Can you give me some pointers on buying an AEK? Most of the sales on ebay are rather cold; I'd like to know the keyboard that I am buying came from a loving home and was well looked after and cleaned.
What I don't know:
How would you describe the main three switches (white, orange, pink) in terms of sound, tactility, and pressure.
Is one more trouble free than the other?
If you had to pick only the 1 or 2, which and why?
What would be the closest to a low effort switch like a brown/blue but with lots of tactility? (I tried Black Alps before and they were a little heavy for me.)
What I do know:
The AEK2 is supposed to be quieter, less force on the keys. Has semi clam shell design for cleaning; the AEK1 may be a little more of a PITA to unassemble to clean.
I don't know if I can be of a great help, but here it goes. Other may correct me if I am wrong.
First and foremost, you need to find an ADB adapter is you are going to be able to use an AEK or AEK II as is without moving the switches into an other keyboard.
Unfortunately, it's hard to say in what shape the keyboard you are buying is going to be. For example, the AEK II I bought was quite clean and required minimal cleaning. I was pleasantly surprised to see only dust after I removed the keys. The AEK on the other hand was quite dirty. In fact I have not cleaned it yet. Some keys required me to opened them and blow canned air to get them to work. I am on the look for another one.
I have not had any experience with the pink Alps, but what I can say is that the black Alps switch is not a good one to judge Alps switches in general. White complicated Alps are clicky, just like the blue ones. The AEK comes with orange Alps switches which are tactile, but non-clicky. They are very smooth, and you can get some noise from the keys bottoming out and springing back into their initial position. The AEK II comes with cream complicated Alps which are tactile and non-clicky as well, but also have rubber dampers. Some people love rubber dampers, some hate them. You can only start to like them, if you are going to like them, after you have spent some time with them, and learned to apply the right amount of force. I found that if I applied too much force, they feel mushy. It may be just a perception thing.
As far as the amount of force required compared to the Cherry MX blue and Cherry MX brown, I would say that complicated Alps tend to require a bit more force to fire. The orange felt a little bit lighter than the cream Alps in my opinion. However, like I said, once you know the cream Alps with rubber dampers, they are nice switches to type on.
If I were to pick AEK or AEK II, which one would I pick? Honestly, I would prefer to not having to pick. They are different, and good in their own ways. They are different in the feel and in the sound they make, but both offer a nice level of satisfaction when used. In fact, I would love to have a complicated white or blue Alps keyboard. I have spent very little time on them, and I quite liked them.
I have been fortunate to have been able to try quite a few keyboard switches. There are still a lot more to try, but I have lifted my foot off the gas pedal so to speak. I have moved on, a bit.
Hope this helps. Good luck in your hunt.
