Feenix Autore all new mechanical

[Linkbane]

I just received my autore. I'm working on a review of it. Gonna make a quick video review to go along with that. Without mentioning too much I will say this, this is the best build quality of any keyboard I've used. And it weighs enough to crush a full grown bear.

That sounds terrible. What kind of keyboard could possible weight over a thousand pounds? I also highly doubt that it's worth its priceline, considering that it is as featureless as a Rosewill and more expensive than a Filco. At least Ducky can justify their (cheaper) Shine 3, which is slightly lower quality than a Filco to some, with a still high build quality and lots of technology. Hopefully this Autore has something pretty special in it.

[pchatterjee]

I just received my autore. I'm working on a review of it. Gonna make a quick video review to go along with that. Without mentioning too much I will say this, this is the best build quality of any keyboard I've used. And it weighs enough to crush a full grown bear.

To be specific the site states it is 1200 g or about 2.64 lbs.  This is slightly less than than the Ducky 3s and WASD keyboards.  and certainly less than the aluminum body Ducky YOTS or the any Model M.  Nice looking keyboard to me but if the case were actually some sort of metal it would be a selling point.  It's colored plastic with MX browns so other than silver plastic and very nicely colored keys (probably ABS) . I am not sure what delineates its quality other than metal plate mounting which many other keyboards have.

[Linkbane]

I just received my autore. I'm working on a review of it. Gonna make a quick video review to go along with that. Without mentioning too much I will say this, this is the best build quality of any keyboard I've used. And it weighs enough to crush a full grown bear.

To be specific the site states it is 1200 g or about 2.64 lbs.  This is slightly less than than the Ducky 3s and WASD keyboards.  and certainly less than the aluminum body Ducky YOTS or the any Model M.  Nice looking keyboard to me but if the case were actually some sort of metal it would be a selling point.  It's colored plastic with MX browns so other than silver plastic and very nicely colored keys (probably ABS) . I am not sure what delineates its quality other than metal plate mounting which many other keyboards have.

These are pretty much my thoughts on it.

[missalaire]

I just received my autore. I'm working on a review of it. Gonna make a quick video review to go along with that. Without mentioning too much I will say this, this is the best build quality of any keyboard I've used. And it weighs enough to crush a full grown bear.

Does it use cherry or costar stabilizers?

[Elrick]

Without mentioning too much I will say this, this is the best build quality of any keyboard I've used. And it weighs enough to crush a full grown bear.

I love that, such enthusiasm from a young one  .  Considering a full grown Grizzly weighs in at 400-790lbs than the Autore would have to weigh in at a similar amount to even damage a full grown Grizzly.

[ideus]

I'd like to get a set of these caps. Are they available?

[missalaire]

I'd like to get a set of these caps. Are they available?

Doubtful since they aren't offering them for sale separately.

[ideus]

Its a shame, they are really nice looking.

[terran5992]

Buy the keyboard keep the caps

[ideus]

I'd prefer to use that money in other way, but yeah, it may be a possibility.

[terran5992]

You could see the bare board after you harvested the caps

[cherpalla]

Is so sexy. I don't get why you don't like it because it's not TKL. I personally only own TKL or smaller, and I might buy this simply because of how sexy it is.

This is a business keyboard, not a gaming one.

Feenix makes gaming peripherals, the designers and testers are all professional gamers. This is definitely a gaming keyboard. I personally prefer 87%/75% when I game because I feel like there's more room to move my right hand for my mouse. 

[Keytrun]

I'd be interested to get more info on those keycaps. So are they metal? A metal coating?

I'd like it a lot more if it were a TKL.

[geogga]

Uhh aluminum is amazing.
If you think that's (plastic with aluminum coating)the greatest quality...you're in for a treat.

[Elrick]

Uhh aluminum is amazing.
If you think that's (plastic with aluminum coating)the greatest quality...you're in for a treat.

Well bud, if you have it in your hot little hands then please post a review of this new baby of yours  .  I'm sure the rest of us would like to see it up close just how it's been executed by Feenix.

[Puddsy]

http://www.slashgear.com/embargo-feenix-autore-mechanical-keyboard-debuts-at-ces-2014-06310933/

$163

[n0rvig]

I'm looking forward to seeing Whileycoyote's review. This is a nice looking board. I know people did this months ago, but I just gotta highlight some of the marketing BS.

"A gold metal plate running through the length of the chassis provides brilliant durability" -- WHAT?!

[Photoelectric]

It's #gold--that's all you need to know   As soon as something is "gold", you know it's going to be super duper awesome.

[archer]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

[IPT]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

[Puddsy]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

I mean, it uses an ALU case, can you name another keyboard that has that standard?

[kmiller8]

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

Just because they don't have a fab doesn't mean they can't contact chinese OEMs to improve a product.

I know there are kickstarters that find a crappy chinese product, work with them to improve it, and then resell it for 2x the price of the OG chinese one.

For example: http://drop-kicker.com/2013/10/vybe-abuses-crowd-funding-to-become-middle-men-and-charge-backers-twice-what-theyd-pay-elsewhere/ (be sure to click the "CREATOR RESPONSE" to get the whole story)

So yeah, in-house manufacture is very unlikely, however in-house design may just be a bit of a play on words.

I think this was the case with their mouse as well, they used the same shell as a chinese OEM mouse, but had custom internals.

China is a very interesting place

[SpAmRaY]

There's a good write up here

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/feenix-autore-promises-quality,news-18135.html

[IPT]

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

Just because they don't have a fab doesn't mean they can't contact chinese OEMs to improve a product.

I know there are kickstarters that find a crappy chinese product, work with them to improve it, and then resell it for 2x the price of the OG chinese one.

For example: http://drop-kicker.com/2013/10/vybe-abuses-crowd-funding-to-become-middle-men-and-charge-backers-twice-what-theyd-pay-elsewhere/ (be sure to click the "CREATOR RESPONSE" to get the whole story)

So yeah, in-house manufacture is very unlikely, however in-house design may just be a bit of a play on words.

I think this was the case with their mouse as well, they used the same shell as a chinese OEM mouse, but had custom internals.

China is a very interesting place

their mouse was basically a dressed up sharkroo dark glyder. I'm a bit suspect of that frankly. They insist they create everything in LA in house.

[pchatterjee]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

I mean, it uses an ALU case, can you name another keyboard that has that standard?

Not sure if you were being sarcastic or not but its a plastic case with aluminum paint whatever that's supposed to mean.  It looks nice and all but it is still a plastic case.  Some emails with their support confirmed that it was a plastic case.

[Photoelectric]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

I mean, it uses an ALU case, can you name another keyboard that has that standard?

There's a good write up here

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/feenix-autore-promises-quality,news-18135.html

"The switches contain gold to ensure fast and reliable response''? The steel plate?  Spacing between keys is comfortable?  They are describing any of a whole lot of keyboards using Cherry switches.  The only unique features here are the case shape, the case coating, and the gold plate.  Still, the article concludes that the price tag is too high because there are no gamer options (...), no flashy gamer LEDs, and not enough tilt!  It just read like a fluff article to me, not a serious review

[SpAmRaY]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

I mean, it uses an ALU case, can you name another keyboard that has that standard?

There's a good write up here

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/feenix-autore-promises-quality,news-18135.html

"The switches contain gold to ensure fast and reliable response''? The steel plate?  Spacing between keys is comfortable?  They are describing any of a whole lot of keyboards using Cherry switches.  The only unique features here are the case shape, the case coating, and the gold plate.  Still, the article concludes that the price tag is too high because there are no gamer options (...), no flashy gamer LEDs, and not enough tilt!  It just read like a fluff article to me, not a serious review

Perhaps when I said  'good write up', I should have specified I meant a write up using the typical marketing speak which is good for laughs and that's about it

[whileycoyote]

Just put up my write up of the autore: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53818.0

[Elrick]

Just put up my write up of the autore: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53818.0

Thanks for that, been thinking about getting this one, despite it being only Browns it seems quite good in pictures.  Thanks for doing the wright up just feel you should fill more pictures of the keyboard so we see what it looks like underneath, sides, back (usb connection).

Is the keyboard able to be used on the PS/2 port?  Just curious to know if this baby can run on it because it seems quite basic and should pose no problem for any PC setup.

[BucklingSpring]

I also found out it was basically plastic casing also.  What other keyboard build qualities are you comparing it too?  Aluminum paint does not sound impressive.

The way you put it makes it very tempting :-)

[Grim Fandango]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

I mean, it uses an ALU case, can you name another keyboard that has that standard?

It is not just the keyboard. They also have that Feenix Nascita, which is incredibly expensive, and they act like it is the best mouse in the world, while it has a crappy Avago ADNS 9500 sensor with acceleration. But plenty of companies do that, so that is not even that big of a deal. However they claim that:

Extensively researched and unique Feenix form factor offers perfect ergonomic feel for the Nascita regardless of whether you are a palm, claw, or semi-claw gamer.

This is their Nascita


Oh yes, unique design and what not. Awesome $100 ...well spent right. Well... there are several other brands that use the same sensor and have the exact shell. Seems to be nothing more than a hyped OEM mouse.

Here is the Sharkoon Darkglider (cheap B-brand mouse)


And that is not the only mouse that uses the same OEM shell.

The other thing that kind of annoys me is their text

As a small independently owned company based in California, Feenix enjoys absolute creative freedom to design, engineer, assemble and test what professional gamers consider to be the finest gaming mice in the world. While a meticulous assembly process limits the production volume to less than 500 mice a month, owners of Feenix mice can be ensured a gaming instrument of utmost excellence. By focusing a unified passion for gaming solely into the making of mice, Feenix is able to maintain high-quality standards, and avoid traditional corporate inattention. With build quality as a top priority, a Feenix mouse is unparalleled in reliability due to precisely built mechanical movements and hand finished quality checks. Along with impeccable feel, everything regarding a Feenix mouse, from the state-of-the-art chipsets and lens systems to the elegant aesthetics and features, must meet the approval of professional gamers before being labeled with an authentic reference seal.


You can not just claim professional gamers consider your mice the finest in the world, when no one has ever seen a professional gamer use the brand and you do not mention which professional gamers you are talking about (probably some LoL player somewhere... maybe). The idea of professional gamers using the mice is odd anyway. Laser mice are not really common in the pro scene. In fact, they are pretty much non-existent among FPS players.

I mean , it has an ok sensor , looks  comfortable enough and I am willing to believe it is built well, but do not feed us that crap about how you manually produce only 500 a month and professional gamers consider it the best, and that flawed Avago sensor that serious gamers avoid is something special. That sort of dumb BS just annoys me. Especially when 10 dollar WMO with a STMicroelectronics OS MLT 04 sensor craps all over your mouse when it comes to performance (and IS actually used by pro gamers).

We are used to gaming companies feeding us BS, but "Feenix" seems to be taking it to a whole new level.

/Rant

[Novus]

This company seems to be based in using marketing to create an illusion of "luxury" to justify their unnecessarily inflated prices, all while cranking out average quality products. I've yet to see anything of theirs in person that was a) impressive or b) worth the high price tags.

pretty much this
they're basically using smoke and mirrors to sell chinese OEM goods.
I can guarantee you they have no FABs for production.  So whatever they say about in-house design and manufacture is complete BS.

I mean, it uses an ALU case, can you name another keyboard that has that standard?

It is not just the keyboard. They also have that Feenix Nascita, which is incredibly expensive, and they act like it is the best mouse in the world, while it has a crappy Avago ADNS 9500 sensor with acceleration. But plenty of companies do that, so that is not even that big of a deal. However they claim that:

Extensively researched and unique Feenix form factor offers perfect ergonomic feel for the Nascita regardless of whether you are a palm, claw, or semi-claw gamer.

This is their Nascita

Show Image

Oh yes, unique design and what not. Awesome $100 ...well spent right. Well... there are several other brands that use the same sensor and have the exact shell. Seems to be nothing more than a hyped OEM mouse.

Here is the Sharkoon Darkglider (cheap B-brand mouse)

Show Image

And that is not the only mouse that uses the same OEM shell.

The other thing that kind of annoys me is their text

As a small independently owned company based in California, Feenix enjoys absolute creative freedom to design, engineer, assemble and test what professional gamers consider to be the finest gaming mice in the world. While a meticulous assembly process limits the production volume to less than 500 mice a month, owners of Feenix mice can be ensured a gaming instrument of utmost excellence. By focusing a unified passion for gaming solely into the making of mice, Feenix is able to maintain high-quality standards, and avoid traditional corporate inattention. With build quality as a top priority, a Feenix mouse is unparalleled in reliability due to precisely built mechanical movements and hand finished quality checks. Along with impeccable feel, everything regarding a Feenix mouse, from the state-of-the-art chipsets and lens systems to the elegant aesthetics and features, must meet the approval of professional gamers before being labeled with an authentic reference seal.


You can not just claim professional gamers consider your mice the finest in the world, when no one has ever seen a professional gamer use the brand and you do not mention which professional gamers you are talking about (probably some LoL player somewhere... maybe). The idea of professional gamers using the mice is odd anyway. Laser mice are not really common in the pro scene. In fact, they are pretty much non-existent among FPS players.

I mean , it has an ok sensor , looks  comfortable enough and I am willing to believe it is built well, but do not feed us that crap about how you manually produce only 500 a month and professional gamers consider it the best, and that flawed Avago sensor that serious gamers avoid is something special. That sort of dumb BS just annoys me. Especially when 10 dollar WMO with a STMicroelectronics OS MLT 04 sensor craps all over your mouse when it comes to performance (and IS actually used by pro gamers).

We are used to gaming companies feeding us BS, but "Feenix" seems to be taking it to a whole new level.

/Rant

Exactly.
Crappy sensor like that can hardly be considered "for gamers".
The only pro I know who uses feenix stuff is that destiny guy that every sensible SC2 (and I'm going to guess League of lollipops) player pretty much hates. That guy is probably only sponsored by this brand because destiny couldn't get a sponsorship elsewhere after all the crap he's pulled.

[Xaviz]

''Laser mice are not really common in the pro scene. In fact, they are pretty much non-existent among FPS players. ''

please stop, plenty of counter-strike players uses the likes of SS Sensei, xai, etc. pro gear is entirely based on who's their sponsor and what they have to offer. any FPS player worth anything can use absolutely any mouse out there and still be a god. the idea that 3% negative or positive acceleration would have any real world impact on their game is absurd. then there's the fact how prediction is completely about preference.

either way, Feenix have released an official statement somewhere regarding the mouse issue and anyone interested can just google it. not that I care either way, just funny how this forum knows so much about keyboards and then suddenly start drooling when it comes to mice.

[Novus]

Pro players such as these?

[Grim Fandango]

''Laser mice are not really common in the pro scene. In fact, they are pretty much non-existent among FPS players. ''

please stop, plenty of counter-strike players uses the likes of SS Sensei, xai, etc. pro gear is entirely based on who's their sponsor and what they have to offer. any FPS player worth anything can use absolutely any mouse out there and still be a god. the idea that 3% negative or positive acceleration would have any real world impact on their game is absurd. then there's the fact how prediction is completely about preference.

either way, Feenix have released an official statement somewhere regarding the mouse issue and anyone interested can just google it. not that I care either way, just funny how this forum knows so much about keyboards and then suddenly start drooling when it comes to mice.

You are right, I should not have used the word non-existent. That is not true. Also, I do agree that the slight imperfections in sensor behavior are sometimes overstated, and it does not make or break a player.

Based on the peripherals available by the sponsor, you do see players using mice with less than optimal sensors. In Counter Strike for example, Steelseries is a big sponsor, and for a while they did not have any mice available that were all that great. So the guys in teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas (f0rest, GeT_RiGhT etc.) did use mice that had sensors that people did not seem impressed by (for example, they used the Xai and the Kinzu, Ikari optical was another popular one), other teams like Navi, Markeloff used the Xai as well. So indeed, while there is a definite trend away from sensors with acceleration for example, they are not non-existent.

However, there were two things worth noting. The first is how many players outside of a Steelseries sponsorship used these mice, the other is what happened recently when Steelseries released the Kana V2 with the Avago 3090 optical sensor, and the Rival with the Avago 3310 optical sensor.

But, you do make a good point. These are all players who were able to perform at the highest possible level of competition with these so-called "flawed" mice. So if they can , how much does the average Joe need a perfect sensor? I agree with you on that. However, what I said was in response to Feenix, and the claims they make. No matter how you twist it, the Avago ADNS 9500 is not a popular sensor among "pro gamers", and everyone is aware of its issues. In my response I just wanted to illustrate that fact.

[divito]

Back when I was competing, laser mice were new and problematic, and optical was king for FPS. No one that wasn't sponsored by a company pushing a new laser mouse was using one....but, that was a long time ago. A lot of the younger generation unfortunately arrived at a time when laser mice were more prominent and have used those as such.

[LouisHjelmslev]

Great find Grim, really the nail in the coffin for any credibility regarding this company and its claims.

[whileycoyote]

its been widely covered that the feenix shell was what was copied by other manufacturers. Seeing as how their new model of their mouse now boasts a different look and sensor. also I dont think a manufacturer that is getting editors at wired to use their keyboards isnt doing ODM's.

[Linkbane]

its been widely covered that the feenix shell was what was copied by other manufacturers. Seeing as how their new model of their mouse now boasts a different look and sensor. also I dont think a manufacturer that is getting editors at wired to use their keyboards isnt doing ODM's.

Others are copying Feenix design? LOL.

[Xaviz]

My name is Garrett, im one of the developers here at Feenix. We do sometimes get inquiries regarding the differences between these two mice, and I would be happy to explain the situation to you fully. When we first developed the first version of the Nascita we designed it in partnership with our old supplier due to lack of manpower (engineers, 3d designers, etc...) here at our company (this was when we first started up). Regardless we had a vision of what our first fully ergonomic mouse should be, and we were able to meet that vision nearly to the fullest. However one of the caveats of being a startup company is that finances are often limited, so to be able to develop the Nascita we had to agree to an AGENT (region restricted) ODM contract. This means that our original supplier was allowed to provide the tooling of the shell to European distributors since they were the ones that created the moulds and tooling for us. These European distributors however have no obligations as to what components, switches, quality checks, etc... to use. And bear in mind we underwent development of the Nascita 2 years ago, a year before these distributors began utilizing the shell for their own mice. However at the current time we are happy to say that we are now fully ODM with ALL of our products. Every Feenix product from our Dimora, to our upcoming Vitesse (optical mouse designed purely for pro gamers), Autore (mechanical keyboard), are developed in California all in house, and we develop the tooling and have full control and ownership of all intellectual property. We understand at the moment that since the Nascitas shell is still very similar to a product like the Darkglider that there is often times confusion regarding the products. Because of this we are actually working hard to push out our completely revamped Nascita that will have a completely different looking body, utilize revolutionary switch assembly, etc... Please understand we take great pride in developing our products in conjunction with pro gamers, and maintaing a high level of quality and customer support is of utmost importance to use. If you have any other questions feel free to shoot them my way.

Thanks,
Garrett

[IPT]

i got a bridge in brooklyn i can sell you =)

[FoxWolf1]

Let's be blunt about the Nascita. It's got a distinctly mediocre sensor and feature set, and an outrageous price. Why would it matter what anyone says about being able to deal with the flaws of the Nascita's sensor when you can spend half as much or less and not even have to worry about those flaws in the first place? If they did design it themselves, it's certainly nothing to be proud of.

Autore seems like more of the same.

Form over function plus marketing all the way to the bank.