Topre RealForce 104UG - HiPro

[ShivaYash]

Dear all,

After a two year break, I dusted off this keyboard, which I purchased back in September 2017. I never really got on with it - the keys feel loose - there is a noticeable rattle. Of course the actual keycaps are a delight, though I need to practice, as my daily for six months has been a HHKB Pro 2 Type-S.

Any recommendations on how to improve the sound of the HiPro?

With thanks,
SY

[Touch_It]

I have nothing helpful to say, but I'm honestly jealous. I always wanted a HiPro but never could pull the trigger. Now they are expensive and hard to find. I'd have to assume some sort of o-ring or something would make the sound much better, but I'll let all the topre experts weigh in.

[xxhellfirexx]

KBDFans is planning to have some HiPro Topre compatible keycaps.

https://kbdfans.com/blogs/news/ec-hipro-keycaps

[ddrfraser1]

I would love to buy topre hipro keycaps. Unfortunately, that project at kbdfans has been in limbo for a long time. I fear it may never see the light of day.

As far as making it sound better, I lube my sliders with a little VPF oil and the stabs with some Teflon and dielectric grease. I also have added BKE domes. The end product is one of the greatest typing experiences I have ever known. if only I had hi pros

Edit: Some people like silencing rings. Personally, I like the nice thock so I leave them off.

[mcmaxmcmc]

Dear all,

After a two year break, I dusted off this keyboard, which I purchased back in September 2017. I never really got on with it - the keys feel loose - there is a noticeable rattle. Of course the actual keycaps are a delight, though I need to practice, as my daily for six months has been a HHKB Pro 2 Type-S.

Any recommendations on how to improve the sound of the HiPro?

With thanks,
SY

I heard, (and I only heard this, I haven't compared them myself yet) that the taller Topre HiPro housings make the "switch" rather clacky and unpleasant -- maybe try throwing in some normal Topre housings in, from a Realforce or something. Something not HiPro. They should be compatible, so you'll be alright in that regard.

It might be worth giving this a try.

[ShivaYash]

Thanks to all, I have missed being an active member. I shall try some of these ideas. Is this KB no longer in production? It was expensive at the time, I was lucky, through my job, I was able to reclaim the cost and got to keep it when I left, owing to its unusually high keycaps.

The hipro keys are a delight and you should all be jealous, however the sound is terrible. I shall try to make a video or at the very least, an audio recording.

Happy weekend to all.

[ddrfraser1]

Dear all,

After a two year break, I dusted off this keyboard, which I purchased back in September 2017. I never really got on with it - the keys feel loose - there is a noticeable rattle. Of course the actual keycaps are a delight, though I need to practice, as my daily for six months has been a HHKB Pro 2 Type-S.

Any recommendations on how to improve the sound of the HiPro?

With thanks,
SY

I heard, (and I only heard this, I haven't compared them myself yet) that the taller Topre HiPro housings make the "switch" rather clacky and unpleasant -- maybe try throwing in some normal Topre housings in, from a Realforce or something. Something not HiPro. They should be compatible, so you'll be alright in that regard.

It might be worth giving this a try.

I think the housings are different and hipro caps aren't compatible with regular housings.

[Rayndalf]

I think Hipro caps fit on standard boards, but not the other way around. I'm pretty sure a fair number of Hipro boards got harvested for HHKB builds (same as all the Novatouchs that got torn apart).

I've seen capless Hipro boards go for pretty cheap in the past, I should have purchased one and dug up some aftermarket caps (do these still not exist?)

[Riverman]

Aftermarket Topre keycaps in general are pretty rare, but KBDFans has made a few sets. They seem to sell out relatively quickly, too. It seems like they wouldn't be compatible with Hi-Pro sliders, though, since they're so much higher than normal.

I've heard the same thing as was previously mentioned that the sliders make the Hi-Pro's sound worse than a normal unsilenced Realforce, kind of like the issues that the Realforce RGB has. Personally, I think any Topre keyboard sounds better with silencing rings. They're still not silent, and still retain enough of that Topre sound. Some company makes adhesive silencing rings that stick to the housings that are supposed to be more compatible with a Hi-Pro than other rings.

[mcmaxmcmc]

Dear all,

After a two year break, I dusted off this keyboard, which I purchased back in September 2017. I never really got on with it - the keys feel loose - there is a noticeable rattle. Of course the actual keycaps are a delight, though I need to practice, as my daily for six months has been a HHKB Pro 2 Type-S.

Any recommendations on how to improve the sound of the HiPro?

With thanks,
SY

I heard, (and I only heard this, I haven't compared them myself yet) that the taller Topre HiPro housings make the "switch" rather clacky and unpleasant -- maybe try throwing in some normal Topre housings in, from a Realforce or something. Something not HiPro. They should be compatible, so you'll be alright in that regard.

It might be worth giving this a try.

I think the housings are different and hipro caps aren't compatible with regular housings.

All the HiPro caps on all the HHKBs out there would like to say otherwise.

[ddrfraser1]

I heard, (and I only heard this, I haven't compared them myself yet) that the taller Topre HiPro housings make the "switch" rather clacky and unpleasant -- maybe try throwing in some normal Topre housings in, from a Realforce or something. Something not HiPro. They should be compatible, so you'll be alright in that regard.

It might be worth giving this a try.

I think the housings are different and hipro caps aren't compatible with regular housings.

All the HiPro caps on all the HHKBs out there would like to say otherwise.

I don’t actually know because I haven’t done it but I assumed folks were swapping the housings. Look at the difference. Then again, maybe it’s just for added stability.

D754BAE0-5755-4038-9A31-380F1D85F449.jpeg (407.56 KiB) Viewed 3090 times

[E3E]

I believe the housings are mostly for protection of the longer, more exposed stems from knocks that might snap them. There is not added stability at all, but the housings do act as a "bumpers" of sorts, as a boundary that stops the cap from shifting too much if hit.

It does not help with smoothness or wobble at all; it certainly increases the noise and, in my opinion, makes the board sound cheaper - which is ironic for Topre.

I've replaced all of my HiPro keyboards with standard housings. That will do the trick for you. Do note that HiPro housings use sliders that are incompatible with standard housing sliders (including purple sliders with OEM silencing rings).

If you don't want to go through the trouble of swapping, just buy a standard Realforce 104U of your choice and swap the caps and case over.