Matias Mini Quiet Pro Review (March/April batch)

[polpo]

I ordered my Matias Mini Quiet Pro on January 8th and have been waiting patiently since then. After hearing about some quality concerns from people who got the first batch (or two?) of Mini Quiet Pros, I was pretty worried. I just got mine today and I'm pleasantly surprised. The Matias Quiet switch is much quieter than the Cherry Brown switches I'm used to (even with o-rings) and the tactility is higher as well. The activation point is much better defined. The action actually reminds me a lot of a brand new top-quality scissor switch with a longer throw. However I expect the Matias to keep the same feel unlike scissor switches, which get mushy after their rubber domes quickly wear out.

My keys all line up just fine (with maybe only a little bit of variation), and have the same amount of wobble as any other Alps switch I've used (which really makes no difference during typing).


Here it is in front of my Keycool 84. It's much more substantial in size and is taller, though the keyboard portion is only half a key wider.


The plastic is very shiny and is a total fingerprint magnet. That and the fact that it only has two small rubber feet are my only real complaints.

Hi there!

The rest of the pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/polpo/sets/72157633156834993/detail/

Here's some video of me typing on it at 104WPM, compared to 103WPM on my Keycool. I wouldn't trust the sound much, the Matias is much "thunkier" in person. I blame the iPhone microphone.

[BucklingSpring]

Good for you and glad there is no issue with yours.

I order around the same time and I was told I have to wait another month

[daerid]

I might just have to fork out for one of these. I <3 me some alps switches.

[berserkfan]

the quiet pro is not quiet at all.

As the video proves it, it makes plenty of noise.

I was very disappointed myself when I visited the macshop that sold quiet pro - it's no more quiet than my black switches (which don't get bottomed out). I won't pay extra for that - just get black switches and orings on any standard mech keyboard and you have your own customizable quiet pro.

*remember, Mathias doesn't let you change your keycaps.

[CPTBadAss]

The stem on the matias switches isnt the same as an Alps stem? Is that why you can't swap caps?

[polpo]

the quiet pro is not quiet at all.

As the video proves it, it makes plenty of noise.

I was very disappointed myself when I visited the macshop that sold quiet pro - it's no more quiet than my black switches (which don't get bottomed out). I won't pay extra for that - just get black switches and orings on any standard mech keyboard and you have your own customizable quiet pro.

I did say not to trust the sound much. The iPhone microphone makes the keyboard sound tinny. I'd trust the sound samples on the Matias site much more than my videos. Plus I'm typing as fast as possible and bottoming out like crazy.

In any case, black switches are linear - there's no tactile cue at the activation point. For typing that's not so great for most people. Anyway, I'll dig out my board with blacks and do the same kind of video. It'll be just as loud as the browns (because I bottom out). And even if you don't bottom out, on Cherries there's no dampening on the upstroke, which the Matias switches have.

I also have a brown board with o-rings. I'll do a video with that too.

[polpo]

The stem on the matias switches isnt the same as an Alps stem? Is that why you can't swap caps?

It's a normal Alps stem. I just popped a red Esc key from Signature Plastics on and it fits fine.

[Binge]

the quiet pro is not quiet at all.

As the video proves it, it makes plenty of noise.

I was very disappointed myself when I visited the macshop that sold quiet pro - it's no more quiet than my black switches (which don't get bottomed out). I won't pay extra for that - just get black switches and orings on any standard mech keyboard and you have your own customizable quiet pro.

*remember, Mathias doesn't let you change your keycaps.

^ there are so many errors in this post.  Mostly inaccurate.  Any linear switch will be almost silent if you don't let it bottom out, but regardless of how you type with a matias quiet switch it is as quiet if not quieter as a membrane keyboard.

[polpo]

Here's a Typeracer run on my board with Cherry Blacks, a DSI SMK-88. It's actually my fastest run at 106WPM, but I still don't like the feel of linear switches that much.

I tried doing a run on my Cherry Brown + o-ring board, but it's a Noppoo Choc Mini and I use Linux and when typing fast it gets a lot of double keypresses. I couldn't complete a run without lots of errors. What buggy firmware that one has.

[berserkfan]

My point is that Quietpro isn’t all that quiet and isn’t for everyone. If your typing style doesn’t involve much bottoming out to begin with, no need to buy Quietpro.

If you bottom out a lot, yes, then these guys are a bit more quiet. But I won’t go as far as to call them ‘quieter than a membrane keyboard’. I didn’t make much noise on my membranes also, and it’s not as if I could avoid bottoming out. I suppose I don’t slam the keys down so when they bottom out they don’t make that much noise. I'd imagine if you were a big, muscular guy with an energetic typing style you would probably make more noise when you bottomed out because you hit the keys with more force.

This reminds me of that (I think Razer) Stealth keyboard. It wasn’t stealthy in the slightest bit – unless you compared it (using brown switches) with its predecessor with blue switches!

[vyshane]

The Quietpro is quiet relative to other mechanical switches like buckling springs, white ALPS, Cherry Blues. The point is - it's quiet enough for it not to be obnoxious in an office environment. No one claimed that the board was silent.

[Ardy]

I just pre-ordered one today after being led here by /r/keyboards, and received an email saying stock arrives end of May/early June.

Is there a dip above the F keys to hold a pen?  It looks like there might be.  I'd love to place my tablet pen there.

[Mandolin]

Great clicks!, although I don't find attractive that cheap plastic look.

[polpo]

Is there a dip above the F keys to hold a pen?  It looks like there might be.  I'd love to place my tablet pen there.

Yep, a pen fits there just fine.

Great clicks!, although I don't find attractive that cheap plastic look.

What's interesting is that the "cheap" plastic look is more expensive to produce than normal textured ABS. I found a post from Matias from 2011:

As for cost, the cheapest cases are the textured black ABS plastic ones that Filco and others use.  The Das has a polished black painted top case, with a cheaper textured ABS bottom case.  Razer uses some expensive coatings on their high-end keyboards, but underneath they're still ABS.  The most expensive case is that of the Tactile Pro with polished polycarbonate for both the top and bottom case, painted internally or externally depending on the colour.

[vyshane]

I've got the Laptop Pro. The finish does look cheap, probably because it's painted silver. Next to my iMac, it's readily apparent that the keyboard case isn't metal. It'd probably look good in white though.

[GON]

I like that key layout.
I'm gonna make a PCB similar to that one someday(Of course, not the same. I will change some. ).