KUL ES-87, KBParadise V80, or CODE 104

[Profoundsoup]

Trying to decide what keyboard to buy. Any opinions? I know that the KUL uses cherry stabs and the KBP uses costar so does the CODE but i've heard people say the CODE keys are squeaky so I still have no idea what keyboard to get.

[file_id]

The CoDE keyboard uses "costar-style" wire stabs. Not a really big fan of the stabilizers on the code because it is a real pain in the ass to put the keycap back on since the tolerances are tighter than other boards that use the same style. And yes the modifiers squeak because they aren't lubed. Lubing them alleviates the problem.

[cptmullet]

can confirm that the CODE is mildly squeaky unlubed, and it comes stock with ABS caps which I'm not a fan of

I suck at putting on wire stabilizers so I'm not sure if they were more or less difficult than anything else

[hwood34]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

[saturnotaku]

With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

The CODE has one of the best feature sets of any keyboard, but oh the ping. Dear Sweet Jeebus the ping.

I would say get the KUL ES-87.

[Profoundsoup]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

What if Im not looking to go in and clip each of the switches, is it still a good keyboard?

[jwaz]

With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

The CODE has one of the best feature sets of any keyboard, but oh the ping. Dear Sweet Jeebus the ping.

I would say get the KUL ES-87.

I got a CODE through work and the ping was way too bad. I RMAed it and even the replacement was bad. However, my coworkers is totally fine. :/


At this point I'm going for the KUL 87 w/ clears.

[Profoundsoup]

With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

The CODE has one of the best feature sets of any keyboard, but oh the ping. Dear Sweet Jeebus the ping.

I would say get the KUL ES-87.

Damn, now I have to make a choice, the V80 or the ES-87. One uses cherry stabs and the other used costar. What makes this hard is I have the steelseries 6gv2 and the cherry stabs are perfect but maybe that is due to using MX red switches.....idk

I got a CODE through work and the ping was way too bad. I RMAed it and even the replacement was bad. However, my coworkers is totally fine. :/


At this point I'm going for the KUL 87 w/ clears.

[hwood34]

With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

The CODE has one of the best feature sets of any keyboard, but oh the ping. Dear Sweet Jeebus the ping.

I would say get the KUL ES-87.

Damn, now I have to make a choice, the V80 or the ES-87. One uses cherry stabs and the other used costar. What makes this hard is I have the steelseries 6gv2 and the cherry stabs are perfect but maybe that is due to using MX red switches.....idk

I got a CODE through work and the ping was way too bad. I RMAed it and even the replacement was bad. However, my coworkers is totally fine. :/


At this point I'm going for the KUL 87 w/ clears.

Well, youre not clipping switches, you're clipping the stabilizer wire. It doesn't take very much time, but definitely worth it. I still prefer cherry stabs anyway though.

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

What if Im not looking to go in and clip each of the switches, is it still a good keyboard?

[aref]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

What if Im not looking to go in and clip each of the switches, is it still a good keyboard?

I had a KUL for a time and didn't clip the Cherry stabilizers; and the keys felt great with just a hint of an occasional faint ping. I prefer Cherry stabilizers to Costar's; and KUL keyboards to WASD's.

[Profoundsoup]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

What if Im not looking to go in and clip each of the switches, is it still a good keyboard?

I had a KUL for a time and didn't clip the Cherry stabilizers; and the keys felt great with just a hint of an occasional faint ping. I prefer Cherry stabilizers to Costar's; and KUL keyboards to WASD's.

Just curious, why do you like cherries over costars?

[saturnotaku]

I like them better because it is far easier to change keycaps on Cherry versus Costar.

[Profoundsoup]

I like them better because it is far easier to change keycaps on Cherry versus Costar.

And they dont feel any different to you?

[dante]

I prefer Cherry simply because the Costar ones always give an (to me) unappealing metallic clanking noise.

That being said, people act as if swapping keycaps on costar stabs is like open heart surgery.  It's not.  Even with my big chubby hands I don't have any issues.

[Profoundsoup]

I prefer Cherry simply because the Costar ones always give an (to me) unappealing metallic clanking noise.

That being said, people act as if swapping keycaps on costar stabs is like open heart surgery.  It's not.  Even with my big chubby hands I don't have any issues.

lol right? All you need is something small to pull the metal bar out and then it just pops out and their ya go!

[saturnotaku]

That being said, people act as if swapping keycaps on costar stabs is like open heart surgery.  It's not.  Even with my big chubby hands I don't have any issues.

I've found the simplicity of changing caps of Costar boards to vary wildly depending on the keyboard and caps you want to use.

[Profoundsoup]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

Why would you pick the KUL over the V80?

[hwood34]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

Why would you pick the KUL over the V80?

Well, I don't really have experience with the v80, it's just that, for the most part, the ES-87 is unmatched in quality for stock

[Profoundsoup]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

Why would you pick the KUL over the V80?

Well, I don't really have experience with the v80, it's just that, for the most part, the ES-87 is unmatched in quality for stock

Alright I took your word on  it and ordered it!

[hwood34]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

Why would you pick the KUL over the V80?

Well, I don't really have experience with the v80, it's just that, for the most part, the ES-87 is unmatched in quality for stock

Alright I took your word on  it and ordered it!

Glad we could be of assistance

[aref]

The KUL is definitely the best of all three, one of the best stock boards out there. Some people like the feeling of Costar stabs more, but if you clip Cherry stabs they feel just as good. With the Code, I've never used it but there seems to be a prevailing problem of ping.

What if Im not looking to go in and clip each of the switches, is it still a good keyboard?

I had a KUL for a time and didn't clip the Cherry stabilizers; and the keys felt great with just a hint of an occasional faint ping. I prefer Cherry stabilizers to Costar's; and KUL keyboards to WASD's.

Just curious, why do you like cherries over costars?

Cherry stabilizers feel smoother and more stable to me; and yes, they're quieter, which I prefer. As with everything keyboard-related, it's personal preference.

[NorrisB]

Cherry stabilizers totally changes the feel of the switch, they're pretty still and took some time to get used to.  Costar feel more like the original switch.  I guess the KUL is the best of the ones you listed.  I like the fact that the KUL has rubber feet like the Filco. 

[NorrisB]

If i would recommend you a keyboard not listed I would buy the Filco Majestouch II Ninja.  I don't like how the caps like and scroll lock are designed on the KUL.  The Filco has a much better design, you wont lose the scroll lock and caps lock lighting when you change to better key caps.  It also has the vastly superior Costar stabilizers.

[file_id]

That being said, people act as if swapping keycaps on costar stabs is like open heart surgery.  It's not.  Even with my big chubby hands I don't have any issues.

The CODE keyboard has modified stabilizers that are a tighter fit than other costar stabilizers. This is because the stabilizers on the CODE keyboard are slightly different to fit around the LEDs so it's harder to put them back in. Most other companies go with the cherry stabilizers if they put LEDs in their boards.

[NorrisB]

I like them better because it is far easier to change keycaps on Cherry versus Costar.

And they dont feel any different to you?

They feel A LOT different.  They feel extremely stiff at first, over time they do loosen up some but the Costar's feel a better.  They're more snappy and they're a little bit harder to change. 

[l1berty0rd34th]

That being said, people act as if swapping keycaps on costar stabs is like open heart surgery.  It's not.  Even with my big chubby hands I don't have any issues.

I've found the simplicity of changing caps of Costar boards to vary wildly depending on the keyboard and caps you want to use.

My CODE arrived the other day and I replaced the caps with Vortex PBT blanks. Everything went smoothly fine, except for one part: the + and Enter on the numpad. I swear to god, by the time I was done (took around 10 minutes each) I was ready to burn my house down.

On a side note, the bottoming out of the thick PBT does a suprisingly job of masking the loud ping of the Costar stabs for the most part.

[KHAANNN]

Costar's shouldn't ping (ping == the sound of the switch spring)
If you don't lube them, they clink a bit, when you lube them, they're the best stabilisers, imo

The stabilizer might be hitting the key itself, in that case you need to sand the inside of the key a bit, or lube the middle of the stabilizer wire, or just push the stabilizer construct further a bit

You can change keycaps on cherry's easier, yet if the keycaps are loose a bit, you can't easily put a sheet in between the stabiliser inserts, you can easily do this with Costar's, so imo, Costar >> Cherry

Also the pings obviously come from the switches themselves, so it's just luck getting a set of switches that doesn't ping, unless the factories segment and eliminate switches beforehand, however this seems not to be the case, unless you mod the switches, they ping, I'm unsure how KUL keyboards don't ping, almost all switches ping, you can easily hear them on Clear's/Green's

The WASD stabilisers also fall down from some of the keycaps, yet you can easily put something in between and make them stay, you can't do this with Cherry's, it would be near impossible

Long story short, imo, none of the keyboards are perfect, choose your set of caveats :)