CM Novatouch Review

[Hypersphere]

Update: Yesterday, I improved the sound and feel of two keyboards via a change in keycaps and in one case by installing O-rings:

Kul ES-87 with Cherry mx clears. Replaced the stock thin ABS caps with a set of Imsto dye-sub thick PBT equipped with 40A-L O-rings. Now I actually like mx clears, and my speed and accuracy are better on the Kul than any of my other keyboards. I've reviewed the Kul recently:
http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/kul ... t8833.html

CM Novatouch. Replaced the Imsto set that I put on the Kul with the stock caps from the Kul. I was surprised to find that I liked the resulting sound and feel of the keyboard. One interesting thing I noticed is that the Kul keycaps snap into place rather than merely sliding into a friction fit with the stem.

Despite these improvements, overall I still prefer my RF 87ub 55g, HHKB Pro 2, and IBM XT over the Kul and Novatouch. Nevertheless, the Kul and Novatouch are close contenders and will probably join the others in my keyboard rotation. I find that rotating keyboards helps to keep my neural synapses from rusting.

[Hypersphere]

Further update:

I've decided to put the Kul up for sale. I like the feature set and quality of the board, but I really just don't like Cherry mx clear switches. I have now tried Cherry mx blue, green, brown, vintage black, and clear, and I do not like any of them. I might still give reds and contemporary blacks a try before giving up on Cherry mx switches altogether.

This leaves the Novatouch as my only keyboard that I can outfit with Cherry mx keycaps.

However, not all Cherry caps will work. Today, I tried a set that I had harvested from a Wyse keyboard with vintage blacks, and the caps would not work with the Novatouch stems. The keycap pushes all the way down and then will not pop back up.

Fortunately, the other Cherry caps I have tried work with the Novatouch, including a genuine Dolch set harvested from a Dolch keyboard. At present, I have a mixed set of dye-sub thick PBT caps from geek_feng on the Novatouch without O-rings. It looks, sounds, and feels great. The Novatouch definitely feels lighter than my other Topre-switch boards (RF 87ub 55g, RF 87ub 45g, Leopold FC660C, and HHKB Pro 2), but I like it; somehow it suits the Novatouch with its new dye-sub thick PBT Cherry mx keycaps. It is fun to modulate the appearance, sound, and feel of the Novatouch by experimenting with different keycaps and O-rings.

[c137]

The keycap pushes all the way down and then will not pop back up.

True for all caps?

I have the issue with my Keycool Rainbow space bar on the Novatouch.

[Hypersphere]

The keycap pushes all the way down and then will not pop back up.

True for all caps?

I have the issue with my Keycool Rainbow space bar on the Novatouch.

Haven't tried each and every cap; I gave up after several Wyse caps exhibited this behavior. So far, all other keycap sets that I have tried work, although my thick PBT set from Imsto had some very loose fitting caps. Imsto thick PBT caps are known to be relatively loose-fitting, and they were extremely so on the Novatouch -- some of the caps would pop off if released quickly or if the keyboard was turned upside down.

[Muirium]

For just this once, I'm glad I don't have too many caps! Which is a bit rich, but what I really mean is I don't have too many different varieties.

I once cleaned up a Wyse keyboard and its set. The first keyboard with Cherry stabs I encountered, and nice enough, if thin, doubleshots. Think I heard they were made by SP, and are DCS. I didn't hold onto them long enough to try on the NovaTouch, though. But I can vouch for DSA and SA working quite nicely.

[andrewjoy]

has anyone tried a set of imsto thick dyesubs on the novatouch yet

i love his pbt caps, would love to see some black on grey action on a novatouch

[Hypersphere]

has anyone tried a set of imsto thick dyesubs on the novatouch yet

i love his pbt caps, would love to see some black on grey action on a novatouch

Yes, I have posted on this in a few places. The Imsto dye-sub thick PBT caps are quite nice, but they are notoriously loose-fitting, even on regular Cherry mx stems. On the Novatouch, I found that some of the switch stems fit very loosely into Imsto caps. I verified that the variation in stem size is in the Novatouch rather than the keycaps by switching the loose-fitting cap to a different stem and finding that it then would fit okay. This situation was remedied by applying a little square of "Saran Wrap" to the keycap stem before pressing it into place.

I put on a different set of dye-sub thick PBT caps that I got from geek_feng and these were all okay. I am typing on them now.

My impression still stands that I prefer the HHKB Pro 2 for its form factor and layout, and I favor the RF 87ub 55g for its solid sound, feel, and extra features. Nevertheless, I like the Novatouch better than any Cherry mx board I have tried; it will be my go-to board for showing off my best Cherry keycaps.

EDIT:

Update: The Wyse set that did not fit the Novatouch stems was from a Wyse PCE 840358-13 keyboard; the stems on these caps are blue and the opening is the mount are larger than those on a normal Cherry keycap.

I have another keycap set that came from a Wyse PCE 840358-01 keyboard; the stems on these caps are white and they have a normal-looking cruciform mount with smaller openings than the ones cited above that did not fit the Novatouch.

In addition, I have a Wyse Moogle set that fits the Novatouch just fine (except the Moogle that I got did not include a 6.25x spacebar).

BTW, if anyone has a 6.25x spacebar that matches a Wyse set, please let me know. The Wyse keycaps that fit the Novatouch sound and feel rather good.

My keycaps from a Dolch keyboard also look, sound, and feel good on the Novatouch. I have all the caps I need except for a regular long Right Shift that matches the Dolch color scheme.

[Hypersphere]

UPDATE: Today I installed 55g domes and my Silencing Rings in the Novatouch. These modifications resulted in an astonishing transformation in the sound and feel of the board.

Here again, however, the choice of keycaps matter considerably. Although I like my Leopold and Imsto PBT caps, their profile is not high enough to prevent contact noise with the switch housings or plate. I discovered that the OEM profile of Vortex double-shot PBT works very well on the Novatouch.

With this combination of 55g domes, silencing rings, and OEM profile PBT keycaps, the Novatouch has the sound and feel of a proper Topre-switch keyboard.

During the modifications, I found that the cable from the micro-USB connector to the header on the PCB was too short for comfort when working on the inside of the board, and the connections to the header were fragile -- one of them broke when I was reattaching the header to the PCB.

I would urge Cooler Master to reduce the price on the Novatouch even further without requiring rebates. I would also recommend offering the barebones (no keycaps) version as a standard option through all sales outlets, including CM direct, Newegg, and Amazon.

EDIT: Although the Vortex double-shot PBT keycaps in OEM profile work reasonably well on the Novatouch, the fit and finish of the Vortex caps is inconsistent across the keyboard and the rendering of the fonts is not aesthetically pleasing to me. Therefore, I removed the Vortex caps and replaced them with Ducky dye-sub PBT in OEM profile. These caps appear to be of higher quality than the Vortex ones, and with their OEM profile they avoid down-stroke contact noise.