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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Schalken on Mon, 02 January 2012, 07:05:34
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Short:
Are the keys on the Filco Majestouch bigger/further apart than on the Das Keyboard?
Long:
I recently purchased a CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid (Cherry MX Blue) to replace my broken Das Keyboard (Cherry MX Brown) but had to return it for two reasons:
The blue switches are stupidly loud. As in disturbs-the-peace/hurts-your-ears kind-of loud. They are also very stiff. I know it's only 5cN over the browns, but it made a huge difference to me. The way the actuation point and reset point aren't the same also feels...strange, like the key gets stuck after you've pressed it. My brain couldn't cope with the idea that after all the effort put in to make it click, I have to lift my finger higher than the point it clicked to have it un-click. Exhausting! :P
The keyboard also felt a lot bigger than the Das. My fingers wouldn't move far enough to hit the keys in the center, and would hit them on the edge instead, and so in combination with the higher actuation force a lot of key presses would be missed. It feels about the same size as a MacBook Pro keyboard, and I'm sure the Das was smaller. However, I'm not sure how much of my discomfort is due to the difference in size or the different switches.
I do love the form factor though. No wasted space.
Now my understanding is that the Quick Fire Rapid is the exact same casing as the Filco Majestouch. If that's the case, then the keys are likely to be the same distance apart, correct? Has anyone else found the keys on a Filco Majestouch to be bigger/further apart than on a Das? Is there much of a difference? I can't seem to find it mentioned on the Internet anywhere.
Thanks!
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Short:
Are the keys on the Filco Majestouch bigger/further apart than on the Das Keyboard?
Long:
I recently purchased a CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid (Cherry MX Blue) to replace my broken Das Keyboard (Cherry MX Brown) but had to return it for two reasons:
The blue switches are stupidly loud. As in disturbs-the-peace/hurts-your-ears kind-of loud. They are also very stiff. I know it's only 5cN over the browns, but it made a huge difference to me. The way the actuation point and reset point aren't the same also feels...strange, like the key gets stuck after you've pressed it. My brain couldn't cope with the idea that after all the effort put in to make it click, I have to lift my finger higher than the point it clicked to have it un-click. Exhausting! :P
The keyboard also felt a lot bigger than the Das. My fingers wouldn't move far enough to hit the keys in the center, and would hit them on the edge instead, and so in combination with the higher actuation force a lot of key presses would be missed. It feels about the same size as a MacBook Pro keyboard, and I'm sure the Das was smaller. However, I'm not sure how much of my discomfort is due to the difference in size or the different switches.
I do love the form factor though. No wasted space.
Now my understanding is that the Quick Fire Rapid is the exact same casing as the Filco Majestouch. If that's the case, then the keys are likely to be the same distance apart, correct? Has anyone else found the keys on a Filco Majestouch to be bigger/further apart than on a Das? Is there much of a difference? I can't seem to find it mentioned on the Internet anywhere.
Thanks!
(http://www.myfacewhen.net/uploads/1727-i-know-that-feel.png)
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Short:
Are the keys on the Filco Majestouch bigger/further apart than on the Das Keyboard?
Short:
No.
Long:
No.
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LOL someone had almost the exact opposite question of yours:
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?25566-Tried-my-first-Rosewill-Cherry-MX-Brown-Keyboard-Too-small!
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See! The McRip Effect (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?23217-Announcing-the-LATEST-Ripster-Keyboard-Theorem-The-quot-McRip-Effect-quot-!)!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081110205503AAvdblg
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http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081110205503AAvdblg
Ha! In line with the "fat pad" response...
IIRC,the Das has a little bit of a front lip, and that might be jacking with the OP's perspective a bit.
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So I was reading the specs on the Filco and it mentioned "Key pitch: 19mm". Key pitch! That's what I should measure. I measured the key pitch on my MacBook Pro...exactly 19mm. Makes sense, the QuickFire Rapid felt the same size. I measured the key pitch on my broken Das (I don't know why I hadn't already)...exactly 19mm.
So you're right, and I'm completely stumped as I have always thought my MacBook Pro's keyboard was "too big" and the Das was "just right". Maybe the feeling comes from the key caps, but at least now I know the keyboards aren't actually different sizes, and my dissapointment with the QuickFire Rapid can be attributed to the MX Blues. So a Filco with MX Browns should be great.
Thanks for your help! :)
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Blah Wrong Thread
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Well personally I owned a Das and Filco and I find they feel the same dimensionally. However I guess I could bust them out and measure it scientifically........ but I'm too lazy now maybe tomorrow :P
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i have both and if you closed your eyes and touched both, you wouldn't know the difference. (key length and space)
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"Pitch" (ie the distance between keys, from center-to-center) must be the same at 3/4" for standard keyboards.
However, the perception of spacing can vary widely with the profile of the keys. For example, I am an IBM Model M/F user, and these keys are quite tall and tapered, so that the perception is that they are far apart.
Than is an illusion, however, the pitch is still 3/4" and it is simply the look and feel of the "plateaus" that you perceive, and which make you ignore the "valleys" in between. Lower (less tall) keys usually seem much closer together, but they aren't.
I suppose that I have big clumsy fingers, and typing on my phone, for example, is very difficult and frustrating for me, because the "keys" are tiny rectangles that are immediately adjacent to each other. I would be much happier if they were square and had zones of dead space around them, but that is my problem, I suppose.
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Some keycaps are tapered more, so the actual top surface is smaller. I know the Filco caps are tapered more than the xarmor board I had a few years ago.
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I love my das and my filco, id probably still use my das if I didnt order the ultimate blank like an idiot :P
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What's wrong with the ultimate blank? That was a Costar board, excellent quality.
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He probably needs to look down every once in awhile to get his bearing. Understandable.