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Author Topic: Alternative to Das Keyboard 4 Pro MX Brown  (Read 2618 times)

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Offline nirslsk

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Alternative to Das Keyboard 4 Pro MX Brown
« on: Sun, 02 October 2016, 03:42:11 »
Hey,

I've been trying a number of different mechanical keyboards over the last couple of weeks; Starting with the BlackWidow Ultimate 2016 with Razer Greens (actually a lot nicer than what I was led to expect), moving on to Das Keyboard 4 Pro with MX Blues, Realforce 87U 55g, a metallic BlackWidow Chroma 2016 (my least favorite, even though it uses the same switches as the Ultimate and should feel about as good) and lastly so far the Das Keyboard 4 Pro with MX Browns.

Predictably, of those the Realforce feels the best, but I have lazy fingers and really need a light touch, so the Das with Browns ended up being my favorite. However, the ecstatically light touch of the keys contrasted with the heavy, awkward feel of the spacebar is enough that I'm seriously considering returning it. I understand that it may have something to do with the Cherry stabilizers Das now uses instead of the Costar one, and that there's a mod for clipping the stabilizers, but I think it requires de-soldering the stabilizers and I'm loathe to get that personal with the keyboard internals.

I'll probably end up getting the Realforce 45g from EK at some point. They say it's in stock, but when you try to order it the Paypal page says it's out of stock... is that common for them? Until then I'm wondering if anyone can recommend an MX Brown keyboard that feels as good as the Das, but without the problematic spacebar?

Thanks, Nir
« Last Edit: Sun, 02 October 2016, 04:44:37 by nirslsk »
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Offline rowdy

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Re: Alternative to Das Keyboard 4 Pro MX Brown
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 02 October 2016, 05:01:38 »
Welcome to Geekhack!

Perhaps it has a MX clear switch under the space bar?

I have a Ducky with MX blues and there is an MX green under the space bar.

In theory you could void your warranty and replace it with another MX brown.

Or have you considered 45g RealForce?  Or even Novatouch, which would be somewhat cheaper.
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Offline nirslsk

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Re: Alternative to Das Keyboard 4 Pro MX Brown
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 02 October 2016, 15:40:43 »
Quote from: rowdy on Sun, 02 October 2016, 05:01:38
Welcome to Geekhack!

Thank you :)

Quote
Perhaps it has a MX clear switch under the space bar?

I have a Ducky with MX blues and there is an MX green under the space bar.

In theory you could void your warranty and replace it with another MX brown.

Yeah I heard that's a possibility, definitely a brown in there though, you can see the cherry stabilizers too:




Quote
Or have you considered 45g RealForce?  Or even Novatouch, which would be somewhat cheaper.

Definitely going to try the 45g Realforce as soon as EK has it back in stock. The Novatouch looks appealing, I didn't realize there were other Topre-like switches out there, but I'm seeing it for the same prices as the Realforce or more on Ebay and Amazon... I did stumble across the KUL-ES87 with Browns on Amazon though, people seem to really like it so I think I'll try that next. Thanks!
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Offline nirslsk

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Re: Alternative to Das Keyboard 4 Pro MX Brown
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 03 October 2016, 21:12:19 »
I ended up going with the Filco Majestouch 2 TKL with browns. It's got a crazy 4.8/5 rating on Amazon, and is supposedly manufactured by Costar and uses Costar stabilizers for all of the large keys. I also have a Realforce 45g coming from EliteKeyboards that should get here on Wednesday!

One way or the other I think this will be the end of my adventure with mechanical keyboards for the foreseeable future. A good $1200 later I feel discovering the MX browns was a worthwhile conclusion, which is a bit silly considering they're the most popular mechanical switch out there, and I could have saved myself a lot of trouble had I tried them first. If the Filco doesn't pan out, I still love the Das and can certainly live with the Cherry stabilized spacebar. And if the Realforce 45g turns out to be even better, well that just makes a happy ending even happier :)
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