Input Club K Type Thread

[skuko]

The case is fine.  It's as trim as it possibly can be.

I disagree.  Take a look at the Vortex Core and how svelt it is.

at this point, i think this board is vaporware

They said it would be out in early 2017 and it's not even February yet.

i don't see any kind of update here, nor on their OFFICIAL webpage. this lack of any sort of update made me write that post

[thelaughingman]

The case is fine.  It's as trim as it possibly can be.

I disagree.  Take a look at the Vortex Core and how svelt it is.

at this point, i think this board is vaporware

They said it would be out in early 2017 and it's not even February yet.

i don't see any kind of update here, nor on their OFFICIAL webpage. this lack of any sort of update made me write that post

the deafening silence of any update is getting to me as well 

[lekashman]

Just sent out an email update.

Here is the text of it, recorded for posterity.

K-Type Update – 2017!

Glad to see you all in the new year! Since our last update on the K-Type there has been an outpouring of support for our upcoming keyboard. With that support we have received a number of questions about the K-Type and we wanted to send out a substantial update to let everyone know the development status as well as provide a timeline for what is coming next.

As with most projects, we encountered a few unexpected delays which has pushed us past our anticipated launch date. Now that we are closer than ever to completion, we would like to share some of the context around what has been happening behind the scenes. 
 
In October we had a design we felt was ready to go to production and had a manufacturing partner who said they could handle the project. The only thing left was to determine the best launch platform available for the K-Type. We looked down several different avenues and ultimately approached Massdrop as our best choice for a partner. We have worked with them many times before on the Infinity ErgoDox kit, the WhiteFox kit and the Infinity Keyboard, and have built a strong relationship we can rely on. For a project of this nature and on the scale of the K-Type, they were absolutely the right choice.

We spent a lot of time working out details with our initial manufacturer, but Massdrop volunteered to use their larger size to negotiate better pricing. The upside of working with Massdrop on production is that we can be sure that we’re getting a reliable manufacturer at the best price possible, but the downside was that we had to restart the vetting process in late November. We spent most of November and December going back and forth with a factory interested in making the keyboard, but ultimately decided that the scale they operated on was not a good match for how we design our products.

Despite this, we quickly found another factory via Massdrop with whom we resonate with extremely well. They went as far as to download our open sourced design files from GitHub and show us a perfectly constructed WhiteFox they had made during our meeting to demonstrate their initiative and understanding.

Now for the good news: we’ve been working with them for the past month and just received our first production prototype today. The prototypes we have received look great and have very fast turnarounds compared to the previous manufacturers. We hope to have the final round of K-Type samples ready for review by members of the mechanical keyboard community in the next few weeks. Additionally, once everything is approved and ready we will be able to launch our group buy with the usual manufacturing delays already taken care of.

Thanks for sticking with us, as without your interest and support none of this would have ever happened!

[thelaughingman]

Just sent out an email update.

Here is the text of it, recorded for posterity.

K-Type Update – 2017!

Glad to see you all in the new year! Since our last update on the K-Type there has been an outpouring of support for our upcoming keyboard. With that support we have received a number of questions about the K-Type and we wanted to send out a substantial update to let everyone know the development status as well as provide a timeline for what is coming next.

As with most projects, we encountered a few unexpected delays which has pushed us past our anticipated launch date. Now that we are closer than ever to completion, we would like to share some of the context around what has been happening behind the scenes. 
 
In October we had a design we felt was ready to go to production and had a manufacturing partner who said they could handle the project. The only thing left was to determine the best launch platform available for the K-Type. We looked down several different avenues and ultimately approached Massdrop as our best choice for a partner. We have worked with them many times before on the Infinity ErgoDox kit, the WhiteFox kit and the Infinity Keyboard, and have built a strong relationship we can rely on. For a project of this nature and on the scale of the K-Type, they were absolutely the right choice.

We spent a lot of time working out details with our initial manufacturer, but Massdrop volunteered to use their larger size to negotiate better pricing. The upside of working with Massdrop on production is that we can be sure that we’re getting a reliable manufacturer at the best price possible, but the downside was that we had to restart the vetting process in late November. We spent most of November and December going back and forth with a factory interested in making the keyboard, but ultimately decided that the scale they operated on was not a good match for how we design our products.

Despite this, we quickly found another factory via Massdrop with whom we resonate with extremely well. They went as far as to download our open sourced design files from GitHub and show us a perfectly constructed WhiteFox they had made during our meeting to demonstrate their initiative and understanding.

Now for the good news: we’ve been working with them for the past month and just received our first production prototype today. The prototypes we have received look great and have very fast turnarounds compared to the previous manufacturers. We hope to have the final round of K-Type samples ready for review by members of the mechanical keyboard community in the next few weeks. Additionally, once everything is approved and ready we will be able to launch our group buy with the usual manufacturing delays already taken care of.

Thanks for sticking with us, as without your interest and support none of this would have ever happened!

aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is awesome! happy Lunar new year to you guys! could not have asked for a better news on the 1st day of the new year

[diqkiq]

Pics of the samples please

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[lekashman]

Here is a sweet video that you can get a preview of the capabilities of the RGB display.

[daerid]

Super excited. I hope more keyboards start adopting USB-C

[skuko]

nice, thanks for the update. will this be sold already assembled via massdrop, or only as a DIY kit? also, what should be the price? (at least ballpark)

[dante]

Here is a sweet video that you can get a preview of the capabilities of the RGB display.

I don't mean to be a **** but I'm so sick of RGB and how hard you are pushing it.

To me the big selling feature is hotswap - and you aren't even advertising this on your webpage.  In fact the only place I see this mentioned was in the Tom's Hardware article and even then it was more of a footnote.

[JDragon]

I'm hoping for aftermarket cases to become available and the K-Type PCB to be sold separately. I'm a big fan of the hotswap capability and SMD lighting as it greatly simplifies the process of building a custom keyboard.

[lekashman]

@skuko
Not currently able to report on any of those things, sorry!

@dante
The RGB portion is the hardest aspect of the project to design. To do RGB the way we did involves using a many recently released chips, a new keyboard configurator, and we had to very carefully select our doubleshot PBT keycaps to ensure that they would display their characters properly. We also had to test every available mechanical switch variant to find out which ones had the sweet spot of being a consistent and high-quality switch with the weighting and feedback we consider optimal, while also providing excellent light-piping so that the legends are visible even under bright lighting. The frame is an open, floating design, entirely made from very reflective aluminum specifically to maximize light output from the LEDs.

That said, we didn't simply "throw RGB in as a gamer feature". There was a lot of discussion around whether or not we wanted to do RGB in a crowded market, and we only decided to do so if it was going to be better than the other implementations, while maintaining a professional aesthetic. We think that this  is the most effort and thought that any community team has ever put into an RGB keyboard (HaaTa has been working on RGB support in KLL since 2014), and we are reasonably certain that after we have fulfilled our first shipment of the K-Type, we will see many keyboard manufacturers around the world implement our techniques in their keyboards. We partly did this to push the industry as a whole forward, and partly so that people could have access to a "best-in-class" RGB mechanical keyboard without having to settle for what the current marketplace has to offer.

 You’re definitely right that we need to mention the hot swap more (though I know the reviewers will), so I’ll be sure to include that on our pages.

@JDragon Any sort of aftermarket cases other than color alternates for the K-Type are definitely a ways out. The case design is very closely tied into the PCB design, with some things like dual Type C connectors requiring special considerations. We’ll be open sourcing the case as well after shipping of course, so anyone else will be free to make cases as well.

[Data]

You guys rock, Andrew.  Keep it up!

[pixelpusher]

@skuko
Not currently able to report on any of those things, sorry!

@dante
The RGB portion is the hardest aspect of the project to design. To do RGB the way we did involves using a many recently released chips, a new keyboard configurator, and we had to very carefully select our doubleshot PBT keycaps to ensure that they would display their characters properly. We also had to test every available mechanical switch variant to find out which ones had the sweet spot of being a consistent and high-quality switch with the weighting and feedback we consider optimal, while also providing excellent light-piping so that the legends are visible even under bright lighting. The frame is an open, floating design, entirely made from very reflective aluminum specifically to maximize light output from the LEDs.

That said, we didn't simply "throw RGB in as a gamer feature". There was a lot of discussion around whether or not we wanted to do RGB in a crowded market, and we only decided to do so if it was going to be better than the other implementations, while maintaining a professional aesthetic. We think that this  is the most effort and thought that any community team has ever put into an RGB keyboard (HaaTa has been working on RGB support in KLL since 2014), and we are reasonably certain that after we have fulfilled our first shipment of the K-Type, we will see many keyboard manufacturers around the world implement our techniques in their keyboards. We partly did this to push the industry as a whole forward, and partly so that people could have access to a "best-in-class" RGB mechanical keyboard without having to settle for what the current marketplace has to offer.

 You’re definitely right that we need to mention the hot swap more (though I know the reviewers will), so I’ll be sure to include that on our pages.

@JDragon Any sort of aftermarket cases other than color alternates for the K-Type are definitely a ways out. The case design is very closely tied into the PCB design, with some things like dual Type C connectors requiring special considerations. We’ll be open sourcing the case as well after shipping of course, so anyone else will be free to make cases as well.

I can definitely tell that a lot of time has gone into the RGB aspect.  That frame rate alone is far and above anything out there.  The lighting on the legends is on par with the logitech proprietary switches and looks amazing.  Great job, indeed.

I know you specifically aimed at having the open case and the floating keys with a lot of light, but do you think sometime down the road you might implement a "framed" version with a traditional case, possible like the aluminum TEX cases?  Mayhaps a spinoff of the white fox (68% layout) with RGB and a nice thick traditional case ??

[clappingcactus]

I'm curious if the results from your 'elaborate testing rig' will be made public?

[dante]

I know you specifically aimed at having the open case and the floating keys with a lot of light, but do you think sometime down the road you might implement a "framed" version with a traditional case, possible like the aluminum TEX cases?  Mayhaps a spinoff of the white fox (68% layout) with RGB and a nice thick traditional case ??

I hope both case styles are available as the floating keys are nice.

I agree not everyone likes floating style, but not everyone wants a framed in case that is 3 inches thick and weighs 15 pounds either.

Heresy I know!

[dante]

@dante
The RGB portion is the hardest aspect of the project to design. To do RGB the way we did involves using a many recently released chips, a new keyboard configurator, and we had to very carefully select our doubleshot PBT keycaps to ensure that they would display their characters properly. We also had to test every available mechanical switch variant to find out which ones had the sweet spot of being a consistent and high-quality switch with the weighting and feedback we consider optimal, while also providing excellent light-piping so that the legends are visible even under bright lighting. The frame is an open, floating design, entirely made from very reflective aluminum specifically to maximize light output from the LEDs.

That said, we didn't simply "throw RGB in as a gamer feature". There was a lot of discussion around whether or not we wanted to do RGB in a crowded market, and we only decided to do so if it was going to be better than the other implementations, while maintaining a professional aesthetic. We think that this  is the most effort and thought that any community team has ever put into an RGB keyboard (HaaTa has been working on RGB support in KLL since 2014), and we are reasonably certain that after we have fulfilled our first shipment of the K-Type, we will see many keyboard manufacturers around the world implement our techniques in their keyboards. We partly did this to push the industry as a whole forward, and partly so that people could have access to a "best-in-class" RGB mechanical keyboard without having to settle for what the current marketplace has to offer.

Any chance when the drop happens you can sell a "RGBless" barebones version of the K-Type?  (Ie: No Backlighting, no keycaps, no switches?)

[pixelpusher]

I know you specifically aimed at having the open case and the floating keys with a lot of light, but do you think sometime down the road you might implement a "framed" version with a traditional case, possible like the aluminum TEX cases?  Mayhaps a spinoff of the white fox (68% layout) with RGB and a nice thick traditional case ??

I hope both case styles are available as the floating keys are nice.

I agree not everyone likes floating style, but not everyone wants a framed in case that is 3 inches thick and weighs 15 pounds either.

Heresy I know!

now now, i was hoping for 1 inch thick and only 5 pounds...

[OverKill]

I'm curious if the results from your 'elaborate testing rig' will be made public?

The articles and information are all on our website. Links below.

https://input.club/the-comparative-guide-to-mechanical-switches/

and

https://input.club/the-problem-with-mechanical-switch-reviews/

[thelaughingman]

HaaTa himself teasing the new tactile switch designed by him and likely to first present in the K-Type. HYPE!

[Data]

HaaTa himself teasing the new tactile switch designed by him and likely to first present in the K-Type. HYPE!

Sweet Baby Jesus, it's 2 hours???  )

[thelaughingman]

HaaTa himself teasing the new tactile switch designed by him and likely to first present in the K-Type. HYPE!

Sweet Baby Jesus, it's 2 hours???  )

the whole talk show is 2 hours, the switch teaser is about 5 mins

[dante]

**** tease bump since Feb 24th.

Any news on this?

[thelaughingman]

**** tease bump since Feb 24th.

Any news on this?

funny enough the latest "update" for the K-Type is in the LSv3 IC thread LOL and even that was 06 weeks ago.



https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=87810.msg2386872#msg2386872

[livingspeedbump]

Ah, I need to get my hands on one of these asap. Been ready for this for a while now. What I saw in the offices was top notch     

[skuko]

it's happening soon!
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-input-club-k-type-mechanical-keyboard

[lekashman]

It's been a long road for sure! We finally got a production sample that was beautiful, finished building that preview page with Massdrop, and are ready to start launching the K-Type!

We designed it according to feedback from all the keyboard communities, so thank you to everyone on Geekhack that has asked great questions and helped us improve the keyboard.

If anyone has any questions about anything, please let me know here and either Parak, jbondeson, HaaTa, OverKill or myself will do our best to answer!

[dante]

Is this a one time thing or is the intention that MassDrop will redrop this in the future?

If I could afford to I would buy two of them but I have a feeling my money is going to be tied up in the accompanied switch bundles.

[lekashman]

It is likely that it will run multiple times.

[dante]

Can you leak whether Silent Cherry MX Blacks will be a part of the buy?

[lekashman]

I am reasonably certain they will not be shipped with those switches, but that doesn't stop you from making the very first one. The keys are hot-swappable, so you can use whatever switches you'd like.

[tp4tissue]

Hahahaha..

Are you guys arguing over who gets to make money? 

Massdrop vs  Groupbuy forum ??

hahahaha..


Massdrop is more organized than the current bundle of potheads running the geekhack buys..


Though, i suppose it's just as likely that massdrop has a few potheads of their own..


Eitherway, the only reason all these buys and drops take so long, is because none of these people know wtf they're doing.

[dante]

Hahahaha..

Are you guys arguing over who gets to make money? 

Massdrop vs  Groupbuy forum ??

hahahaha..


Massdrop is more organized than the current bundle of potheads running the geekhack buys..


Though, i suppose it's just as likely that massdrop has a few potheads of their own..


Eitherway, the only reason all these buys and drops take so long, is because none of these people know wtf they're doing.

Did you mean to post this to a different thread?

[tp4tissue]

Hahahaha..

Are you guys arguing over who gets to make money? 

Massdrop vs  Groupbuy forum ??

hahahaha..


Massdrop is more organized than the current bundle of potheads running the geekhack buys..


Though, i suppose it's just as likely that massdrop has a few potheads of their own..


Eitherway, the only reason all these buys and drops take so long, is because none of these people know wtf they're doing.

Did you mean to post this to a different thread?

nope, this one..  reflecting upon the complaints in the first few posts.

[livingspeedbump]

Such a classy board, even for guys like me that generally aren't low profile case fans 

[skuko]

Show Image

Such a classy board, even for guys like me that generally aren't low profile case fans  :thumb:

when will the review be up? need moar pictures etc.

[Elrick]

I am reasonably certain they will not be shipped with those switches, but that doesn't stop you from making the very first one. The keys are hot-swappable, so you can use whatever switches you'd like.

Sorry for not keeping up with your latest design BUT this keyboard was designed to take either PCB Mount or Plate Mount switches here  ?

[dante]

Such a classy board, even for guys like me that generally aren't low profile case fans 

I'm the opposite: I wish this keyboard was even lower profile.     A K-Type using Kailh PG-1350 ML clones would be the dream!

[phinix]

No ISO = disappoint

[livingspeedbump]

https://www.keychatter.com/2017/05/11/review-input-club-x-massdrop-k-type/

My initial thoughts and review. Very good board for what it is, really have no complaints.

[dante]

https://www.keychatter.com/2017/05/11/review-input-club-x-massdrop-k-type/

My initial thoughts and review. Very good board for what it is, really have no complaints.

Regarding the stabilizers: Are they clipped/lubed?  Can you compare to Zeal's?  Are they the best stock Cherry stabilizers you've ever tried?  (In a blind test could someone pick them out from Costar?)

Some part of me feels a little disappointed in that I could care less about RGB and yet this seems to be where Haata spent most of his time.  I'm sure he didn't ignore the stabilizers but your focus on these has me wanting more info.

[livingspeedbump]

https://www.keychatter.com/2017/05/11/review-input-club-x-massdrop-k-type/

My initial thoughts and review. Very good board for what it is, really have no complaints.

Regarding the stabilizers: Are they clipped/lubed?  Can you compare to Zeal's?  Are they the best stock Cherry stabilizers you've ever tried?  (In a blind test could someone pick them out from Costar?)

Some part of me feels a little disappointed in that I could care less about RGB and yet this seems to be where Haata spent most of his time.  I'm sure he didn't ignore the stabilizers but your focus on these has me wanting more info.

1st. I HATE Zeal stabs. They have been one of the most enraging experiences I've ever had with a keyboard. As I've mentioned before, they will come unclipped at the slightest movement of my RS96 (even just moving the keyboard from my desk to the closet), and it can take a very long time to get it clipped without desoldering.

2nd. The stabs are totally stock, not clipped, not lubed. Best stock Cherry stabs? No, the official Cherry screw ins are the best, but for traditional Cherry stabs they feel very good. Yes, I could pick Costar out differently, just because these (like most Cherry style stabs) make the keys feel a slight bit heavier. I have had no problems with these stabs over the past few weeks, and I never had a moment where the stabs made themselves noticeable or made me think "damn, I need to work/change these suckers."

Stab TL:DR - Good for Cherry stabs by any comparison. Won't convert die-hard costar users.

[Elrick]

https://www.keychatter.com/2017/05/11/review-input-club-x-massdrop-k-type/

My initial thoughts and review. Very good board for what it is, really have no complaints.

Thank you for the review, much appreciated  .

Got all my answers from that review, can't wait for it to turn up on MD.

[dante]

Stab TL:DR - Good for Cherry stabs by any comparison. Won't convert die-hard costar users.

Thank you for your honesty but I'm a bit bummed by this development.  I was expecting more from something two plus years in development.

Now don't get me wrong - Haata has done a lot for the community.  After watching him on TopClack with his mad scientist laboratory I was expecting everything perfect and unimprovable.

The RGB (which I hate) can be turned off but the stabilizers are something you interact with constantly.

[Demo]

Wish we had more info on this "custom tactile switch", either way i'm gonna hop on this. Hoping they put out a numbpad that runs KLL to go with so you could just piggy back it off that second USB C port on the KB.

[SBJ]

https://www.keychatter.com/2017/05/11/review-input-club-x-massdrop-k-type/

My initial thoughts and review. Very good board for what it is, really have no complaints.

Nice. Very good review.
Unfortunately, I've gone over my quota for purchases the last couple months so I will have to skip this one. Would've loved to have tried the tactile switch though.

Hoping they put out a numbpad that runs KLL to go with so you could just piggy back it off that second USB C port on the KB.

That would be dope.

[British]

Any chance when the drop happens you can sell a "RGBless" barebones version of the K-Type?  (Ie: No Backlighting, no keycaps, no switches?)

As this question has yet to see an answer, I suppose it is a resounding NO.

It would be nice if it could be officially clarified, since I'm in the same position as dante when it comes to RGB...

I'd differ in saying that said RGB-less iteration could happen anytime in the future, not necessarily on day one.


PS: I'm yet again with dante on the fatness of the case's rim.

[davkol]

There's been an AMA on Reddit since yesterday.

[davkol]

Keyboard and switches officially announced.

[dante]

So I wake up and log into MD and the drop hasn't been listed yet.

Went to go take a dump, check in again and over 600 boards sold. WTF.

[SpAmRaY]

So I wake up and log into MD and the drop hasn't been listed yet.

Went to go take a dump, check in again and over 600 boards sold. WTF.

It is kind of crazy when you think about it....everyone always says how small this niche hobby is but clearly it has a following.

I don't really care for the keyboard but I'd really like to try those switches....