Possible to swap 45g topre out with 55g?

[granola bar enthusiast]

I am looking at getting an HHKB Professional2 and saw Taeha Types' sound test featuring 55g topre on the board and was wondering how I could swap my own to 55g as I feel 45g will be too light for me.

Or do I have it all wrong and 55g isn't about weight?

[Maledicted]

I am looking at getting an HHKB Professional2 and saw Taeha Types' sound test featuring 55g topre on the board and was wondering how I could swap my own to 55g as I feel 45g will be too light for me.

Or do I have it all wrong and 55g isn't about weight?

I'm no expert, but Topre baords have discrete domes. BKE markets replacement domes specifically for Topre boards, but they're not exactly the same as the factory domes that come in any boards.

All I have is a 55g 87u and I think it is quite nice. Seems stiffer to me than 55g in something like MX and clones. If I remember right, even if you got one HHKB, one Realforce and one Leopold board with the same OEM-stated weightings, they may all feel different. What weighting are you used to in more conventional boards?

[granola bar enthusiast]

I am looking at getting an HHKB Professional2 and saw Taeha Types' sound test featuring 55g topre on the board and was wondering how I could swap my own to 55g as I feel 45g will be too light for me.

Or do I have it all wrong and 55g isn't about weight?

I'm no expert, but Topre baords have discrete domes. BKE markets replacement domes specifically for Topre boards, but they're not exactly the same as the factory domes that come in any boards.

All I have is a 55g 87u and I think it is quite nice. Seems stiffer to me than 55g in something like MX and clones. If I remember right, even if you got one HHKB, one Realforce and one Leopold board with the same OEM-stated weightings, they may all feel different. What weighting are you used to in more conventional boards?

I am currently using some 67g bottom out Dark magic girls (tactile mx-style switches with P shaped bump) but have tried out gateron yellows before that I overlubed to hell and back to make it feel heavier and it ended up feeling like around a 72g bottom out that i used for a few months but found it a bit too heavy

[Maledicted]

I am currently using some 67g bottom out Dark magic girls (tactile mx-style switches with P shaped bump) but have tried out gateron yellows before that I overlubed to hell and back to make it feel heavier and it ended up feeling like around a 72g bottom out that I was comfortable with

All variables the same as a 55g 87u, I think that might be a pretty good fit. I use box jades pretty regularly and my Realforce seemed just a tad stiffer than those, going from memory. I could compare them though when I'm home, if I remember to.

The BKE v2 product page has a sample pack you could try. They claim that the heavy redux domes bottom out around 65g.

Apparently v1 is supposed to be a little more tactile, and they have a freaking 90g dome.

I have 0 experience with any of those though. I have just used 45g Niz and 55g Topre in the 87u. I like both.

[Riverman]

Unless you luck out and find someone selling a set of domes from a 55g Realforce, you're probably going to have to go with something from BKE.  It's not all that hard to swap out the domes, just time consuming.  Topre keyboards generally have two large sheets that cover most of the alpha keys, and then a bunch of singles and strips of 3 and 4 domes that cover the rest of the keyboard.  BKE's V2 domes come in sheets just like the originals, which makes it quite a bit faster to swap them over, and reduces the chances of getting a dome or two misaligned.

[livewirerc]

I am looking at getting an HHKB Professional2 and saw Taeha Types' sound test featuring 55g topre on the board and was wondering how I could swap my own to 55g as I feel 45g will be too light for me.

Or do I have it all wrong and 55g isn't about weight?

When the HHKB BT first came out, I bought an R1 87u that was 55g Topre and harvested the domes to swap into the HHKB. That was my main board for years, and I loved it. I recently restored it to stock to pass on to a friend, and am going to re-use the 55g domes in a Sunset Blvd Heavy Grail once it gets here. The R1 87u ended up getting BKE domes, which are dope but an entirely different experience than OEM.

If it matters, I've also swapped 30g domes from a Leopold into an HHKB so I have the entire range of OEM, as well as a whole mess of Des and BKE flavors to choose from.

[HungerMechanic]

I am currently using some 67g bottom out Dark magic girls (tactile mx-style switches with P shaped bump) but have tried out gateron yellows before that I overlubed to hell and back to make it feel heavier and it ended up feeling like around a 72g bottom out that i used for a few months but found it a bit too heavy

I've typed on those.

I'd say offhand that 67G Magic Girl and SP Star Purple are similar in intensity to 45 G Niz [which is really like 49 G], and maybe a 45 G Topre board that's on the lighter end of the so-called '45 G' spectrum.

45 G Electro-capacitative is more of a middle-weight, and is comparable to middle-weight MX tactiles. It's definitely heavier in operation than light-tactiles like MX Brown. 45 G Niz and light 45 G Topre feels kind of like 62G U4 Boba in the MX world, which is a medium-heavy tactile.

I'd say that 55 G Topre is comparable to an MX heavy tactile, at least a T1/Kiwi, maybe something like a 72 G Holy Boba/Panda. Maybe even a 78G Holy Boba with a Zealio V2 leaf. Of course, the force curves are different.

The real sensation of 55 G Topre is a thick, rich carpet of tactility that force just disappears into. It's really great with something like PBT MT3 keycaps. I'm not sure about 55 G Topre for sustained typing, but most people should be fine with the individual keypress. It'll be easier to jump from 67 G medium tactiles > 55 G Topre than it would be from MX Brown.

Personally, I suspect that generic 45 G Topre is an unhappy medium between rich awesome 55 G and light + easy 30-35 G. I wish my Niz was 35 G, all else about it is good.


As far as dome swapping goes, take a look at these:

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/niz-mx-compatable-topre-sliders/5752/20

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/mod-niz-plum75-bke-dome-swap-review-or-let-the-modder-beware/2415

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/des-pink-domes-typing-video-comparison-to-stock-55g/12432/7

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/bke-redux-domes-vs-stock-domes/4874


and especially...

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/a-thread-on-topre-modding/13265

[absyrd]

I love 55g HHKBs. I don't like silenced ones, though. I prefer more tactility, and I think the plastic case mount of the Pro 2 provides for an even better feeling of the true topre sound and bounce. Give it a shot! You can always swap back.

[HungerMechanic]

Yeah. I think the 45 G HHKB will be about the right weight for sustained typing, OP might not have to do anything except buy it.

Can always switch to BKE domes if more weight / tactility is needed.

[absyrd]

Yep. Also, HHKB Pro 2 45g feels a bit more tactile than the new series. Wonderful board for many years.

[granola bar enthusiast]

I am currently using some 67g bottom out Dark magic girls (tactile mx-style switches with P shaped bump) but have tried out gateron yellows before that I overlubed to hell and back to make it feel heavier and it ended up feeling like around a 72g bottom out that i used for a few months but found it a bit too heavy

I've typed on those.

I'd say offhand that 67G Magic Girl and SP Star Purple are similar in intensity to 45 G Niz [which is really like 49 G], and maybe a 45 G Topre board that's on the lighter end of the so-called '45 G' spectrum.

45 G Electro-capacitative is more of a middle-weight, and is comparable to middle-weight MX tactiles. It's definitely heavier in operation than light-tactiles like MX Brown. 45 G Niz and light 45 G Topre feels kind of like 62G U4 Boba in the MX world, which is a medium-heavy tactile.

I'd say that 55 G Topre is comparable to an MX heavy tactile, at least a T1/Kiwi, maybe something like a 72 G Holy Boba/Panda. Maybe even a 78G Holy Boba with a Zealio V2 leaf. Of course, the force curves are different.

The real sensation of 55 G Topre is a thick, rich carpet of tactility that force just disappears into. It's really great with something like PBT MT3 keycaps. I'm not sure about 55 G Topre for sustained typing, but most people should be fine with the individual keypress. It'll be easier to jump from 67 G medium tactiles > 55 G Topre than it would be from MX Brown.

Personally, I suspect that generic 45 G Topre is an unhappy medium between rich awesome 55 G and light + easy 30-35 G. I wish my Niz was 35 G, all else about it is good.


As far as dome swapping goes, take a look at these:

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/niz-mx-compatable-topre-sliders/5752/20

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/mod-niz-plum75-bke-dome-swap-review-or-let-the-modder-beware/2415

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/des-pink-domes-typing-video-comparison-to-stock-55g/12432/7

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/bke-redux-domes-vs-stock-domes/4874


and especially...

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/a-thread-on-topre-modding/13265

thank you all! I will take your advice and try out the 45g topre and see if i want to swap to 55g or some BKE domes

[Cosmin]

The 45g in my recently tried and returned HHKB were significantly lighter than my stock 67g zilents v2 so I’m unsure about the comparison with medium - heavy MX switches. Perhaps is was new and in time Topre domes lose elasticity?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HungerMechanic]

I may be biased, since the 45 G domes in my FC660C were closer to 50 G. And my Niz 45 G domes are 49-50 G.

But I have tried other people's 45 G silenced Topre, and it was more like a 62 G MX tactile than 67.