Best quality keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches?

[phxn]

Been using a Realforce 87U 55g for years and it's great for typing. But for gaming my fingers become fatigued pretty quickly.

Can anyone recommend a good quality keyboard with PBT keycaps and Cherry MX Red switches?

Many thanks.

[SpAmRaY]

Leopold FC900R

[atarione]

i guess.. if you don't mind the cherry stabilizers that is a good suggestion certainly.

While it does come with pad printed  no seriously wth Filco... abs keycaps..   I adore my MT2 TKL mx-red keyboard.. just fantastic besides the keycaps.. I put Vortex black PBT doubleshots (i bought on massdrop) on mine...    I have been gaming w/ this one nearly every day for well over a year and it has been perfect.   I like the costar stabilizers much better myself.   Not the cheapest solution by a longs shot I guess, but I'm well pleased with mine.  If TKL isn't your bag obviously the full size MT2 is a fine choice also.

[losing_ctrl]

Leopold FC900R

Yes, Leopold is a worthy contender for "best quality keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches." I'm typing on my Leopold FC750R and it feels quite premium/high quality. I'd also like to hear what folks say about other options.

EDIT: Also take a look at Leopold FC980M - I'm really wanting one of these but would like to see it in MX Clears or MX Greens.

[klennkellon]

My suggestion is a bit overkill but Matias Quiet Linears (around the same weighting as MX Reds IIRC) in a Northgate Omnikey would be awesome. Virtually indestructible chassis and the Matias are a lot smoother.

[tp4tissue]

ERGODOX

[Corsa1r]

I just got a Leopold FC660M with Mx Reds as an answer to giving my Type-S a rest from paper-writing, while maintaining a 65-ish% layout and having a better option for general use/gaming with that form factor.  I was sold on getting a Leopold with reds after seeing this video:

Mine sounds exactly the same as the 750R in the video and feels very smooth.  I think the padding inside each case Leopold uses is a good combination with Mx Reds.

I bought the navy-blank PBT version from mechanicalkeyboards.com for $109 shipped, and it got to me in literally a few days.  I highly recommend Leopold.

[OfTheWild]

my introduction to mech boards was actually with a Corsair K95 with reds... beautiful board. Huge though. I really liked reds especially with good quality caps instead of the thin abs ones that corsair ships with.

[phxn]

Cheers all.

So now I need to find a place in the UK that sells the Leopold FC900R with US ANSI layout.

$45 delivery from US is steep

[zslane]

My favorite ANSI board with MX Reds is the Filco Majestouch-2. I like it so much I have three.

However, I can't really speak to the quality of the stock keycaps since the first thing I did was put SA or DSA keycaps on them.

[skuko]

FC750RT

[Puddsy]

MJ2/ES87

[Hyde]

+1 on Filco Majestouch 2

I can't stand Cherry Stabilizer it just feels scratchy to me, on the other hand Costar Stabilizer feels like it doesn't exist (which is good so you only feel your switch).

Only drawback is Costar Stabilizer generally don't play well with thick keycaps.  But I'd still buy a Filco over other boards.

There is a rumor that the limited edition Filco Linear R (prior to MX Red mass production) have even smoother MX Reds.

[OfTheWild]

my biggest issues with costar stabs were the spacebar on the leopold and trying to jam in the aftermarket pbt space... ended up snapping a post on the stabilizer and then also still having to grind off the extra posts on the spacebar itself and ended up breaking that too. Giant mess that had to be fixed with glue and wishful thinking.

[saxophone]

I use a Tesoro Durandal G1N at work. It was rather cheap for a fullsize keyboard, the outside/frame appearance is pretty hit or miss for people but I have to say the construction is really robust. It shows no signs of bending if I grab the sides and twist by force and it definitely passes requirements to pass as a blunt weapon.

No fancy stuff like back light and whatever but passes for games and office stuff.

[hurst]

+1 on Filco Majestouch 2

I can't stand Cherry Stabilizer it just feels scratchy to me, on the other hand Costar Stabilizer feels like it doesn't exist (which is good so you only feel your switch).

Only drawback is Costar Stabilizer generally don't play well with thick keycaps.  But I'd still buy a Filco over other boards.

There is a rumor that the limited edition Filco Linear R (prior to MX Red mass production) have even smoother MX Reds.

What is a Filco Linear R?  Any links?

[phxn]

My first Mechanical was a Filco MJ2 a few years ago, with MX Blues. I hated the keycaps though, where can I get high quality PBT keycaps that work well with it?

Found these, they have good reviews... only they are more a dark brown rather than black.

http://www.keyboardco.com/product/double_shot_filco_104_key_usa_keyset.asp

[zslane]

Those are ABS not PBT, but if you like SA keycaps they might do well for you. They are not a fully sculpted profile either (2-2-3-3-3).

[_PixelNinja]

Anything Leopold. In my experience they are more refined in sound and feel than most (if not all) production keyboards.

[atarione]

My first Mechanical was a Filco MJ2 a few years ago, with MX Blues. I hated the keycaps though, where can I get high quality PBT keycaps that work well with it?

Found these, they have good reviews... only they are more a dark brown rather than black.

http://www.keyboardco.com/product/double_shot_filco_104_key_usa_keyset.asp

yeah.. the stock Filco keycaps are an abomination... I wish they'd fix that and put something decent on..oh well...  The double shot Vortex keycaps I have are quite good (imho) fit well, feel nice... however I can't find them for sale anyplace now... which does kind of stink...   I wish massdrop with drop them again, I'd buy another couple sets

[dorkvader]

+1 on Filco Majestouch 2

I can't stand Cherry Stabilizer it just feels scratchy to me, on the other hand Costar Stabilizer feels like it doesn't exist (which is good so you only feel your switch).

Only drawback is Costar Stabilizer generally don't play well with thick keycaps.  But I'd still buy a Filco over other boards.

There is a rumor that the limited edition Filco Linear R (prior to MX Red mass production) have even smoother MX Reds.

What is a Filco Linear R?  Any links?

it was one of the first keyboards available in the US with cherry red switches. (back in 2011 I believe, the infamous "summer of ping") it was also a *lot* more expensive due to the limited / exclusive nature (searches say about $200). I have one of the other early MX red keyboards, the G80-3494 and the red switches in it are no different than modern ones. I think reds were introduced to the Asian market before they became available to OEMs like costar (filco). My 3493 was produced W25 of 00 according to the box, and specifically says on it "RED SWITCH LINEAR CONFIRMATION". It's also one of the few G80-3000 with NKRO.

@OP, I recommend topre 30G uniform. It's almost linear, doesn't feel that light and is very high quality like the topre you have now. They are uncommon but you can find on the classifides.
https://deskthority.net/wiki/Topre_Realforce#Realforce_model_reference
^according to this it's available in the realforce 104 pro YG1300 that I have and also more recently the XF31RS  in 30g silenced! Looks ilke it's a ducky topre, so not sure about quality.https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1508
 Probably a lot easier to get than the yg1300 realforce 104 pro hat I have.

[rowdy]

Although you said MX reds, have you considered a 45g RealForce?

[Rob27shred]

I would say anything Leopold with silent reds (MX Pinks) if you can find one. Since I've begun my journey into building & modding mech KBs to my liking I have modded every pre-built board I owned. IME Leopold is way above most other OEMs in build quality. I recently swapped some tuned MOD-Ls into my FC660m, it is now easily my most solid feeling/sounding & quietest board from an OEM. In fact I would go as far as saying only my custom built Clueboard has a better feel & sound out of my whole collection. I really think a Leopold with Silent reds would be right up your alley for gaming, although they will be a bit light feeling coming from 45g Topre I'd imagine.

As far as the Costar VS Cherry stabilizer thing goes I personally prefer a lubed Cherry stab over Costar stab. As long as you get genuine Cherry stabs & lube them properly there is barely any rattle at all from them & I personally think they feel much more solid than Costar stabs. Then there is the keycap compatibility which can be tricky when dealing with thick high quality caps & Costar stabs. Considering I am partial to GMK & enjoyPBT caps Cherry stabs have always seemed the best solution for me. Although I do see where people who prefer Costar stabs are coming from. I've had some pre-built boards with both types of stabs, the Cherry ones were much noisier sounding & scratchier feeling than the Costar ones with out any modifications. So if I didn't mod my boards I probably would prefer Costar.

[SpAmRaY]

Leopold FC900R

Although now I'm a fan of the 980M and silent reds.

[rowdy]

Leopold FC900R

Although now I'm a fan of the 980M and silent reds.

Keyboards evolving too quickly these days.  Whatever is recommended in a thread is obsolete in a couple of months time.

Just need to get a good, or even just reasonable, keyboard and enjoy it until requirements change or something irresistible appears on the market.

[TheInverseKey]

The KUL ES-87 Tenkeyless Keyboard (Cherry MX Red)
https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=keyed_up_labs,tenkeyless&pid=es87u_cl_bbb_al

This is a nice 87 keyboard.  I have one with the clears.  The keyboard is on the heavy side but comes with a lot of features.