So I was anticipating FedEx coming with this puppy later today but luckily we (Father and I) were delayed from departure by the lack of peanut butter. Just as we were leaving, The FedEx driver happened to drop this gorgeous board off so I could take it to work for a test drive today
So without further adue, here we go!
This board is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Tis my first 87 key board and it just feels miniature compared to my 103 which I was just using yesterday. I love the Realforce white on black dyesub PBT caps, they're just so crisp and perfect looking. The silencing is much more than I thought it would be, or more simply put, more effective. It not only seems to silence a bit of the downstroke, to the point where sometimes I can't even hear myself typing compared to the membrane heathen that surrounds me. The updstroke has been almost completely taken care of as well. When typing fast on this thing it's almost inaudible as well. But needless to say it still has the feel of a Topre switch and luckily that hasn't changed at all with the addition of the silencing. The switches do feel a little scratchy, but that could be because this thing is brand spanking new, though my FC660C didn't feel like that, though, that and my 103 were bought used (FC660C about a week, 103u about 2 years), but this isn't really an issue. In an office environment where there are sensitive ears everywhere, this thing is perfect. I didn't like typing fast on my 103u because of how loud it could get, while this thing is just perfect for that. Someone recently had a thread about using Cherry MX Blues in class or whether they shouldn't and this is making me think that this thing, or even an HHKB Type S would be perfect for a classroom setting.
Onto other things. The variable weighting feels much better on this compared to my 103. It doesn't feel blatantly obvious like the other board, but it is comfortable and you can still tell it's there. As far as typing feel and sounds go, it still has that Topre thock when bottoming out but it isn't nearly as pronounced as before. The entire thing just feels better than I thought it would. I came into using this board thinking, what if I hated it? I couldn't have been more wrong in that assumption. I absolutely love this thing. The ONLY thing that would make this board better is if it were a uniform 45g. I might have to get a second 87U to rip the domes from
) The modifiers are silent when you type with them in a normal typing fashion, as is the spacebar, but if you hit those individual keys hard, they still sound unsilenced, which I like. All stabilizer sound is still there on all of the stabilized keys which is a unique sound on topre's. There just isn't anything to hate on this board.
Another thing that's totally unrelated to anything performance wise is the Purple Sliders on the switches. So damn classy, I love it.
One thing about my board in particular. The case seems to be warped about a milimeter or so on the front right sloping upwards which sets this board out of balance. I had to stick something to shim the board down so that it would alleviate this issue. I might try to replace the rubber feet on it to see if that fixes the issue, but I think it's just something I'm going to have to live with.
Let's do some Pro's and Con's of the silencing
Pros:
Makes the board a helluva lot quieter
Somewhat of a softer feel from the board, but in a good way
Purple sliders
Cons:
Can detract from overall thock if that's why you love Topre
Feels a little bit scratchy, I believe this is caused by the foam silencing on the slider rubbing, should be fixable given you'd have to disassemble the board and switches.
Needs moar cowbell!
That's about it guys, if you'd like some pictures or have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll happily do so (pictures after 5PM sometime when I get home). Thank's for reading and hopefully you'll all go out and buy a Type-S for the office! (Or class, or home, or anything really, just freakin' buy one!)
Youtube video of sound compared to my 660C
