Leopold FC700R

[Kruen]

Hello

I'm interested in getting a Leopold FC700R, and I have a few questions. I notice they use Cherry stabilisers, rather than Costar ones. I've heard that they require a bit more force to depress than Costar. Is that extra force noticeable(Especially with Cherry reds)? And if so, is it really a bad thing? Also, I think that the newer Cherry stabilisers clip in, similarly to Costar ones. Is it possible to replace them with Costar ones?

Lastly, has anyone here had any experience with this the Leopold FC700R?

Thanks

[pitashen]

no it is not that bad. Especially if it is ur first mech board. U got nothing to compare of. Some might not prefer the cherry stabilizer, but there is nothing particularly bad about it. I own 2 boards with cherry type, one with costar. Ｉ am fine with both.

[jeroplane]

My daily driver is a Filco (Blues, Costar stabilisers) but I also have a Leopold FC700R (Browns, Cherry stabilisers) in the house and a Cherry 11900 (Blacks, Cherry stabilisers). I don't really have a preference for either stabiliser type - it doesn't make a noticeable difference. Stabilisers aren't a dealbreaker to me and there's really no reason to replace stabilisers unless you just happened to be doing a full switch replacement job.

[samwisekoi]

I have a Filco at the office and both a WASD and a Leopold at home.  All with Browns.  Based on feel, right now I am liking the Leopold and its Cherry stabilizers better.

One thing is certain; swapping keycaps is SOOOOOO much simpler with the Cherry stabilizers.  Every time I pull the Backspace key off I am very pleasantly surprised.  No little white bits to remove, drop, wrap tape around, remember the orientation of, etc.  And no little wires to keep standing upright while maneuvering the keycap into position.

For me (and I am unanimous in this) if the only variable was the stabilizers, I'd go Cherry every time.

 - Ron | samwisekoi

p.s.  If you say "but I don't change keycaps, I have to reply "you are here now.  You're gonna be changing keycaps."

[Kruen]

I see, thanks
I'm currently using a fullsize Filco with brown switches, and I'm keen to try other sorts of switches and stabilisers (Bar Topres, for now anyway ).

Ron - I'm already swapping around keycaps Bought a set from WASD earlier. Plus, I'm really meticulous about keeping this sort of thing clean, so I'll be continuously removing keys and cleaning the board, like I already do with my Filco

[mkawa]

they're very nice. heavy heavy heavy. the only weakness is the nonstandard spacebar. highly recommended. keyboard story may have a few left in stock (they sampled some a while ago)

[Vintage]

The FC700R is not available in the US, right?

And I would think that having PBT caps will make a much bigger difference than the type of stabilizers used. If I were you I would buy it.

Also, is it true that the new cherry stabilizers use metal bars like the costar ones?

[rowdy]

I was undecided between Filco TKL, Leopold and QFR.

I decided against Leopold because of the spacebar (one intention was to replace keycaps eventually).

It came down to Filco or QFR, and QFR won out on price.

[Kruen]

is it possible to get the Leopold in either blank or Korean (한구)? If I'm unable to replace the spacebar I'd like to make sure it's a keyset I'll like.

[wbond]

I've been working on trying to get my hands on a grey FC700R with blank keycaps and some of the special color keycaps.

I contact Leopold directly, however they said they will not ship international for small quantities. I found the english Gmarket (http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=278661987&pos_shop_cd=EN&pos_class_cd=90000001&pos_class_kind=T&keyword_order=fc700r) however they do not seem to carry the blank version. All of the English versions are out-of-stock, but I am only interested in blank keycaps.

I emailed EliteKeyboards and they said they don't have any plans on stocking the FC700R. PC Case Gear carries the grey and white version with english keycaps, but they said they are trying to get ahold of the black version and a set of black blank keycaps.

Does anyone know of any other sources for it?

[metalliqaz]

Have you tried Sherryton?

[fuzzybaffy]

I've been working on trying to get my hands on a grey FC700R with blank keycaps and some of the special color keycaps.

I contact Leopold directly, however they said they will not ship international for small quantities. I found the english Gmarket (http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=278661987&pos_shop_cd=EN&pos_class_cd=90000001&pos_class_kind=T&keyword_order=fc700r) however they do not seem to carry the blank version. All of the English versions are out-of-stock, but I am only interested in blank keycaps.

I emailed EliteKeyboards and they said they don't have any plans on stocking the FC700R. PC Case Gear carries the grey and white version with english keycaps, but they said they are trying to get ahold of the black version and a set of black blank keycaps.

Does anyone know of any other sources for it?

The other alternative I see is to hire a buying agent, like http://www.ibuykorea.com/, or http://www.buyfromkorea.kr/

The only thing is, not knowing whether the service is legitimate or not. I guess it's a gamble!

[cluny]

Just gotta say, I'm SOOO jelly of you Aussies for having this board. I would have bought a white case with black blanks fc700, but I went with a Ducky instead. I say get it. My current board has cherry stabilizers, and I don't have a problem with them at all. You can fix any squeakiness with a bit of high-viscosity silicone oil which is available at hardware, auto parts, and hobby shops.

[LollyWater]

they're very nice. heavy heavy heavy. the only weakness is the nonstandard spacebar. highly recommended. keyboard story may have a few left in stock (they sampled some a while ago)

How much of a problem is this? Is it impossible to replace the space bar? Why is it? I've also heard the keys on the FC700R are much lower than standard keys, I may even have heard that none of the keys are replaceable. Would someone mind clarifying this for me?

[MissMurd3r84]

Just gotta say, I'm SOOO jelly of you Aussies for having this board

No need to be jelly. American's get 99.9 % of the stuff we miss out on.

I have the FC700R and I like it. No issues with it at all. I actually prefer the stabilizers on it.
The keys are certainly replaceable except the silly space bar.

[xyril]

another thing that , costar stabilizer is very hard to replace keycaps (if ur newb) , but the cherry corp stabilizer , is like ease.

But since i've used costar stabilizer, i never wanted to go to cherry corp. However you can mod the cherry stabilizer if u want to be like costar-ish stabilizer.

[metalliqaz]

I don't consider the ease of switching stabilizers an issue.  I mean, how often do you really do that?  For me, the important thing is how they feel.  A lot of people seem to dislike that cherry stabilizers don't bottom out like the costar stabilizers do, so they don't quite feel like the rest of the keys.  I actually prefer it, but that isn't even the end of the story.  The most important thing in my book is how, you know, STABLE they are.  I think the cherry ones are much more stable and produce far less rattle.  This makes my Filco feel and sound a little cheap on the space bar compared to my Leopold.  Also my KMAC blows both of them away and it uses cherry-style.

[limniscate]

I have a FC700R and had the previous model as well.  The PBT keys feel much better imho.