My new Happy Hacking Keyboard 2 Professional!

[HolidaySHRIMP]

Finally got my new baby.  She is even more beautiful in person than when I saw her online and only in pictures.  Touching her keys and pressing them feels very satisfying. 

I would agree that they are most similar to browns in feel.  Most of the resistance is at the top of the key press and then it just falls down.  She sounds very different though.  It's as many describe a much deeper sound and not so dinky.   The sound is a deeper thud sound.  So far I'm still getting used to the chords and combinations but the arrow cluster feels natural so far. 

I've enabled dip switches 1, 3, and 5.  Lite mode, backspace, and swap the windows/alt keys. 

The lavender WASD cluster that I got from EliteKeyboards has a slightly different height than the rest of the keys and it is sort of bothering me so far, but a full new set of keys would probably fix that.  I do enjoy the escape key being a little taller than the rest. 

Below is a little gallery I put together during my lunch when I went home to get my new keyboard.

How can you like Topre?  Easy.

Without further ado, here is the gallery.

http://imgur.com/a/jSNHV#9

[longweight]

Welcome to the club! I had a grey one and then swapped it for a white one, now I want a grey one again...

Oh no....

[HolidaySHRIMP]

Welcome to the club! I had a grey one and then swapped it for a white one, now I want a grey one again...

Oh no....

It was your review that sealed the deal for me to pull the trigger on one.  Thank you friend!

[longweight]

Oh thanks! Glad that you liked the review and the board!

I do wish that it was 55g though...

[oTurtlez]

How do you like it compared to Cherry switches?

[HolidaySHRIMP]

How do you like it compared to Cherry switches?

I love the feel of them compared to cherry MX blue/brown switches.  I wouldn't say that I love them more, but, they feel different in a good way.  It's like apples to oranges for me.  They feel very sturdy and fun to type on but I'm no longer typing 150WPM as I was on my MX blues.  I'm going to use this board full time for a month and see how it fares and make my decision then.  If I do not like it I'll buy a Filco and a Unicomp after selling this board.  I doubt I'll dislike it after a month though as I'm absolutely in love with it right now.

[derb2k2]

board looks so sick. Especialy with the blue WASD caps. I'd like to try some Topre boards some time but right now I'm satisfied with MX Reds. What is the actuation force required for this keyboard btw?

[jdcarpe]

Around 45 cN. But they usually average about 52 cN.

[Okita]

I miss my HHKB Pro 2. I switched to a realforce because I ended up needing the extra keys, but it's just not the same. sigh

Glad you're liking yours!

[mikelanding]

I understand what TS feel now. I too feel the same way about my new HHKB Pro2.
Still getting use to it after so long on Apple wireless keyboard. :S HHKB set higher, so I need a palm rest. Had make an order for custom wood rest by The_Beast

Also thank to TS for the photos on the WASD keycap and red escape key. Was plan to order but now I changed my mind.

Some pictures I taken:

[maxlugar]

I hate to say this but if you like the HHKB Pro 2, you will probably love the HHKB Pro 2 Type S even more.

I've used the the standard HHKB Pro 2 for about 3 years, mostly as a travel keyboard before I got the Type S in January.

There's a lot of noise from people who think the Type S is way over priced but so is the standard HHKB Pro 2.

IMO, the HHKB Pro 2 Type S is the finest keyboard currently in production.  I love the slightly lower key travel which enables me to type about 10 WPM faster.

Noise on the HHKB Pro 2 was never an issue for me, but there's no denying the Type S is somewhat quieter (but definitely not silent).

As a huge fan of the ultra noisy mechanical action IBM PC AT 84-key Model F, I'm amazed at how much I enjoy my HHKB Pro 2 Type S keyboards and Realforce 23U numeric keypads.

BTW - very nice pics of your new HHKB Pro 2!

People can ***** about the price and mock the form factor, DIP switches, lack of arrow keys, required use of Fn key, etc.  However there is obviously a market for elite specialty keyboards like the HHKB that command a premium price.

Enjoy your new Pro 2, but don't try typing on a Pro 2 Type S.  I did, and now the Type S is the only keyboard I currently use at the business office and SO/HO.

[Lord de Seis]

weird. the lavendar keys i got from EK fit just fine on my hhkb2. i wish i had the type-s, but it costs way too much. if only realforce has uniform silent

i have a 10th anni 87u silent, but it's variable would be great if anyone woudl trade a type s for my anni

[HolidaySHRIMP]

@Mike Sick dude! I hope you are enjoying it so far. I took off the lavender keys for now because I don't like how they are slightly higher than the rest.  I put the up arrow one over the 5/F5 key so that I can function combo it quickly by feel (it's slightly lower than the rest).  What I really need now is a clack for F5 and F9 so those have texture and then my board will have some more geek cred.  There are 2x topre clacks on eBay currently but their buyout is at $125 and starting $100 (search eBay for topre or clickclack).

Hopefully I can score 3x topre clacks in my near future.  I would love all of those pastel colors I see on eBay (pink, mint green, pastel yellow) as I think the color contrast with my current setup looks sick.  I'm starting to think the grey modifiers might look good also.

[deleet]

Why are the ClickClacks so expensive on EBay and why doesn't Elitekeyboards have any in stock?

[alaricljs]

Because they are rare.

[deleet]

There is a bunch on Ebay.  I'd buy that $30 one here in the Classifieds but I have to buy a $300 keyboard to go with it!