Today I got a private message from the EBay seller who sold me my Filco Majestouch Ninja with Cherry MX Red. He said the words almost every geek wants to hear after purchasing a new toy; "I noticed you live in Brooklyn. So do I! I can come drop off the keyboard to you today instead of waiting for me to ship it". Earlier this day I had purchased the keyboard for $120 "barely used" as described by the seller. He took a train over to me and here I am typing on a keyboard he could have told me was brand new considering it is in PERFECT condition.
I opened it up and loved the look immensely. Pictures do not do the material justice as the entire keyboard has a matte finish with a slight rough texture. I love peripherals made out of this esque. I unplug my Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Stealth and the first thing I noticed while setting my new keyboard up, is that the USB cable is a bit shorter than I would have liked. Nevertheless, it barely makes it to my tower after passing through two desk loops. I don't have much play, but it is just before the point where I would deem a USB extension cable necessary. Once the keyboard is plugged in, I opened up a typing speed test to see how I liked typing on it. Now, I was coming from a Cherry MX Brown switch and have used a Blue one in the past as well, so my standards were high. I didn't get that immediate "WOW!" factor as I did going from rubber domes to mechanical (oh the nostalgia) and the only thing I kept hearing in my mind was a YouTube review I once saw and the statement "Cherry MX Red is all hype". I wasn't amazed here. I instantly got slightly bummed out, but was still happy with the purchase since I never had a "Tenkeyless" before. However, I was instantly making plans on how I would trade or sell this for a Cherry MX Brown or Blue. That was until I decided to play my game of choice (World of Warcraft).
I queued up for an instance as a healer and got right in. The SECOND I started moving my character I knew this was the switch for me (for gaming). The smooth linear easy to actuate keys had me feeling like I was on a cloud. I instantly felt smooth and sleek with my gestures, executing abilities perfectly without second guessing or making a mistype. I absolutely love it. I must say I took a risk buying the keyboard from a place I cannot just return or test, but besides the fact the Red Switches are sold out everywhere, you cannot simply test these switches by face rolling them in a store. You need to play your game of choice with it to really 'feel' what I am talking about. I thought what people described was always a bit exaggerated, but it is true. When you play with the switch FOR YOU, you know right away and it is most definitely something you feel without easily describing.
Now, this isn't to say it isn't good for typing, but what people state is most definitely true--it is much better for gaming than typing (IMO). I intend on getting a Blue Switch for typing at some point, but I game much more than I type so there isn't a rush. It would be more for a change of pace type thing and I have always had a soft spot for Blue Switches. It has something to do with that click--I love it.
So far the build quality from what I can see and feel is amazing. The keyboard is heavy and sturdy with no signs of sliding or bending. Even though I am light typist, I do not see it happening. I will say however, the keys with the metal bar (Space, Shift, Enter etc...) make a slight metallic sound when being pressed. Other than that the keyboard definitely has a more hollow sound when pressing keys because of the switch type and style of key. My Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Stealth has Brown Switches and while the keys feel sturdy on both keyboards, the Razer one seems a bit more stiff when pressing. The reason I am mentioning this is because it gives the keyboard the illusion of being made better. This is definitely the key type and you can tell that besides the bottoming out sound of the keys due to the Red Switches and low profile keys, the Filco is far superior in quality. By low profile I mean that they are the shorter of the two key types.
The chases feels extremely sturdy, made with better plastics, tight and solid. Where as the Blackwidow chassis is made with inferior plastic and feels hollow. However, regardless of what other posters seem to state, I don't think the Razer's quality is that bad. I put some keys from the Razer keyboard on this and it gave the same sound and solidness as when on the Razer. I might even go as far as to say it felt and sounded better.
Since I love the keyboard so much I went ahead and purchased black KBC PBT key caps with black engraved lettering and four blank red KBC PBT keys for the WASD cluster. This will most definitely give an even better feel to the keys than bigger ABS keys. I will do a review on those when I receiving them as well.
I was thinking about purchasing "O Rings" since I want to tighten up the keys a bit and the bottoming out is loud. I hear that KBC PBT key caps help. I also feel that a wrist rest is needed. I will most likely purchase the Filco leather wrist rest.
I hope you found this review helpful and informative! Post any questions and I will be glad to answer them.
^- Brink