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Author Topic: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?  (Read 1892 times)

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Offline macguy80

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EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« on: Mon, 21 July 2014, 23:27:09 »
Well, when it came to Cherry boards, apart from Cherry itself, I thought I was going to get a Leopold from EK.

But now I see that they no longer carry Leopold, and have switched to KUL for their Cherry offerings.

Is this a good or a bad thing? Can anyone shed any light on what happened?

It *is* heartening to see that KUL seems to be getting good reviews from what I've read here so far.
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Offline dustinhxc

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 21 July 2014, 23:29:33 »
I have barely heard of KUL, that is sad if they truly dont carry Leopold anymore..  :eek:
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Offline rowdy

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 21 July 2014, 23:35:24 »
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Offline ranker

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 22 July 2014, 08:03:01 »
I can't think of any business reason for EK to drop the Leopold line in exchange for the KUL, non exclusive, line.  They are probably just waiting for their stock, they sell a lot of keyboards and probably run out quickly.  But why don't you simply give them a call to ask directly?  Brian the owner is a super cool guy and answers the phone personally every time.  Great company to purchase from.
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Offline strict

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 22 July 2014, 08:22:07 »
I haven't seen anything but praise for the KUL boards. A lot of users are saying they're even better than Filco boards which are/were the gold standard around here for mass-produced keyboards. I cant say I've ever seen nearly as much praise for any Cherry Leopold board as what the KUL's are getting so I could understand if EK dropped them to carry a better product that has more standard key caps.
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Offline dante

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 22 July 2014, 11:25:21 »
Sad that the FC750R isn't coming ... would have made for an interesting battle
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Offline MechKB

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 22 July 2014, 18:35:10 »
Leopold is reserving most of their stock for their Korean home market, leading to shortages internationally. Or, at least, that's what we understand.
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Offline noons

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 22 July 2014, 21:50:10 »
Quote from: ranker
I can't think of any business reason for EK to drop the Leopold line in exchange for the KUL, non exclusive, line.  They are probably just waiting for their stock, they sell a lot of keyboards and probably run out quickly.  But why don't you simply give them a call to ask directly?  Brian the owner is a super cool guy and answers the phone personally every time.  Great company to purchase from.


I am not really sure about that. Elitekeyboards (since I have known about them) has only carried one style of 70% cherry mx keyboards at any given time, that is with the exception of them selling off old stock of filcos. Every review I have read so far seems to state that the KUL is not only better then the leopold, but also even filco. Also seeing how KUL is US based, it may be much easier for elitekeyboards to obtain stock. Personally I just don't see a reason to purchase a leopold 70% since the KUL came out.. Better build quality (including pcb), and better yet a standard spacebar! 
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Offline Puddsy

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 22 July 2014, 22:00:09 »
EK is not dropping leopold

it's actually the opposite

Leopold has basically become a household name in SC2, which is largely (read:almost entirely) Korean at this point. Leopold knows their market, and thus, is staying within it.

personally, I love the KUL, and I hope they come out with more switch types soon. The only major one they're still missing is blue. (black/red/brown/clear are all available on EK iirc)

Also the FC750r will probably never see foreign release, so hendyzone will probably be the only source.
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Offline macguy80

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Re: EK: Leopold -> KUL ?
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 22 July 2014, 22:02:56 »
Very true, it seems. The KUL boards are getting great reviews, so I'll probably get myself a board with clears. I would have used them for my cherry blacks, except that I found a Cherry-brand board. I do wish KUL used PBT keycaps. That's one area where my Topre board and vintage Apple keyboards have spoiled me ;)
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