Important note: This will not be the ultimate review of the Das Keyboard 4, just an average review of the ultimate model
I had originally started this as a reply to suby4me's review (
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=57578.0), but I decided to make a new thread instead of jacking his with my continued thoughts. I would still read his as it is interesting and has nice pictures.
My original thoughts from that thread:
Having received the ultimate version, I thought I'd add a few items of note.
I don't want to threadjack, but I really don't have enough to add to warrant a new thread IMO.
1 - Mine says Assembled in China. However, I recall reading somewhere that only the ultimate is assembled in China; the others in Taiwan. suby4me can say for certain 
2 - All of the stabs are costar, except the space bar, which uses cherry stabs. Interesting to see a mix.
3 - This may be nothing, but for some reason the numpad stabs use black wire with black plastic (nylon?) pieces. They are otherwise identical, but maybe the material is slightly different, resulting in a different feel. I can't see it though.
4 - The keycaps are, IMHO, thin and crummy. My Ducky shipped with thick PBT. Why can't Das get on board? 
So far, it seems to feel great, but I'll need to give it a few days to be certain. 
I have a few more things to add after having used it a bit, and I don't even need a few days.
I'm going to be fairly critical, as this is an expensive board. Keep in mind throughout that the build quality of this board and component parts is just spectacular. However, there is one aspect that completely ruins this board for me.
First, though, it's worth noting that this is a fairly large board in terms of surface area. The aluminum (or aluminium for you non-US folks) top plate extends exactly 1cm out along all sides of the board. This makes if significantly larger that it would otherwise need to be. Some may like this, but it's worth noting. The board still seems small, however, as that plate also gives it the illusion of being very thin.
That aluminum plate also makes the board feel very sturdy, which I love.
I know precisely how far that plate extends, by the way, because of the detachable rear foot of the board also functions as a ruler. As rulers go, it sucks because the marking are molded into the bright red plastic, but not colored differently, making it all but impossible to read. But I suspect it had this "functionality" only exists to give those who don't use it with the board a reason to keep it in their desk instead of throwing it away. It will probably cut down on the number of calls Das gets for replacements over the next few years. I'll continue my ruler review, however, on RulerHack.org
The media keys, volume control, and sleep button are all great. Those buttons are some sort of dome contact switch, but since they are "non-typing buttons", this doesn't really matter much. The volume knob is great. It is exposed on the right side of the board, so you can jog it up and down with a single finger, rather than having to grasp it and spin.
The media/sleep buttons could use some backlighting, as on the Ultimate they are colored black-on-black. But, since there are only four, once you know what they do, you shouldn't have much trouble keeping track of them.
The indicator LEDs are fairly good. They are very bright blue which, if you look at them directly from above, will leave dazzle spots in your eyes. However, the holes for them are very small, with the LED being recessed a bit, so when viewed from an indirect angle, like during most use, they are fine.
The built-in USB hub is super. I don't have USB 3.0 on this computer, but of course works fine on 2.0. The ports are at the top, so plugging something in shouldn't interfere at all with your mouse, etc.
Now, what for me may be the ultimate killer of this board's excellent potential and what is probably going to cause me to return it, if possible.
That awesome aluminum plate is extremely uncomfortable to rest your palms on while you are pausing from typing. If the edges had been beveled or rounded, this would not be a problem. However, it is basically just a piece of metal cut at a 90 degree angle which, due to extending a centimeter, digs into my palms and the sides of my thumbs. I cannot emphasize enough how uncomfortable this is. If not for the fact that it is sitting on my desk, and I am typing on it now, I would not have believed this would make it through any sort of user testing.
If you hold your hand differently than I while at rest, or use a separate palm rest, this may not be an issue for you.
For me, and I imagine others, it makes the board all but unusable.
There are a ton of boards with contoured palm rests built in to avoid exactly this sort of issue.
I honestly cannot believe that this would pass any kind of user acceptance testing. I am pretty bitter about this, as it completely ruins the ergonomics of an otherwise excellent board.
As I'm typing this review on it, all I can think of is how much I want to switch back to my other board. It's not painful by any measure, but it's like an itch. It gets more and more uncomfortable as you think about it.
One last item worth mentioning: If I hold the board right up to my nose, it smells faintly of wildflowers. I know it's probably some adhesive or other chemical that drops my IQ by several points every time I sniff, but it is really quite delightful. Manufacturers should take note of this, and consider intentionally perfuming their keyboards. But remember, a little goes a long way.
Build quality - 10/10
Smell - 10/10
Ergonomics - 0/10
I'm super disappointed right now
dansor
Edit 4/29/14 12:50pm to add USB hub info and minor changes
