If you haven't tried Topre Realforce...

D

Drakan290

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
3,087
Good lord, try it.

I got my 87ub in and I'm in keyboard heaven.

As silent as a membrane board, with the tactile feedback of a combo of blacks and blues (S curve)

Man, I am in love. I'm glad I took the plunge, because these boards are worth it.
 
They are wonderful keyboards, surely one of my favorites. The price is a little high but if you pound on a keyboard for 8+ hours a day well worth it. If you are scared of the price point but want something which is similar Keytronics Designer lifetime series is a good option. Both are dome oriented designs with 30 million keystroke expected lifetimes. Both have egro options with keys requiring different forces. Keytronics design is old school as well so if you are having trouble with modern keyboards it might be a solid choice. Either way both keyboards often last between six to ten years when pounded on daily.

My top three choices are normally Topre, IBM M and Keytronics designer lifetime. Not always in that order, it really depends on what compromises one can live with...I like cherry switches other then most being modern designs, they have a nice feel as well.
 
mtbush said:
is this the one you bought?

http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=topre_keyboards,rftenkeyless&pid=rf_se170s

I've been looking to move from my Quickfire rapid since I've been telecommuting a lot lately.
Click to expand...
I actually bought the 45g uniform 'EK' edition (which is pretty similar). I am at the computer for about 10 hours a day (work is IT) and I'm coming from a Quickfire with MX Blacks (I've owned a bunch of other boards though)


My god it's heaven. I just want to keep typing.

Type type type type type type type

I have better accuracy than MX blues and faster WPM, and i've only been using it for 4 hours :D:D
 
Drakan290 said:
I actually bought the 45g uniform 'EK' edition (which is pretty similar). I am at the computer for about 10 hours a day (work is IT) and I'm coming from a Quickfire with MX Blacks (I've owned a bunch of other boards though)


My god it's heaven. I just want to keep typing.

Type type type type type type type

I have better accuracy than MX blues and faster WPM, and i've only been using it for 4 hours :D:D
Click to expand...

ok, thanks for the info...now post some pics dammit...
 
I actually don't like Topre switches. I own a Realforce 103UB and used it exclusively for about 10 days. Then, I decided to give a try to MX Browns (the keyboard I was using before) and.... I really prefer those.

I mean, Topre seem nice and all but, to me, they are just a ruber dome keyboard (they feel very similar... and no wonder why since they have a membrane too ).

To each his own.
 
Topre is like typing on wet noodles. Cherry MX clear for me and nothing else. I've converted all my Filcos to MX clears with tactile MX grey for the spacebar.
 
$300 on a keyboard is frankly way too much money in my eyes. Then again I just jumped into the mechanical keyboard pool so ask me again in like 6 months. I mean shit I already have 2 mech keyboards since getting my first one about a month ago.
 
M0rph3us said:
$300 on a keyboard is frankly way too much money in my eyes. Then again I just jumped into the mechanical keyboard pool so ask me again in like 6 months. I mean shit I already have 2 mech keyboards since getting my first one about a month ago.
Click to expand...

I've heard of custom cherry mx boards going for upwards of $700 :eek:
 
whitek said:
fuckin legos on keyboard pics

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
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Go4bz.jpg
 
I've been using a Leopold MX blue tenkeyless keyboard for a year now. I like the tactile feel and the clicking sound; however, the clicking sound a tad bit too loud. It would've been great to find a keyboard similar to mine where the clicking sound was a little less pronounced.

I keep hearing about topre switch keyboards consider as highest-end keyboards. However, I also hear that they dont have any kind of crisp sound to them at all; which isn't what I'm looking for.

Do they make tenkeyless topre switch keyboards that don't sound like you're typing on wet noodles? Afterall, part of the tactile experience is the respective sound associated with it (at least that's my opinion).

I'm hoping someone similar to my taste might chime in; and, suggest the best tenkeyless USB keyboard I can find that still has a nice crisp subtle click to it.
 
mkanet said:
I've been using a Leopold MX blue tenkeyless keyboard for a year now. I like the tactile feel and the clicking sound; however, the clicking sound a tad bit too loud. It would've been great to find a keyboard similar to mine where the clicking sound was a little less pronounced.

I keep hearing about topre switch keyboards consider as highest-end keyboards. However, I also hear that they dont have any kind of crisp sound to them at all; which isn't what I'm looking for.

Do they make tenkeyless topre switch keyboards that don't sound like you're typing on wet noodles? Afterall, part of the tactile experience is the respective sound associated with it (at least that's my opinion).

I'm hoping someone similar to my taste might chime in; and, suggest the best tenkeyless USB keyboard I can find that still has a nice crisp subtle click to it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Topres are more for when you want a quieter board with a light tactile feel. The switches barely make any noise at all. You mostly just hear the keys bottoming out. Some Cherry Blue boards, on the other hand, sound like someone went out of their way to make the board as loud as possible, both when the keyswitch actuates, AND when the key bottoms out, so you get two distinct, loud sounds on every press, which can get pretty obnoxious, IMHO.

Unfortunately I don't have too many suggestions for you. Maybe a Cherry Brown board, but these are even less tactile than the Topre. They do give a fairly loud clack when the key bottoms out (at least,my Filco does) so that might work for you.

This is a longshot, but you might also try a Unicomp. These are about as loud as a Cherry blue, but the character of the noise is a bit different IMHO, and may not bug you as much. It's a bit lower frequency with a longer duration that blends the sounds of the switch and the key bottoming out a bit more, so you don't get that exhausting "click-CLACK" on every key like you do with the blues (at least on my old DAS).
 
Thanks for the response. It sounds like I may want to switch to MX Browns; since i dont want to take away from the tactile feel at all. Originally, the whole reason I bought a mechanical keyboard was to somewhat reproduce the feel I had on my old school IBM "M" keyboard that came with the IBM PS/2.

Anyway, when searching for tenkeyless mechanical keyboards, I always see high praises for "Filco" tenkeyless keyboards. Oddly, nobody seems to mention what kind of switch type they're using on their Filcos. Does this go without saying? I wasn't sure which Filco to get; so, I ordered a Filco MX blue keyboard. Also, I had bought a Leopold MX Blue a little earlier that week. I noticed right away that the Filco had a slight "pingy", thinner/cheaper lego plastic sound when typing. The leopold had a more solid/thicker quality plastic sound when typing. Hence, I ended up keeping the Leopold MX blue.

Maybe Filco's strengths/desirability are more evident in the MX Brown version (when the only sound heard comes from the switch itself)?? What are the chances my perception would still be the same when switching from the Filco MX blue to the Filco MX browns? Ideally, I'd just buy both; and, return the one I don't want; but, unfortunately, I can't afford that this time around.

EDIT: I've always wanted a blue backlit mechanical tenkeyless keyboard. I just did a search and found the below Ducky MX brown tenkeyless backlit keyboard. It's out of stock. Would I set my expectations too high if i also wanted blue backlighting?
http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=168
 
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One thing you might want to look into is using rubber o-rings to dampen the sound of your current board.

http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=318

It's too bad they charge so much for them, especially since there are three styles to try out with different Shore durometer hardness ratings. If you can figure out the diameters you could probably get them cheaper at an industrial supply place like McMaster-Carr.

As for your Filco question, I think the reason you hear them mentioned a lot is that, up to a couple of years ago, they were one of the main sources of quality Cherry-based mechanical keyboards (along with DAS, though I think the Filcos are a little nicer). But even then they had some issues with key printing wearing off and stuff like that. Elite Keyboards switched to Leopold a while ago.

I don't think there's any one switch type that dominates on Filcos. Elite used to sell them with blues are browns. I don't remember if they are made with black and red these days. But as you noted, there's more to keyboard feel than just the switch type. The construction of the chassis (especially the baseplate that holds the switches) and the key caps also figure in to both the sound and feel of the board.
 
I just had a chance to listen to both leopold/filco mx browns side by side on the below youtube video. The MX brown filco "still" has that annoying resonant ping; at least in that video. Not sure what's causing that; but, at least that video answered my question.

I may wait for the Ducky backlit keyboard in the link i posted above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dqJrjshcyg
 
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