cheaper and the quality dropped over the years. In the meantime, clone makers have stepped up their game considerably, and so now you see Gaterons being preferred in some cases, especially with linears.

For my own part, I avoid MX switches because they are too noisy, and I'm not even talking about clicky switches like MX blues. I'm just talking about the annoying bottom-out and upstroke noise the sliders make on impact. That noise drowns out what might otherwise be a very pleasant, soft click of MX blues. All the clones are the same. Sure, there are dampened versions of red and black now, but I found that dampening the impact noise only make the scratchy slider friction much more noticable, and I just didn't like that sound.

Consequently, I only use TMX switches (Topre switches with MX-compatible sliders). I get the soft pillowy tactility of Topre, along with its sublime thock sound upon bottoming out, and with silencing rings installed on the sliders, I get virtually no upstroke noise. And best of all, I get to use all my favorite MX-stemmed keycaps. It is the best of both worlds!

ever tried cherry silent stems in a zeal housing with the right amount of lube?

depletedvespene · 28 Mar 2018, 02:42

m0ka wrote:
zslane wrote: The reason a lot of folks don't care for Cherry MX switches is that their tooling has gotten cheaper and the quality dropped over the years. In the meantime, clone makers have stepped up their game considerably, and so now you see Gaterons being preferred in some cases, especially with linears.

For my own part, I avoid MX switches because they are too noisy, and I'm not even talking about clicky switches like MX blues. I'm just talking about the annoying bottom-out and upstroke noise the sliders make on impact. That noise drowns out what might otherwise be a very pleasant, soft click of MX blues. All the clones are the same. Sure, there are dampened versions of red and black now, but I found that dampening the impact noise only make the scratchy slider friction much more noticable, and I just didn't like that sound.

Consequently, I only use TMX switches (Topre switches with MX-compatible sliders). I get the soft pillowy tactility of Topre, along with its sublime thock sound upon bottoming out, and with silencing rings installed on the sliders, I get virtually no upstroke noise. And best of all, I get to use all my favorite MX-stemmed keycaps. It is the best of both worlds!
ever tried cherry silent stems in a zeal housing with the right amount of lube?

Tried 'em, didn't like 'em. Too bitter of an after taste.

zslane · 28 Mar 2018, 02:54

I don't replace/lube stems. Too much work.

m0ka · 28 Mar 2018, 03:29

zslane wrote: I don't replace/lube stems. Too much work.

yeah, it's really a painful amount of work and money, but they are awesome if you like really smooth, dead silent switches and want a custom layout that topre can't give

zslane · 28 Mar 2018, 03:53

Well, I really only use two layouts: ANSI 104/108 and ANSI 61. For the full-size layout I use the Realforce RGB. However, there is no ANSI 61 board out there with TMX switches, so for now I am using a Plum Nano 75.

I am content to just wait for a switch manufacturer to make a dampened tactile switch that takes MX keycaps and try them in a hotswap board. I've heard that Zilents are promising, but they are too expensive right now.