Actual difference between Plum and Topre keyboards?

[iHateKnives]

Okay, I know that those two have different sliders, PCBs, case, and Plum has RGB. Some Plum boards also have Bluetooth 4.0, lol.

If I replace the domes of a Plum with BKE Lights/Heavies then doesn't that make them on the same level as Topre (ignoring the case*)? I don't think either of those two use fancy springs so that part doesn't matter, right? Can someone shed light on this?

*Looking into making a wooden case anyways

[zslane]

On the "same level" in what way?

BKE domes are not exactly the same as Topre domes, so there will still be a difference either way. Whether or not you can detect that difference is only something you can determine by actually trying them out and comparing to a genuine Topre board. Unfortunately, the overall feel of the switches will be affected by the other components and their build quality, so you'll never be comparing apples to apples in any event.

[tp4tissue]

You're looking for a BETTER or WORSE  answer,   because there is a Price difference.


But in the case of these 2 products,  they're both very low tech, and low purpose.. 

It's like asking the question,  Which pencil is better, the yellow one, or the blue one..   



Is there a difference,  YES

Does one function better ? NO



The topre zealots will often come and Affirm their purchase.. but  consider the ROLE of the keyboard first,  what you already own is certainly enough,  what you're trying to buy, is that happy feeling of owning something new and (supposedly) better than what OTHER people own..


I'm not telling you not to buy one,    I just want you to first understand what you're actually looking for.

[Hyde]

Ehhhhhh I feel like everyone's complicating things, here I'll give you a simple answer, you're asking the difference between BKE in Topre vs BKE in Plum keyboard right?

Let's break it down in parts:

Domes:  Probably the part that influence the feel the most, but since your goal is to swap both to BKE in this regard this is identical on both.
Spring:  I believe most of Topre's feel come from domes mainly, the spring is mainly there to activate the swtich.  I remember someone said it attribute to maybe 5g weight, so worse case scenario it's probably less than 1~2g difference but I highly doubt it will be that off.
Sliders:  This is another part that might contribute to the feel difference a lot.  Depending on the material and tolerance on this it might wobble a little bit more or having more friction.  I don't have experience with Plum board so I'm not too sure.
Case:  This will change sound a lot too but since you're using your own case so this will be irrelevant.
Keycaps:  I'm hoping Plum is also using PBT caps.  But even in Cherry different PBT keycaps can vary a lot so hopefully someone with Plum keyboard can chime in.

Realistically we're looking at:

Dome:  Doesn't matter.
Spring:  Doesn't matter.
Sliders:  Probably matter a little.
Case:  Doesn't matter.
Keycaps:  Probably matter a little.

So based from this I'd imagine there probably would be a difference but it will be very minor.  How acceptable it is will depending on how OCD you are LOL.

For me I'd imagine it would bug me, but you have to decide yourself to see if the price difference is worth the difference in feel and how much of a perfectionist you are.

[mseaworthy]

I’ve got HHKBs and Plums. Plum is a great board for the money, but there’s clearly refinement in the HHKB slider that can’t be replicated with 3rd party / replacement parts. The HHKB cap quality is clearly better. The Plum’s caps are thick PBT and good quality, but the font printing is not clean like the HHKB.

There’s also occasional, subtle reverberation or pinging in the Plum from the metal plate. HHKB’s plate is plastic and has a more forgiving bottom out.

Everyone must judge if the superior refinement in the HHKB worth the premium cost. I think both products cost too much but if you take the Plum as the baseline, you can make a case they HHKB is “fairly priced.”

I have BKE domes in my HHKB and find it a great improvement. To answer your question, putting BKE domes in both doesn’t put them on the same level. But I don’t think you’d be dissatisfied with the pimped out Plum unless you had an HHKB present to compare it with.