Author Topic: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews  (Read 177768 times)

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Offline CPTBadAss

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O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« on: Tue, 12 February 2013, 20:19:20 »
One fine day I was surfing the free stuff thread and Mr. Sifo was giving out some o-rings and dampeners. And I was lucky enough to score them! Thank you Sifo!! I thought I’d write a review on my thoughts of these bad boys now that I’ve finally gotten them.
 
The o-rings are from the WASDKeyboards sampler pack. I have the black rubber (50A-R), red rubber (40A-L), and pink rubber (40A-R). The pink thick rubber o-rings are the same as the blue o-rings from WASDKeyboards. The dampeners or soft-landing pads are the same ones found on EliteKeyboards. The black ones are soft and the grey ones are hard.

As pointed out in the comments, I initially used SP caps which don’t have the cross-bracing. I then installed my o-rings and dampeners into my Leopold FC700R with stock caps to retest them and give my new thoughts.  However, I didn’t want  to lose my first impressions just in case anyone was curious. Those thoughts will be bumped to the end.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) Old Article
2) New Article
3) Videos


New Article (ToC)

The newly sorted o-rings and dampeners from left to right: Red rubber 40A-L, pink rubber 40A-R (marked with black dots), black rubber 50A-R, black soft-landing pads (hard), and grey rubber soft-landing pads (soft).

For some keyboard science, 50A means a material hardness of 50 on the Shore durometer A scale. R is the size. According to the WASD site, R reduces key actuation travel by 0.4mm and L reduces by 0.2mm; this means thats how thick these rings are. However, I measured the o-ring and dampener in regards to this question and realized that R = 0.4 cm = 4 mm and L = 0.2 cm = 2 mm. The soft-landing pads measure in at 1 mm  or 0.1 cm.



I then installed them into the following keys:
  • F1 and F2 have the thin red o-rings (40A-L) which are advertised as soft.
  • F3 and F4 have the thick pink o-rings z (40A-R) which are advertised as soft.
  • F5 and F6 have the black o-rings (50A-R) which are advertised as hard.
  • F7 and F8 have the black soft-landing pads which are advertised as harder.
  • F9 and F10 have the grey hard-landing pads which are advertised as softer.
And yes, rkinze and Leslieann were right. The cross-bracing in the Leo caps make the o-rings and dampeners feel way different.

40A-L Red O-Rings
These still feel really nice. There’s now less cushion-y-ness but still feel squishy. The travel reduction really feels different now. These o-rings now really feel like they stop actuation sooner. It seems like they stop the travel right after the click. I still really like these.

40A-R Pink O-Rings
These are the same as the blue o-rings sold at WASDKeyboards. They really stop actuation quickly; it feels like they stop at the click - almost mid click. They feel the same as the red o-rings when you bottom out. They feel nice but I really dislike how much actuation is cutoff.

50A-R Black O-Rings
These don’t hit as hard as they do when they’re installed on the SP caps. But they still feel really hard when you bottom out. The bottom out doesn’t feel like hitting the board but it’s still hard. And again, the travel stops right at the click. My least favorite.

Black Dampeners
This time I feel the dampeners way more. They definitely reduce a travel a bit; seems like a little less than the red o-rings but it definitely stops travel. These are cushiony and squishy. Definitely way softer than the red o-rings. I really like these.

Grey Dampeners
These are the harder version of the greys. A smidge less of travel distance but the bottom out still feels hard, almost like the black o-rings. They feel like they stop actuation very close to the bottom. But I kinda like them. They still have a touch of give which is kind of pleasant to the touch.



So I think that with my stock Leopold caps, the black dampeners feel the best to me. And with the SP caps installed, the red o-rings (40A-L) o-rings feel the best.

 
Videos (ToC)
So I talked a lot about how everything sounds right but what if you didn’t believe me. It’s ok, check these videos out.
This has grey dampeners installed on a QPad MK-80 with Cherry MX Blues.

This video is from WASDKeyboards Info section. It has sound comparisons of boards with MX Blues, Browns, and Blacks with and without o-rings installed.


Old Article (ToC)
I installed them onto the function row on my Filco MJ2. I have blues as you’ll see.
  • F1 through F4 had the grey dampeners which are advertised as hard/firm
  • F5 through F8 had the black dampeners which are advertised as soft
  • F9 through F12 had the black o-rings which are called 50A-R.
  • Print Screen through Pasuse have the red o-rings which are called 40A-L

For some keyboard shinfo, 50A means a material hardness of 50 on the Shore durometer A scale. R is the size. According to the WASD site, R reduces key actuation travel by 0.4mm and L reduces by 0.2mm. See the correction in the new article.

So here are my thoughts on each set:

Grey Dampeners
They don’t really dampen/soften the bottoming out. They seem only to negligibly change the travel in the switch. I guess the only thing that feels different to me is that the impact when the key is completely depressed feels slightly less abrupt and the travel distance was negligibly shorter.  And the sound was a bit muffled. Anyways, I didn’t really care for them. When I think dampener, I think of something cushiony. Like the black ones!

Black Dampeners
These felt really nice when I bottomed out. There was no jarring stop, just a touch of squishy and softness. Plus they made the board a little quieter. However I didn’t think that they really changed the actuation distance at all. They just made it feel nice to type. These are what I expected when I first heard of them.

Black O-Rings
These bad boys hit HARD. It feels like you hit a plate when you bottom out and it sounds almost the same. These rings feel like the switch is jammed as well which is really frustrating to me. They also really reduce the travel. They pretty much stop the travel right after the blue switches actuate and click, which felt very very weird. However, I learned to kind of like it. I felt like there was some kind of change going on after I put them in. Plus? They really made my board way quieter. Unlike the greys dampeners…

Red O-Rings
I think these are my favorites. They reduce the travel just a touch so it feels nice and they also soften the impact. Since they’re not as hard, they have a bit more give and when you type the feel like a little cushion. They REALLY made things quieter; probably most quiet out of the four o-rings/dampeners types I tried. If I were recommend something, these would be it.
« Last Edit: Fri, 07 June 2013, 17:39:19 by CPTBadAss »

Offline keymaster

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O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 12 February 2013, 20:49:24 »
I bought the WASD sampler pack and tried out all three o-rings. The red ones are definitely the best and only ones I'd use. I have the full keyboard in red o-rings now and it feels and sounds amazing to type on.

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 12 February 2013, 21:08:56 »
I bought the WASD sampler pack and tried out all three o-rings. The red ones are definitely the best and only ones I'd use. I have the full keyboard in red o-rings now and it feels and sounds amazing to type on.

You got the blue o-rings? Can you give me some feedback on those? I was a bit bummed when I realized I didn't have them.

Offline noisyturtle

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 12 February 2013, 21:12:15 »
40A-L on lubed reds = fingergasm. Got 'em on my YotD and it's quickly become my favorite feeling board.

Offline Leslieann

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 12 February 2013, 22:14:48 »
Those key caps don't properly support the o-rings and will never give you good/consistent results, you need some sort of structure for them to push against.
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Offline keymaster

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O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 00:19:17 »
I bought the WASD sampler pack and tried out all three o-rings. The red ones are definitely the best and only ones I'd use. I have the full keyboard in red o-rings now and it feels and sounds amazing to type on.

You got the blue o-rings? Can you give me some feedback on those? I was a bit bummed when I realized I didn't have them.

From what I can remember, blues are just stiffer reds. However, the blues, just like the blacks, were too stiff for me and just ruined the flow of a key press. The reds are perfect and make the bottoming out feel softer and more silent.

Offline Turbo Slaab

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 00:20:53 »
Don't forget imsto's BIG orings!
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Offline Sifo

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 00:26:15 »
The blue o rings are the same as the thicker red/pink ones I gave you, I got the sampler kit before WASD officially made their own and switched colors to make it less confusing. It's the same size, different color.
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Offline Reomero

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 03:41:45 »
With a reduction in travel set aside, is the feeling when bottoming out with Cherry stabilizers similar to having an o-ring/dampener under the switch? I know I can order a sampler kit from WASD but it's a bit expensive for me just to try out some o-rings (and international shipping practically doubles the price).. :-X

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 10:21:05 »
I have only used the pads with blue switches, and I did not particularly like the effect.

For me, smaller and softer rings are best, and of those 2 characteristics, I think that smaller (thinner) is more important.

I have some rubber bands left over from my daughter's braces that are really quite nice.
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Offline keymaster

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 15:48:40 »

Offline rknize

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 15:59:58 »
Those key caps don't properly support the o-rings and will never give you good/consistent results, you need some sort of structure for them to push against.

^ This, guys.  O-rings on SP caps do not work very well or consistently.  Cherry caps and the "OEM" style caps that come standard on so many boards (and from WASD) have a cross brace whose depth various across the key profiles.  This makes the length of the stem on the cap consistent relative to the cross brace so that the o-rings provide the same reduction in travel across all rows.  This is probably why you didn't notice the EK landing pads.

With SP keys, you have to stack o-rings or take other creative measures.  Even that won't be perfect due to imperfections in the shape of the back of the key cap.  SP's process can leave weird burrs in the areas where the two shots meet.
Russ

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 16:15:21 »
Those key caps don't properly support the o-rings and will never give you good/consistent results, you need some sort of structure for them to push against.

^ This, guys.  O-rings on SP caps do not work very well or consistently.  Cherry caps and the "OEM" style caps that come standard on so many boards (and from WASD) have a cross brace whose depth various across the key profiles.  This makes the length of the stem on the cap consistent relative to the cross brace so that the o-rings provide the same reduction in travel across all rows.  This is probably why you didn't notice the EK landing pads.

With SP keys, you have to stack o-rings or take other creative measures.  Even that won't be perfect due to imperfections in the shape of the back of the key cap.  SP's process can leave weird burrs in the areas where the two shots meet.

CPTBadAss grumbles about how he spent a bit of time on this...

Fine...I'll add them to my Leopold and add some thoughts about them here.


The blue o rings are the same as the thicker red/pink ones I gave you, I got the sampler kit before WASD officially made their own and switched colors to make it less confusing. It's the same size, different color.


I'm a bit confused by this statement. I thought that the blues were the same thickness as the blacks but the same softness as the reds. See here. The blues are 40A-R. So 40A is the hardness  and R is the thickness. Black rings have the R thickness and Red rings have the 40A hardness.

With a reduction in travel set aside, is the feeling when bottoming out with Cherry stabilizers similar to having an o-ring/dampener under the switch? I know I can order a sampler kit from WASD but it's a bit expensive for me just to try out some o-rings (and international shipping practically doubles the price).. :-X

I don't think it's the same as Cherry stabilizers. The black o-rings feel like the actuation has a shorter travel distance and bottoms out the same. The red o-rings also reduce the travel distance but feel squishy or pillowy when you bottom out. They also muffle the sound way more. The Cherry stabilizers can feel a but mushy or bouncy sometimes but I don't think they anything like the o-rings. Like fohat.digs said, you could ask your orthodontist or  someone who has braces to give you a pack of orthodontist rubberbands which might simulate them well enough for you to judge.

I bought the WASD sampler pack and tried out all three o-rings. The red ones are definitely the best and only ones I'd use. I have the full keyboard in red o-rings now and it feels and sounds amazing to type on.

You got the blue o-rings? Can you give me some feedback on those? I was a bit bummed when I realized I didn't have them.

From what I can remember, blues are just stiffer reds. However, the blues, just like the blacks, were too stiff for me and just ruined the flow of a key press. The reds are perfect and make the bottoming out feel softer and more silent.

Thanks for the input!
« Last Edit: Wed, 13 February 2013, 16:19:31 by CPTBadAss »

Offline Sifo

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 16:18:59 »
^

You see the thicker pink ones that I gave you? Those are the exact same o-rings, size, softness, everything about them are identical to the blue ones that WASD offers atm except for the color. WASD recently changed them to blue to differentiate them from the thinner pink ones. So, just letting you know that you did in fact get the blue o-rings (referring to:)

Quote
You got the blue o-rings? Can you give me some feedback on those? I was a bit bummed when I realized I didn't have them.
I love Elzy

Offline rknize

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 16:19:12 »
Those key caps don't properly support the o-rings and will never give you good/consistent results, you need some sort of structure for them to push against.

^ This, guys.  O-rings on SP caps do not work very well or consistently.  Cherry caps and the "OEM" style caps that come standard on so many boards (and from WASD) have a cross brace whose depth various across the key profiles.  This makes the length of the stem on the cap consistent relative to the cross brace so that the o-rings provide the same reduction in travel across all rows.  This is probably why you didn't notice the EK landing pads.

With SP keys, you have to stack o-rings or take other creative measures.  Even that won't be perfect due to imperfections in the shape of the back of the key cap.  SP's process can leave weird burrs in the areas where the two shots meet.

CPTBadAss grumbles about how he spent a bit of time on this...

Fine...I'll add them to my Leopold and add some thoughts about them here.

I wasn't knocking your efforts.  Just wanted to make sure that folks curious about o-rings knew this bit of unfortunate circumstance.  I learned the hard way.
Russ

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 16:23:21 »
^

You see the thicker pink ones that I gave you? Those are the exact same o-rings, size, softness, everything about them are identical to the blue ones that WASD offers atm except for the color. WASD recently changed them to blue to differentiate them from the thinner pink ones. So, just letting you know that you did in fact get the blue o-rings (referring to:)

Quote
You got the blue o-rings? Can you give me some feedback on those? I was a bit bummed when I realized I didn't have them.

Got it, took me a sec to sort em out. Thank you.

And rkinze, thanks. I'll put these on the Leo later and add some thoughts in the OP.
I updated the OP with my new thoughts. Hope this helps clarify some things ^_^
« Last Edit: Wed, 13 February 2013, 19:06:20 by CPTBadAss »

Offline Leslieann

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 20:38:48 »
CPTBadAss grumbles about how he spent a bit of time on this...

Fine...I'll add them to my Leopold and add some thoughts about them here.

I wasn't knocking your efforts.  Just wanted to make sure that folks curious about o-rings knew this bit of unfortunate circumstance.  I learned the hard way.
Sorry CPTBadAss, it was a good review, just something was missed.

I'm using short throw switches, which means I almost require the o-rings to limit travel, unfortunately my keycaps lack the bracing to do it. Like Rknize, I too learned the hard way.
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Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 20:51:22 »
Haha I wasn't mad guys, I was just joking  :p. Thanks for reading it  ;D

Leslieann, can you explain a little more about short throw switches and why you need o-rings?
« Last Edit: Wed, 13 February 2013, 20:56:37 by CPTBadAss »

Offline rknize

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #18 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 21:16:53 »
Maybe prefers Alps?
Russ

Offline Leslieann

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #19 on: Wed, 13 February 2013, 23:38:31 »
Leslieann, can you explain a little more about short throw switches and why you need o-rings?
I call them Jailhouse Blues.
Start with MX Blues, you extend the bottom of the switch, and wrap a wire around it. This locks it in the extended position. This creates a short travel clear with very stiff springs, which you have to trim to bring back down in pressure. Mine feel like short travel, ergo-clears, which I love.

Here is a link to the how-to.
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=38091.0
Be sure to read the entire thread (it's short) as I document spring rates at the end and how to get the rate you want.
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Offline Reomero

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #20 on: Thu, 14 February 2013, 02:49:23 »
With a reduction in travel set aside, is the feeling when bottoming out with Cherry stabilizers similar to having an o-ring/dampener under the switch? I know I can order a sampler kit from WASD but it's a bit expensive for me just to try out some o-rings (and international shipping practically doubles the price).. :-X

I don't think it's the same as Cherry stabilizers. The black o-rings feel like the actuation has a shorter travel distance and bottoms out the same. The red o-rings also reduce the travel distance but feel squishy or pillowy when you bottom out. They also muffle the sound way more. The Cherry stabilizers can feel a but mushy or bouncy sometimes but I don't think they anything like the o-rings. Like fohat.digs said, you could ask your orthodontist or  someone who has braces to give you a pack of orthodontist rubberbands which might simulate them well enough for you to judge.
I see... thanks. :)

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #21 on: Thu, 14 February 2013, 09:07:43 »
It was my experience that the dental rubber bands were smaller (thinner) and softer than any of the commercial O-rings.

People are looking for different effects, such as shorter travel. All I ever really wanted was a cushion at the final moment of bottoming-out.
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Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #22 on: Thu, 14 February 2013, 09:20:04 »
It was my experience that the dental rubber bands were smaller (thinner) and softer than any of the commercial O-rings.

People are looking for different effects, such as shorter travel. All I ever really wanted was a cushion at the final moment of bottoming-out.

I feel like black soft landing pads are the best for this but they still reduce travel.

Offline OnTheBrink

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #23 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 21:54:01 »
I just ordered these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KBC-Black-Engraved-PBT-Cherry-MX-Key-Caps-104-keys-included-/330753334171?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item4d026f5b9b

KBC PBTs should have the brace to properly support the red O-Rings, correct?

Offline keymaster

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #24 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 21:55:23 »
I just ordered these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KBC-Black-Engraved-PBT-Cherry-MX-Key-Caps-104-keys-included-/330753334171?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item4d026f5b9b

KBC PBTs should have the brace to properly support the red O-Rings, correct?

I don't see why not. I have these from KBC and I've got WASD's red o-rings on them.

Offline OnTheBrink

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #25 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 21:59:46 »
I just ordered these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KBC-Black-Engraved-PBT-Cherry-MX-Key-Caps-104-keys-included-/330753334171?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item4d026f5b9b

KBC PBTs should have the brace to properly support the red O-Rings, correct?

I don't see why not. I have these from KBC and I've got WASD's red o-rings on them.

The seller is now kind of confusing me. Can you explain to me what this means:

Quote
The blank red WASD cluster are KBC thick PBT, these black-engraved ones are regular PBT, not thick PBT.

The black set is OEM profile, and the red WASD cluster is Cherry profile.


Offline keymaster

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #26 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:03:25 »
OEM profile = the profile which comes standard on most keyboards such as QFR, Ducky, Leopold, Filco, etc...

Cherry profile is a shorter than OEM, read about it more in this thread.

Thick PBT is thicker than standard and supposedly feels more "solid".

Offline OnTheBrink

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #27 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:08:35 »
OEM profile = the profile which comes standard on most keyboards such as QFR, Ducky, Leopold, Filco, etc...

Cherry profile is a shorter than OEM, read about it more in this thread.

Thick PBT is thicker than standard and supposedly feels more "solid".

Hmm, then maybe I should wait until I can get a black with engraved in a thick version. However, if I get these and the WASD cluster as Cherry profile, will the feeling be off? I kind of like having the cluster a bit different but I don't want the keyboard to feel awkward.

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #28 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:09:52 »
OEM profile = the profile which comes standard on most keyboards such as QFR, Ducky, Leopold, Filco, etc...

Cherry profile is a shorter than OEM, read about it more in this thread.

Thick PBT is thicker than standard and supposedly feels more "solid".

Hmm, then maybe I should wait until I can get a black with engraved in a thick version. However, if I get these and the WASD cluster as Cherry profile, will the feeling be off? I kind of like having the cluster a bit different but I don't want the keyboard to feel awkward.

If you get the WASD keys in a different profile than the rest of your keys, then yes, it will be very awkward due to the height difference.

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #29 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:14:06 »
OEM profile = the profile which comes standard on most keyboards such as QFR, Ducky, Leopold, Filco, etc...

Cherry profile is a shorter than OEM, read about it more in this thread.

Thick PBT is thicker than standard and supposedly feels more "solid".

Hmm, then maybe I should wait until I can get a black with engraved in a thick version. However, if I get these and the WASD cluster as Cherry profile, will the feeling be off? I kind of like having the cluster a bit different but I don't want the keyboard to feel awkward.

If you get the WASD keys in a different profile than the rest of your keys, then yes, it will be very awkward due to the height difference.

Okay, thanks for your help. It seems that the thick keys are twice the price as well, so I think I will purchase these engraved ones and try to get just the WASD cluster as thick but OEM and not Cherry.

Unless of course you recommend Cherry profile over OEM?

Offline keymaster

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #30 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:25:39 »
OEM profile = the profile which comes standard on most keyboards such as QFR, Ducky, Leopold, Filco, etc...

Cherry profile is a shorter than OEM, read about it more in this thread.

Thick PBT is thicker than standard and supposedly feels more "solid".

Hmm, then maybe I should wait until I can get a black with engraved in a thick version. However, if I get these and the WASD cluster as Cherry profile, will the feeling be off? I kind of like having the cluster a bit different but I don't want the keyboard to feel awkward.

If you get the WASD keys in a different profile than the rest of your keys, then yes, it will be very awkward due to the height difference.

Okay, thanks for your help. It seems that the thick keys are twice the price as well, so I think I will purchase these engraved ones and try to get just the WASD cluster as thick but OEM and not Cherry.

Unless of course you recommend Cherry profile over OEM?

That's more of a preference, I believe. Many on this forum prefer Cherry profile due to it being the smaller profile. OEM, however, seems to be more abundant so it would be a safer choice in the long run in terms of compatibility with other future keycap sets.

Offline OnTheBrink

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #31 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:29:45 »
OEM profile = the profile which comes standard on most keyboards such as QFR, Ducky, Leopold, Filco, etc...

Cherry profile is a shorter than OEM, read about it more in this thread.

Thick PBT is thicker than standard and supposedly feels more "solid".

Hmm, then maybe I should wait until I can get a black with engraved in a thick version. However, if I get these and the WASD cluster as Cherry profile, will the feeling be off? I kind of like having the cluster a bit different but I don't want the keyboard to feel awkward.

If you get the WASD keys in a different profile than the rest of your keys, then yes, it will be very awkward due to the height difference.

Okay, thanks for your help. It seems that the thick keys are twice the price as well, so I think I will purchase these engraved ones and try to get just the WASD cluster as thick but OEM and not Cherry.

Unless of course you recommend Cherry profile over OEM?

That's more of a preference, I believe. Many on this forum prefer Cherry profile due to it being the smaller profile. OEM, however, seems to be more abundant so it would be a safer choice in the long run in terms of compatibility with other future keycap sets.

It seems a lot of the cluster stuff like arrows and WASD seem to be cherry however. But trying to find the opposite (full sets, black engraved etc...) OEM is more abundant. I am guessing Cherry Profile is preferred among gamers?

Do you know if these are KBC/Cherry profile?

http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-Gaming-equipments/item/pbt-key-caps/87-set-pbt-black-engraved-keyc/lid=18974429

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #32 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:34:21 »
I think the sets on that site are all OEM profile unless stated otherwise. That's pretty much the case on most sites I've seen entire sets up for sale.

EDIT: as is the case with those KBC Red Dyesub PBT keys. The Cherry profile is specifically mentioned.
« Last Edit: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:36:48 by keymaster »

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #33 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:37:31 »
My old roommate was a buttplug about noise at night, which is when I'm still pretty active. So I ordered my first keyboard a WASD with o-rings pre-installed. I loved mech boards, but once I goot the o-rings off, I loved them even more


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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #34 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:37:43 »
Profile is all about preference. However, the o-rings will feel different if there is no cross bracing on the underside on the caps. Look at the picture of my Leopold in the above OP. I don't know if the KBC caps have that X on the underside.

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #35 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:38:55 »
I think the sets on that site are all OEM profile unless stated otherwise. That's pretty much the case on most sites I've seen entire sets up for sale.

EDIT: as is the case with those KBC Red Dyesub PBT keys. The Cherry profile is specifically mentioned.

I really want to get those black engraved. Thick keys are going to run twice the price for a set correct?

Also, do you know where I can get a WASD cluster in OEM? Now that I thought it over a bit, I think my best bet is to get OEM considering if I ever want to get any custom keys from WASD, they will be able to match.

EDIT: Or maybe I will even get my cluster in red but with one of those custom textures WASD offers. I would rather PBT however. But I can't find red WASD KBC PBT OEM.
« Last Edit: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:41:27 by OnTheBrink »

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #36 on: Fri, 15 February 2013, 22:42:32 »
Btw, OEM isn't always the same. My filco ninja OEM caps are a different profile from my Leopold caps.

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #37 on: Sat, 16 February 2013, 16:26:39 »
Btw, OEM isn't always the same. My filco ninja OEM caps are a different profile from my Leopold caps.

I took the plunge and got the KBC PBT Black engraved. I am pretty sure I am going to go ahead and purchase the red O-ring modifiers now.

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #38 on: Sun, 17 February 2013, 09:05:04 »
Let us know how you like them!

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #39 on: Sun, 17 February 2013, 14:24:58 »
Let us know how you like them!

Hey, are the keys on the TKL picture Cherry profile or OEM?

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #40 on: Mon, 18 February 2013, 21:33:41 »
Let us know how you like them!

Hey, are the keys on the TKL picture Cherry profile or OEM?

They're Leopold OEM. Very flat.

Offline DrakeMegrim

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #41 on: Tue, 05 March 2013, 19:13:59 »
For someone that bottoms out blues all the time is it getting dampers or o rings?  If so, what kind?

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #42 on: Tue, 05 March 2013, 19:40:41 »
For someone that bottoms out blues all the time is it getting dampers or o rings?  If so, what kind?

I prefer dampeners. I find that o-rings limit the travel too much. I'm typing on blues right now and I bottom out most of the time. For o-rings, I recommend the red 40A ones from WASD. For dampeners, I'd get the black soft-landing pads from Elitekeyboards.com

Offline sordna

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #43 on: Tue, 12 March 2013, 22:41:44 »
WASDkeyboards' thinner o-rings (40A-L) reduce travel less than dampeners.
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Also: Kinesis Advantage Classic, Kinesis Advantage2, Data911 TG3, Fingerworks Touchstream LP, IBM SSK (Buckling spring), Goldtouch GTU-0077 keyboard

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #44 on: Sat, 16 March 2013, 01:16:59 »
WASDkeyboards' thinner o-rings (40A-L) reduce travel less than dampeners.

It doesn't feel that way to me. 

Offline DrakeMegrim

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #45 on: Wed, 20 March 2013, 15:15:57 »
Well now I'm undecided. Hah. Okay I have one more question then before I buy one or the other. Should I change what I'm using depending on the type of keycap (Cherry vs. OEM profile)? The OEM seem to be much higher and the crossbrace is a little higher on OEM but I have a set of stock Cherries I could use as well if they'd work better with either.

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #46 on: Wed, 20 March 2013, 16:25:13 »
The longer the free length of the keycap stem is, the thicker o-rings you need (ie thin o-rings may have no effect on some OEM keycaps). For Cherry keycaps I think you need to go with the thinner o-rings. SP keycaps tend to be all over the place, sometimes there are no crossbraces meaning you have to stack 2 o-rings sometimes.
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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #47 on: Wed, 20 March 2013, 18:55:13 »
I prefer dampeners. I find that o-rings limit the travel too much. I'm typing on blues right now and I bottom out most of the time. For o-rings, I recommend the red 40A ones from WASD. For dampeners, I'd get the black soft-landing pads from Elitekeyboards.com

For me it's not so much that they limit the travel, but all the o-rings I tried (I got a bunch with the WASD kit) ended up making the keys feel squishy.  If they made a rock hard o-ring in that size, it would probably be fine, but the current ones tend to ruin the feel for me as someone who bottoms out frequently.

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #48 on: Wed, 20 March 2013, 19:25:02 »
They make 70A o-rings which should be hard enough. Apparently ppl bought them on Amazon

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Re: O-Ring and Dampener Reviews
« Reply #49 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 03:48:49 »
There is actually 90A. I think I have a set of those around somewhere.