I was waiting for the Duck Lightsaver v3 but I think I like the layout of the TX-CP with the small gaps better. Does anyone here know how those two keyboards would compare? Or generally how tx keyboards compare to duck?
The main thing I really liked about the Lightsaver originally was the 96 key layout and the new 3 LED strips design. However, now that i've seen this compact 1800 layout I've started leaning towards the TX-CP. Duck seems to have a lot of hype surrounding it but the TX keyboards seem to be pretty low key in comparison. However, I get the feeling that TX is more focused towards the typing experience so might actually be better quality than Duck keyboards. So i was looking for peoples opinions on what they thought: TX vs Duck? Which one do you guys think is better or what are the pros and cons of either in direct comparison to each other. Especially things that you can't really tell just by looking at pictures.
Somebody send me a Duck so i can compare!
I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this too. If i had the cash to spare I'd be all over this, but I really can't justify it as i already have, and am happy with, two TX boards already.
So, I can add a bit to this... I have two Duck boards (Blackbird and Viper v2) and three TX boards (75, 84 and CP). I love them all and there are some interesting differences. First off, the TX boards are just rock freaking solid. I am such a fan of Kin and the TX boards- they are amazing (and I'm excited about the 1800v2 as well!). I would agree with Aziacorp that they are very tuned to the typing experience. Kin is extremely knowledgeable (obviously) and designs/ tunes his boards to give an amazing typing experiences. They are tanks and a pleasure to hammer out some pages on. I also like how willing Kin is to offer a variety of materials for plates and color options. He is also super nice to work with and accessible/ responsive via Telegram, which I appreciate. As many have mentioned, he'll send you a picture of your board as it's all packed up, which is cool. The 1800v2 seems to have brought him closer to Duck with the new 360 degree diffuser layer that may also be mixed/ matched with metal gaskets to customize the underglow look you want (or eliminate it altogether). That's a first and I'm looking forward to it, the other TX boards have no diffuser layer, which is mostly ok with me, but I do enjoy the smooth underglow of the Blackbird (before my LED2 spontaneously went south and I lost all but one of the RGB LEDs... another story).
On the Duck boards, you really nailed it there- it's the layouts for me that are really great. The Blackbird is just about my ideal layout and I love using it at work. I do spreadsheets and still like the num pad (I know, decidedly un-hip), but I've also always enjoyed the HHKB layout... Boom ---> Blackbird!! The Viper is great too of course as a dedicated HHKB layout. The down side of Duck for me is the color/ customization options are very few. The last two buys, it's been silver or black though they did offer alu, ss or polycarbonate (plastic) plates for the Viper v2,which was cool. Programming... it was a steep learning curve, but once you figure out how to work with the O2D and Flip, it's pretty easy. Nightmare at first that involved many hours of cussing, but once you click with the process, programming Duck boards is ok. Again, a wash with the TX, I would say.
Build quality is absolutely equal. They are both perfect and I could find no way to differentiate between the two simply on quality. Ano is excellent on all five of the aforementioned boards, so for me, that is a wash. I have my first LZ board on the way (Stan) and I do expect that to be ever so slightly higher quality - whatever that means. I think Kin would say the same- he works with LZ and not to put words in his mouth, but the LZ boards are made in smaller quantities and I think have maybe a bit tighter tolerances on machining and anodization?? That said, I'm not sure if I'll be able to see that difference in my own experience- the TX boards are so freaking nice, I can't imagine how the LZ boards would exceed them, but I'll have a data point on that this summer.
Hope that helps. Feel free to comment or PM if you have any other questions or anything.
