XArmor U9BL Review

[Phaedrus2129]

http://hardwareaware.com/review/xarmor-u9bl/

Backlit keyboards, that is keyboards with LEDs illuminating the keys from behind, seem to be considered a “must have” for every respectable gamer. Currently the market for backlit keyboards is more or less cornered by companies like Logitech, Razer, Microsoft, and Saitek, who offer various gaming-oriented keyboards. However, these keyboards are all rubber dome or scissor switch boards, and use cheap diffusive lighting. While they may suffice for someone who just wants a glowy keyboard, they certainly won’t impress someone looking for a quality mechanical keyboard. But the vast majority of mechanical keyboards are not backlit; until recently the only company offering backlit keyboards was Deck, who makes very high quality, but feature-poor backlit keyboards.

Enter XArmor and the U9BL.

[gr1m]

Your conclusion is more suited to a score of 7/10 than it is to 8/10.

[Phaedrus2129]

Your conclusion is more suited to a score of 7/10 than it is to 8/10.

I was debating between 7.5 or 8. If I gave a 7.5 it would be because I felt that the keycaps were a huge problem. When it comes down to it, they aren't. They're better than 99.9% of backlit keyboard keycaps which are just painted. Deck is the only company using double shot keycaps, period. These funky dye-sub-rubber-coated-laser-engraved keycaps could be improved by being double shot, but it isn't a *huge* issue.

If I had to break down the point deductions, it would be
-0.5 -- MX blues on a gaming keyboard
-0.5 -- Rube Goldberg keycaps
-1.0 -- Price competition against Deck with an inferior product

Put it at $130 or $140 with MX browns and double shots and I would be very, very tempted to give it a 10/10, but would probably find some build quality issue to nitpick to bring it to 9.5.

[xtremerunnerars]

Your review's got me interested now, since I was previously looking at Decks.

Could you compare the glow to any of the Decks (specifically the Frost and Ice) as far as whether or not you think it would be annoying after some time or straining on the eyes?

Also, for the price (since I'm a student) how do you think it compares to a Filco in addition to the Decks?

[Phaedrus2129]

I haven't gotten my hands on a Deck before, so I can't comment on that.

A U9BL for $130 blows Filco out of the water, better keycaps, good build quality, backlighting, and media controls and hub and wrist rest, for $127.50 shipped, vs. $150 shipped for a Filco which is just a basic keyboard.

[chongyixiong]

I haven't gotten my hands on a Deck before, so I can't comment on that.

But you said, "until recently the only company offering backlit mechanical keyboards was Deck, who makes very high quality, but feature-poor backlit keyboards."

Yeah.  But if I wanted keyboards that glowed I'd move to Chernobyl.

Your sentiment might not be shared by other gamers alike and I do agree with that the Brown cherries are more suited for gaming as compared to the blues.

All in all, that's a pretty good review, but to give Xarmor justice, can I just point one thing out?

Those pictures are crappy in a sense that you used flash and all with at least a few pictures out of focus, only decent picture was the last one (provided by Xarmor) and the backlight in darkness pic.

I think you edited and posted up the article in the middle of the night, but maybe some natural outdoor shots or at least with some sunlight might have made the article more worthwhile?

Cheers, just my $0.02.

[Phaedrus2129]

My camera is craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa*breath*aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappppppppppppp. I'm saving for an SLR, in between keyboard purchases.

[chongyixiong]

My camera is craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa*breath*aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappppppppppppp. I'm saving for an SLR, in between keyboard purchases.

It's the lighting condition man.. I'm sure you could do better in daylight. Or borrow a decent camera (if you feel that your current one is inadequate) and take pictures in the day, not in the night.

PS: Why don't you put one of this in the reviews section?

[Phaedrus2129]

Maybe taking the picture in daylight could have helped, but there's no way to disable this camera's flash... Cheap Kodak piece of ****. And no one I know has an SLR or even a high-end point and shoot. I'm stuck until I save up a few hundred to get a decent refurbished camera, maybe a T2i or something.

[Homeless]

If they ever come out with a brown version at a cheaper price i'd be all over it

[Phaedrus2129]

Cheaper with MX browns would be unlikely, since MX browns cost more than MX blues.

[chongyixiong]

Lol.  This place is starting to sound like DPReview Forums.

It's a blog, Chong.  I thought the pics of the PCB were quite good and most reviewers never bother to open up the keyboard.

Well, sorry about that but I was thinking since his is one of the first in-depth reviews of the unit it might help other people (and Xarmor) if the pictures were taken better. He's not doing a disservice either right?

Maybe taking the picture in daylight could have helped, but there's no way to disable this camera's flash... Cheap Kodak piece of ****. And no one I know has an SLR or even a high-end point and shoot. I'm stuck until I save up a few hundred to get a decent refurbished camera, maybe a T2i or something.

Sorry for being anal, but this is what I do.

[washuai]

Yes, lighting can help even crappy cameras.  A camera that can't disable flash . . Cheap cameras in my experience means no flash or never use it flash not always flash on.  A disposable camera has that thing beat - was it free?

[instantkamera]

Lol.  This place is starting to sound like DPReview Forums.

Only the part where the canon-tards hang out. The STFers and Nikonians can generally behave themselves :tongue:

kidding of course, but perhaps we should follow the DPR model here and have a separate forum for each switch type...

Maybe taking the picture in daylight could have helped, but there's no way to disable this camera's flash... Cheap Kodak piece of ****.

Black electrical tape.

Also, flash can actually help in daylight, as fill for shadows. Especially when it is indirect/diffuse or fairly weak (i.e. cheap kodak camera).

[aegrotatio]

Doesn't your finger fit in front of the flash like mine does?  I'm definitely missing something, here.

[geonny]

What's the difference between the XArmor U9BL and the XArmor U9BL-S?  I don't see anything different when I read the specs, but the "S" is a few dollars cheaper, so that makes me think that there is something different.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

What's the difference between the XArmor U9BL and the XArmor U9BL-S?  I don't see anything different when I read the specs, but the "S" is a few dollars cheaper, so that makes me think that there is something different.

U9BL-S uses nonclicky MX Brown switches, U9BL uses clicky MX Blue switches.

[geonny]

U9BL-S uses nonclicky MX Brown switches, U9BL uses clicky MX Blue switches.

I like the clicky switches, so I think I'll order the U9BL.  I just got a Razor Blackwidow today, and I hate it.  The fonts they use on the keys are hard to read.  This keyboard is going in the trash.

Anyway, thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

[The Solutor]

I like the clicky switches, so I think I'll order the U9BL.  I just got a Razor Blackwidow today, and I hate it.  The fonts they use on the keys are hard to read.

Exactly, the fonts used on the blakcwidow aren't used even on the worst SF B movies, and the choice of reversing the lower/upper case legends, is probably more idiotic than the fonts itself.

[The Solutor]

Cheaper with MX browns would be unlikely, since MX browns cost more than MX blues.

This is a further proof that the selling price has nothing to do with the production cost.
A blue switch is obviously more costly to produce.

[RebelExtrm02]

I like the clicky switches, so I think I'll order the U9BL.  I just got a Razor Blackwidow today, and I hate it.  The fonts they use on the keys are hard to read.  This keyboard is going in the trash.

Anyway, thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

Make sure you order the U9BL off of ergogeek.com. It's the new revision that has all the problems of the first boards fixed. The new revision has a line on the spacebar instead of a dot. The one with the dot is the old one still sold some places and should be avoided.

[geonny]

Make sure you order the U9BL off of ergogeek.com. It's the new revision that has all the problems of the first boards fixed. The new revision has a line on the spacebar instead of a dot. The one with the dot is the old one still sold some places and should be avoided.

I ordered it through Amazon, and I'm now using it.  It has the line on the space bar.  Thanks for the tip though.

Just curious, but what problems did the first board have?

[geonny]

Exactly, the fonts used on the blakcwidow aren't used even on the worst SF B movies, and the choice of reversing the lower/upper case legends, is probably more idiotic than the fonts itself.

It just irritates me that you can't get a good view of the fonts from the advertising pictures.  If I had see the fonts, I'd never have ordered the keyboard.

It's hard to imagine why any company would put that font on a keyboard.  They must have received many complaints by now, yet they don't change it.  I guess they don't want to sell a lot of keyboards....come to think of it, they have no real website so I guess you can't write to them to complain if you wanted to.

[The Solutor]

They have the worst mail support ever seen, I had a reclusa and was a nice KB well built and pleasurable to type on, but that keyboard was sold by MS so the support, although far from perfect, was very different.

[geonny]

For some reason, the back light keeps going off.  I'll turn it on and set it to the brightness that I want, then for no reason, it'll just go  off.  It might take a few minutes or a few hours, but it just goes off.

It would be nice if the keyboard had an on/off switch that controlled the back light, that way, it could never go  off.  Whenever you use software to control something like that, it's never reliable.

[RebelExtrm02]

I ordered it through Amazon, and I'm now using it.  It has the line on the space bar.  Thanks for the tip though.

Just curious, but what problems did the first board have?

I read they had some finish problems with the keycaps andwith the coating and lettering as well as some problems with switches coming loose from bad soldering and the like. These have all been rectified in the new revision.

[geonny]

I read they had some finish problems with the keycaps andwith the coating and lettering as well as some problems with switches coming loose from bad soldering and the like. These have all been rectified in the new revision.

Okay, thanks.  You'd think that a $140 keyboard would have better quality control....well, hopefully they do now.:smile:

[RebelExtrm02]

Okay, thanks.  You'd think that a $140 keyboard would have better quality control....well, hopefully they do now.:smile:

No doubt, but they did learn their lesson and make a good board now. Unfortunately, they left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths and scared of some potential customers. I forgive them though.

[The Solutor]

I read they had some finish problems with the keycaps andwith the coating and lettering as well as some problems with switches coming loose from bad soldering and the like. These have all been rectified in the new revision.

No doubt that the early models had some glitches, as happened and happen to almost any industrial device, but here, criticize Xarmor become a national sport, and the bias on the comment is more than evident.

The u9 its just a good keyboard sold at a relatively cheap price (for the US customers at least), which is still unbeaten by any backlit mechanical keyboard.

We will see if the mionix one will manage to do it.

[geonny]

I still like the Razer Black Widow better.  Better built, designed, and nice firmware/software.

Yes, but if are a two fingered, hunt and peck typer like I am, you need to be able to read the keys, and you can't with a Black Widow. (you'd think that someone with a brain would tell them to change their font to something that's readable.)