I own several Keychron boards and I continue to be impressed. They have stuck with their vision of solid enthusiast mass produced mechanical keyboards, and I appreciate that in a world of unfulfilled group buys, shoddy production and customer support.
@@scorpioassmodeusgtx1811 As a more involved user of QMK, I find myself continually frustrated by their QMK support, in that some keyboards are merged into the main qmk/qmk_firmware repo, but I'm pretty sure the Q1v2 and *all the wireless boards* still require you to go to some secondary branch on their fork of the repository. This is a massive pain if you're also building from source for other non-Keychron boards.
I have the q3 and the v1. The V series is notably lower on the desk than the q series, something to consider vis a vis your desk height. Plastic cases have some advantages. The v1 also sounds deeper and louder than the q3. Due to the plastic case and non gasket mounting. The q3 is very quiet, and high pitched clicky switches like box pink/jade are all treble. If they made a tray mount plastic cased series, that would be the bomb.
I'm glad I lost my mind and bought a new model F77 instead. I almost bought a K8. Other than the powder coating not being durable, I have had absolutely no problems with it. I'd used a model M for, oh, man, at least 15 years of my life, and it really is superior. Hundreds of dollars better, though? Probably not to most people. I almost pulled the trigger on one of the cheaper ones many times.
Really happy that enthusiast keyboard features are becoming way more common on more sanely priced boards. Sure, if you're a custom mech nerd you can find stuff to complain about with the Keychron boards, but for what its worth: mainstream peripheral brands like Corsair, Razer and Logitech are still struggling to figure out clip-in stab rattle (nevermind knowing that screw-in stabs even exist), VIA shits all over literally every single piece of gamer keyboard software I've ever seen or used, and the easy user serviceability you get with hotswap means you need to have some kind of... catastrophic drink accident before you even consider buying a new keyboard.
I have a V1 and I don't think there's anything else that comes close to the quality for the money. Very solid plastic build with 2-position angle adjustment, switch hotswappability, QMK/VIA programming, good double shot PBT keycaps, RGB backlighting, good stabs, and it sounds great ( the plastic V series sound better than the metal Q version from what I've heard in sound demos). All for £74 minus shipping. Crazy good value.
I appreciate that you took the effort to ask them what the difference is between their different lines are, but even they themselves are unable to accurately present that to you. The V is not the plastic version of the Q. They claim it is, but it has other differences; like no gaskets and less dampening.
Just to rant for a minute, but you know, some of us don't consider the "insert" key to be worthless. As someone who uses a keyboard mostly for coding for hours a day, the trend that KILLS me on keyboards are treating the clusters between the alpha and 10k as "whatever, we'll put anything there" areas. I use basically all those keys (OK, maybe not Pause) all the time. It is super frustrating to me when they are uncloberingly set up to control lighting or macros or something I basically never need to touch in the course of a regular day.
I'm also one of the few people who uses Shift+INS when copy-pasting stuff because my push-to-talk is on control, so I spare people in my chat half a second of whatever noise may be happening behind my microphone. I don't get the luxury that often anymore after getting into smaller 65 and 75% form factors, but every once in a while I'll go back to a TKL and my muscle memory goes right back.
@@andynn6691 Elitebook, lets put the power cycle button on the keyboard between the delete key and the print-screen key, this will cause much hilarity for our users and they will enjoy very much. The users: 😠
You know, I was going to question you on qmk because it didn't seem like that big a deal to me... then I thought about and you're probably right. If you have to use qmk directly, it's a complex beast. It helps a lot to have a dev background and at least an idea of what embedded systems programming feels like.
Programming in QMK might be the antichrist, but even if a board doesn't have VIA support the QMK Flashing utility was a HUGE step up in user friendliness.
4:26 Maaaan, I LOVE your imperial units jokes! There are no words to describe how ridiculous and stupid it is, but you never fail! 😂😂😂👌 You should make a compilation of these jokes. 😆
Talking about QMK: If you just need to reprogram the keyboard, VIA is perfectly fine for you. I added VIM stuff just by rebinding the MACOS layout of the keyboard
I have a Q6 and a Q1 Pro and they are far and away the best mechanical keyboards I’ve ever owned. I had originally purchased a pre-assembled GMMK Pro and despite being over $100 more expensive than the Q1, it was a much worse product.
I really enjoyed the video. Your voice is well suited to the space, and easy to listen to. I would have loved to hear a side by side of the stock brown switches, although the creamies sounded nice and clickie!
Please continue to hate on qmk! I don't have a problem with the program itself but the attitude the community has towards it. I built my keyboard for writing and I shouldn't need a computer science degree to make my keyboard work. And then the condescension you run into if you even deign to ask for help
Nice sound, but not sure I'd like a clicky with no tactility, would have to feel it to get a taste of it. Looking forward to the review of that TKL pro.
@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks How is it with the Clickiez? I have both those and Zilents en route as I need two boards for home and office, I was going to pair the Clickiez with the V6 and the Zilents with the Q6 to play to the sound profile strengths of each but your comment has me questioning whether I should just get two Q6's.
@@RType64 i hate the feel of linear because i need the feed back of the switch actuation, so.... yeah. the sound of the Clickiez in the q6 actually sounds pretty good, it's muted and not that loud, but it's still not the type of keyboard that you "should" have around other people or be on VC with... even though i really don't give a damn and an office that would try to penalize me for having a clicky keyboard is the type of office i don't need to work at. the type of keycap you use does have an effect on the sound and with all of the deadening from the case itself between how heavy it is, the foam and the foam isolation on the board, it really does make it sound like the switches and only the switches are making noise. there's little to no reverb and it's very instant. it sounds really good, much better then then( i would imagine) plasticy sound of blues would sound or the clickbar of box pinks. i don't think i've tried my box pinks in this keyboard yet... i should at some point but i clipped them for use in my GMMK that i absolutely hated because cables kept getting caught in it. but that's what you get for buying a keyboard that doesn't protect the switches. at the end of the day if you want reverb and loud, either take the foam out of the q6 or.... get something that has a much larger probably plastic case... clickiez probably would make a good mod for a vintage keyboard that shipped with blues. I however just so happen to like the sound they make in the unmodded q6. it makes them sound like.... very crisp and deep without a lot of reverb and other noise getting in the way and muddying up the sound of the click leaf. ALSO A WORD OF WARNING, if you didn't get any 75g clickiez.... you NEED at least one for the space bar. i had to use a box pink for a few months while I plotted to get my mother a nice keyboard instead of what she was using earlier. which i think was a durgod with slient reds in it. that stopped working for some odd reason.
@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks That is a good lookout on the space bar, I currently have 110 of the 40g and no 75. Hmm, wonder if I can pop a spring from a 67g Zilent in.
Something of note is VIA itself. VIA is built off of web HID, an API that was basically made up completely by Google. It's not standardized and is not a well thought-out "standard", Google basically made their own API for it and ignored the many security risks that their API have potentially created. It also means you NEED a chromium based web browser, so if you're using Firefox you need to install chrome just to program your keyboard. Also with my V6, I had to flash the firmware to a newer version using the Windows/Mac only qmk software, a lot of fun that was
I am intrigued by the Cream Clickies, and I will give them a try. However. . . I was disappointed when somebody pointed me toward the spec sheet, where it says they are rated for only five million cycles.
That kinda bummed me out too but I went ahead and tried them (put them in a Vortex M0110 with MT3 keycaps). Time will tell how they hold up but they feel and sound fantastic.
I have both the V6 and Q6, and they really do sound very different. I do prefer the way my V6 sounds. The V6 also has a surprising weight to it. My Q6 is heavily modded, and now that I think of it, I really should have thought to put clicky switches in it. I was typing on my Q6 while watching this video
My experience as well with the q vs v. metal is simple no good as a resonance chamber. There is reason one can use thick plastic and mdf for speaker cabinets…
@@ManFromLaBamba The V series is really quite solid. I think compared to many of older plastic ALPS boards I have it's actually a lot nicer. It's definitely nicer than the plastic Cherry boards I've seen
In my experience, switches that sound good sound best in roomy, resonant plastic cases, which switches that sound bad sound best in thick, rigid cases, so that makes sense, yes.
@@Chyrosran22 this is why my favorite boards have the thick plastic with the steel plate and no foam inside. The sound just goes together properly with the right switches
VIA's still running atop QMK, so it doesn't seem like the authors wanted to antagonize people by forcing them to run bare QMK. In its defense, I received a PCB with a screwed up key matrix, but was able to read the C sources and solve the issue within 20 or 30 minutes. This was without C or QMK experience, and probably marginal programming ability.
Opening the thing up and shorting the test points isn't difficult. I'm sorry, it just isn't. All I had to use was a fragment of wire that I bent to make the connection and my fingers. He has a legitimate gripe with the naming of the firmware files, and the overall ramshackle, fragmented presentation of the directions. It's a good thing that THERE IS NO WAY TO ACTUALLY BRICK IT. And yes, you don't even have to know C to understand the preprocessor definitions. I'm not sure what he expected. The fact that the thing exists at all is a bloody miracle. The only complaint I have about it is that the powder coating is simply not durable. I wore some of it off with only my hands. That's pretty pathetic. I have had zero problems with the keyboard itself. Absolutely none. Anytime something didn't work, I looked at the troubleshooting page and fixed it. It has not missed even one keystroke. The most I've had to do to service it was change a spring.
What did he expect buying a flawless reproduction of a keyboard that was last made like 30+ years ago conceived and brought to market by ONE GUY? Was he supposed to pay someone to write a frontend or something? That would be worthless if it wasn't also tested thoroughly, so there'd be the cost of that. The directions should be clearer. The firmware file naming convention should match up an index of the files somewhere, instead of trying to put all the information in the filenames. I'll give him that; that really was inexcusable. Other than that, I don't see what the problem is.
My biggest complaint is that he didn't tell us earlier that he was putting out a whole other line of keyboards. I would have bought a full-sized one. I bought this like 6 months or so ago--don't tell me he didn't know he'd be selling those! They were probably already in production! But I get it--he wanted to sell the ones he had. Not many people would buy an f77 if you could buy a model M layout with a steel case!
@@bsadewitz I didn't expect every person buying these to sit down for quality time with QMK if they're averse to it, so sorry if that was the impression my comment gave. It's more that QMK/VIA are sometimes introduced in confusing ways, so people can misinterpret their relationship as some sort of holy war where none exists. The matrix issue example was not a physical problem with the PCB, but an incorrect bitmask in one of the QMK sources, probably leftover from a pre-production version of the PCB where the matrix was different or had two more keys on the offending row.
Thanks for the review. I found this board while poking around the keychron site. I think its my my goldilocks. Mainly getting into custom for repairability, but playing with switches and keycaps could be fun too.
I'm genuinely curious how much Sony has shit themselves over their shapes being used. Yes, I know, generalized shapes don't fall under IP laws, but they even hit dbrand with a cease and desist over using the shapes before. Keychron doesn't even really hide it, other than coloring differences, these pretty much are the PS iconography, even almost down to use of the icons.
I have only bought keychrons as far as mech keyboards. Bought a Ducky One 3 for the office as something different, thought it was less nice than even the cheapest Keychron I have owned. Bought a Q6 instead, massively nicer keyboard for barely any more money. I cannot fathom why anybody would buy the Ducky, unless they really REALLY care about latency. A Q6 is absolutely a viable home defense tool.
I love my Keychron Q1 V2 75%. I've modded it with some Keychron christmas style keycaps (don't remember the name) and gateron milky yellow switches and it's my end game for now as it's super solid and dense feeling (all metal construction and heavy). The switches are incredibly smooth and the keycaps are awesome looking to me. It did cost a good bit though but not really any more than another keyboard I bought from massdrop back in the day that turned out to not be even in the same league as the Keychron imo (even after heavily modding aka custom self made silicone dampener and lubing every single switch).
Love their keucap shape too - but just wish they sold more UK iso keyboards in more colours - they've some spectacularly beautiful blue sets - but only in US layout
I've had the Q6 pro in my cart for a couple of days, but I can't get over how good these caps look compared to what's offered with the Q6 pro. Do you guys know if they sell these separate - and how this set is called?
I've almost considered this one, then I thought I really didn't need the aluminium case and the gasket mount. Besides I had already half a mind to go with clicky switches so the plastic case of the K10 pro was a better choice anyway for those and for about 70 Euros less. Frankly if you don't mind the lack of uber fancy stuff and don't want to mod anything the K10 Pro is great: hot swappable, wired/wireless, VIA-compatible, full size and most of all with a normal caps lock and the numlock key already programmed to light up.
I have the silver gray Q6 and the surface finish is really robust and good IMO. No complaints whatsoever. The dark spots on the board in this video are definitely just some grime. edit: I've had the keeb for roughly 6 months and there is no chipping/flaking at all.
Dirt. Don't forget, I really use my keyboards, they will show signs up use and whatnot. Part of the testing process. I generally don't treat them kindly, either xD .
In my experience of owning a q2 75% for a good 3-4 months now the finish is flawless for me and mine has seen some decently heavy use and dirt/grime in that time but looks as good as the day I received it.
It looks like you had no issues with your Q6. I ended up with an ISO version, and, compared to the Q1 (ANSI no knob), I've had way more issues than I care to deal with. When I opened it up from the box the knob wouldn't press. Had to open it up to fix that. The board wouldn't reprogram out of the box. I learned that when I got it it still wasn't official via compatible. I also learned that via changed how they do things so now it takes longer to get official compatibility. I also learned some computers can't use via properly (thank GOD for vial). I flashed it countless times, the red LED underneath the space bar has not turned off since, and I've used version 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.5. For some reason Keychron thought for version 1.5 they would have the numlock key be white when set on instead plan rgb for on. I was hoping to get the other versions (1.3-1.4) from Keychron, but haven't heard back. I don't understand why they don't have legacy versions available on their site. ALL THAT ASIDE this is the best deal on a heavy rgb full size keyboard until the pro version. The Clickez sound wonderful on it. I hope no one has the issues I've had with mine.
40 stormtroopers seem to be a bit heavy for a keyboard 😂 Really wish manufacturers bring back on board programmability, been using an FK-9200 and couldn’t replace it with another keyboard even if the switches are mushy as heck because the PF keys and the calculator are just too convenient
@@InvidiousIgnoramus those are so many seconds wasted and takes you away from the spreadsheet or report you’re writing, breaking the train of thought. Plus you can’t forward the results with a press of a button from the calculator app
I have a different keyboard (the K10) but swapped out the stock keycaps for this profile, Keychron's OSA, and man, they're the nicest-feeling profile I've used. They're about the same height as OEM, but the rounded sides not only look nice, they also affect how it feels typing.I find it makes me a lot less likely to ever accidentally press two keys at once.
I'm really thinking of getting this. Also I'm a proud godless heathen who likes to use a controller on my PC as I am primarily a steam user. Its just so comfortable for everything but shooters.
I have the q6 but I really hate that they supplied foam gaskets instead of rubber, makes the typing too flexy and floaty. Though this might be because I used the PC plate.
_Any_ Keyboard supports mic mute, just assign the functionality. Better if it's a macro key so you don't have to sacrifice a key useful for something different
I have two ISO Q3 (tkl) one with knob and one without. I payed a bit over 100€ for each as they were on sale and the bang for buck is really amazing on these at this price point. I'm bit annoyed with the Q1 because it has only three vertical buttons instead of four like in gmmk pro which allows the setup of page up + down keys while keeping the delete key where it is in all layouts. One feature which Chyrosran22 did not mention is the Mac / Win switch and that actually translates just to 4 customizeable layers in QMK / VIA (both modes have two layers): the switch acts like layer switch key and can be changed on the fly. Nothing prevents you from using the switch for your own needs in case you are only using one platform. Also these switches intrest me from being a bit different kind of linear switches even though I usually prefer to have tactility in my switches.
I'm glad they (Keychron) have a southpaw board but I wish it was full size and not exclusive to the Q range. I personally don't like the thick blocks of aluminum that go for premium keyboard cases these days.
I have a K6 that has hot-swappable switches. Think you might be wrong about them not being HS. The layout isn't my favorite though, home is on it's own key, but end is Fn + ^, delete is not on Fn + backspace, despite both those keys having no other Fn level. Nor do page up and down have Fn level alternatives. it's a little bit silly.
I bought a K4v2 1,5 Years ago. It was great and i really loved it. Bought it including the case for travel. I was very happy with it but then it just broke. From one Day to the other it just went unsuable not recognizing the spacebar or any key of the bottom row. Support didn't help at all "we have 12 Months of warranty" then. Offering me a 20% Discount on $stuff which i couldn't use because NONE of the keyboards i would have loved to buy to give them another chance was able to be used with dicount codes. THEN they said they would try to help me and i should say which keyboards i would like to buy. Showed them. didn't get back to me with any help. AND rinse and repeat. Don't know what persons they have in support but it felt like i had to explain the case every time again but the "name" of the person stayed the same. Support is 0% helpful and i have a broken keyboard that costed 100$ at the time. Don't know if i want to buy another one there honestly but i can't find any other manufactuerer actually selling "Traditional 1800" ISO-DE keyboards. Just wanted to tell my story. Not everything about this company is great. Although i liked the Keyboard as long as it worked.
Yeah I don't know. I tried the Gateron low profile 2.0 blue and tactility is ok(ish) but the sound is too high-pitched in my opinion. Can't compare to the deeper, fuller sound of Zeal Clikiez or even blue Alps.
The machining contributes to much more of the cost than the materials. You don't save as much on manufacturing costs by going smaller compared to lower cost manufacturing processes.
I've recently build a board with cream clickies and I think they are the best sounding clickies among the MX switches. The Zeal clickies are too sharp both in sound and tactility for my taste and I dislike the upstroke click on the box switches. I bought the switches from Europe at Novelkeys which does make them more expensive but I combined them with a keycap set I wanted anyway and taking into account you'll pay 21% in added taxes anyway the actual transportation costs weren't that bad.
I just received my Q10. Started using the Alice 80 at work and wanted a larger board for home. It is so much better than my brick typing experience on the GMMK Pro. I'll def check out those switches next. As I'm watching your video I'm swapping mine to Durock Lupine switches.
I assume this is to make it compatible with windows and mac, on mac layouts num lock reads "clear" instead so I think it's supposed to be more like "num/clear".
I bought 2 of these keyboards.... i put Zilence in one, clickiez in mine and my mother loves her zilence one and i love my clickiez one. so yeah... very good keyboards.
![KSI - Dirty [Official Visualiser]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VoDh1h1dPUE/mqdefault.jpg)
I own several Keychron boards and I continue to be impressed. They have stuck with their vision of solid enthusiast mass produced mechanical keyboards, and I appreciate that in a world of unfulfilled group buys, shoddy production and customer support.
the keychron reddit says otherwise about the support bit but personally had no issues
@@scorpioassmodeusgtx1811 As a more involved user of QMK, I find myself continually frustrated by their QMK support, in that some keyboards are merged into the main qmk/qmk_firmware repo, but I'm pretty sure the Q1v2 and *all the wireless boards* still require you to go to some secondary branch on their fork of the repository.
This is a massive pain if you're also building from source for other non-Keychron boards.
Keychron board + Akko switches and caps: you get a lot of keyboard for not much money, comparatively speaking.
@@Schmootle for sure, even better if you go their v series or even the k pro lineup
Keychron support is awful.
I can really recommend going for the Q series over the cheaper ones. The difference in typing experience is immense.
I strongly agree. Had a K8 before getting a Q6 and the difference is massive.
I have the q3 and the v1. The V series is notably lower on the desk than the q series, something to consider vis a vis your desk height. Plastic cases have some advantages.
The v1 also sounds deeper and louder than the q3. Due to the plastic case and non gasket mounting. The q3 is very quiet, and high pitched clicky switches like box pink/jade are all treble.
If they made a tray mount plastic cased series, that would be the bomb.
@@ManFromLaBamba Yeah most people will probably like to have a wrist rest with the Q series boards.
I'm glad I lost my mind and bought a new model F77 instead. I almost bought a K8. Other than the powder coating not being durable, I have had absolutely no problems with it. I'd used a model M for, oh, man, at least 15 years of my life, and it really is superior. Hundreds of dollars better, though? Probably not to most people.
I almost pulled the trigger on one of the cheaper ones many times.
I just got the Q5 Max and I freaking love it im a keyboard enthusiast and this hits the spot. The linear reds are actually quite nice
Glad to see a positive review of a modern keyboard and switch, might pick it up at some point
Really happy that enthusiast keyboard features are becoming way more common on more sanely priced boards. Sure, if you're a custom mech nerd you can find stuff to complain about with the Keychron boards, but for what its worth: mainstream peripheral brands like Corsair, Razer and Logitech are still struggling to figure out clip-in stab rattle (nevermind knowing that screw-in stabs even exist), VIA shits all over literally every single piece of gamer keyboard software I've ever seen or used, and the easy user serviceability you get with hotswap means you need to have some kind of... catastrophic drink accident before you even consider buying a new keyboard.
I have a V1 and I don't think there's anything else that comes close to the quality for the money. Very solid plastic build with 2-position angle adjustment, switch hotswappability, QMK/VIA programming, good double shot PBT keycaps, RGB backlighting, good stabs, and it sounds great ( the plastic V series sound better than the metal Q version from what I've heard in sound demos). All for £74 minus shipping. Crazy good value.
I am planning on getting a V1 myself, it genuinely seems like a great option!
@@slavboii420 if you didn't buy it yet they have a sale rn
@@schtormm Cool, thanks for letting me know!
I appreciate that you took the effort to ask them what the difference is between their different lines are, but even they themselves are unable to accurately present that to you.
The V is not the plastic version of the Q. They claim it is, but it has other differences; like no gaskets and less dampening.
That's what I said it is xD .
V Max serie seems to fill the gap, it has gaskets now.
Damn, that's the first keyboard I've drooled over in quite a while. The switches are very interesting too.
those are like.... they are clickey and linear.... hm... might want to give them a try.
Just to rant for a minute, but you know, some of us don't consider the "insert" key to be worthless. As someone who uses a keyboard mostly for coding for hours a day, the trend that KILLS me on keyboards are treating the clusters between the alpha and 10k as "whatever, we'll put anything there" areas. I use basically all those keys (OK, maybe not Pause) all the time. It is super frustrating to me when they are uncloberingly set up to control lighting or macros or something I basically never need to touch in the course of a regular day.
I'm also one of the few people who uses Shift+INS when copy-pasting stuff because my push-to-talk is on control, so I spare people in my chat half a second of whatever noise may be happening behind my microphone. I don't get the luxury that often anymore after getting into smaller 65 and 75% form factors, but every once in a while I'll go back to a TKL and my muscle memory goes right back.
Worthless? I use it virtually every day. How do you type and not use it?
Not to mention the laptops that leave it out entirely. Looking at you HP EliteBook 🤨
Dos/Windows is built on CUA so manufacturers ignoring that in their keyboard design is pure evil.
@@andynn6691 Elitebook, lets put the power cycle button on the keyboard between the delete key and the print-screen key, this will cause much hilarity for our users and they will enjoy very much.
The users: 😠
For those interested in the sound knob, be aware that it changes the positioning of the function keys a bit.
You know, I was going to question you on qmk because it didn't seem like that big a deal to me... then I thought about and you're probably right. If you have to use qmk directly, it's a complex beast. It helps a lot to have a dev background and at least an idea of what embedded systems programming feels like.
Right, if most people hear "bootloader" they will immediately peace out
I LOVE the shape of those keycaps!
Programming in QMK might be the antichrist, but even if a board doesn't have VIA support the QMK Flashing utility was a HUGE step up in user friendliness.
Great to see you Tom, good job as always :D
7:35 Insert is *not* a useless key (if the keyboard lacks that key, I use the numpad 0 instead when num lock is off).
Ctrl + Insert && Shift + Insert are best terminal copy & paste
Absolute tank of a board. I got a Q3 and I love it. VIA is great indeed. Specially now that you don't need to install. Awesome video as always
cream clickie review starts at around 7:50
4:26 Maaaan, I LOVE your imperial units jokes!
There are no words to describe how ridiculous and stupid it is, but you never fail!
😂😂😂👌
You should make a compilation of these jokes. 😆
Thanks! I was agonizing over Q6 or Q5 and this helped me decide to go with the Q5. I wouldn't be able to stand having the knob there.
I love the Keychron Q6 keyboard. I own 3 myself and got one for my boss.
i have a mac at work and a pc at home, so my favorite thing about most (if not all) keychron keyboards is the mac/windows toggle switch.
Yeah, that must be handy. I don't think it's even difficult to implement.
Just picked up the Q6 and cream clickie switches and I have to say that the board is rapidly becoming my favorite.
Talking about QMK:
If you just need to reprogram the keyboard, VIA is perfectly fine for you.
I added VIM stuff just by rebinding the MACOS layout of the keyboard
I have a Q6 and a Q1 Pro and they are far and away the best mechanical keyboards I’ve ever owned. I had originally purchased a pre-assembled GMMK Pro and despite being over $100 more expensive than the Q1, it was a much worse product.
After trying out different layouts, I still miss the good old full size keyboard. I'm getting a Q6 soon as I never owned a metal full size yet.
I really enjoyed the video. Your voice is well suited to the space, and easy to listen to. I would have loved to hear a side by side of the stock brown switches, although the creamies sounded nice and clickie!
Bought the Keychron Q6 max recently and it arrives today! Cant wait to use it as my daily driver over the Iqunix f97.
Full size is king
Please continue to hate on qmk! I don't have a problem with the program itself but the attitude the community has towards it. I built my keyboard for writing and I shouldn't need a computer science degree to make my keyboard work. And then the condescension you run into if you even deign to ask for help
Nice sound, but not sure I'd like a clicky with no tactility, would have to feel it to get a taste of it. Looking forward to the review of that TKL pro.
has anyone told you that you have a nice and soothing voice or is it just me?
I have the silver gray Q6 (ISO with knob), sporting some Chosfox Arctic Foxes and it's just glorious.
q6, Clickiez and currently keycron caps. i have the MassDrop Eva Keycaps on order.
@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks I threw some Glorious Black Ash caps on mine, looks so understated and sleek.
@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks How is it with the Clickiez? I have both those and Zilents en route as I need two boards for home and office, I was going to pair the Clickiez with the V6 and the Zilents with the Q6 to play to the sound profile strengths of each but your comment has me questioning whether I should just get two Q6's.
@@RType64 i hate the feel of linear because i need the feed back of the switch actuation, so.... yeah. the sound of the Clickiez in the q6 actually sounds pretty good, it's muted and not that loud, but it's still not the type of keyboard that you "should" have around other people or be on VC with... even though i really don't give a damn and an office that would try to penalize me for having a clicky keyboard is the type of office i don't need to work at. the type of keycap you use does have an effect on the sound and with all of the deadening from the case itself between how heavy it is, the foam and the foam isolation on the board, it really does make it sound like the switches and only the switches are making noise. there's little to no reverb and it's very instant. it sounds really good, much better then then( i would imagine) plasticy sound of blues would sound or the clickbar of box pinks. i don't think i've tried my box pinks in this keyboard yet... i should at some point but i clipped them for use in my GMMK that i absolutely hated because cables kept getting caught in it. but that's what you get for buying a keyboard that doesn't protect the switches.
at the end of the day if you want reverb and loud, either take the foam out of the q6 or.... get something that has a much larger probably plastic case... clickiez probably would make a good mod for a vintage keyboard that shipped with blues. I however just so happen to like the sound they make in the unmodded q6. it makes them sound like.... very crisp and deep without a lot of reverb and other noise getting in the way and muddying up the sound of the click leaf.
ALSO A WORD OF WARNING, if you didn't get any 75g clickiez.... you NEED at least one for the space bar. i had to use a box pink for a few months while I plotted to get my mother a nice keyboard instead of what she was using earlier. which i think was a durgod with slient reds in it. that stopped working for some odd reason.
@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks That is a good lookout on the space bar, I currently have 110 of the 40g and no 75. Hmm, wonder if I can pop a spring from a 67g Zilent in.
Something of note is VIA itself. VIA is built off of web HID, an API that was basically made up completely by Google. It's not standardized and is not a well thought-out "standard", Google basically made their own API for it and ignored the many security risks that their API have potentially created.
It also means you NEED a chromium based web browser, so if you're using Firefox you need to install chrome just to program your keyboard.
Also with my V6, I had to flash the firmware to a newer version using the Windows/Mac only qmk software, a lot of fun that was
I am intrigued by the Cream Clickies, and I will give them a try. However. . . I was disappointed when somebody pointed me toward the spec sheet, where it says they are rated for only five million cycles.
That kinda bummed me out too but I went ahead and tried them (put them in a Vortex M0110 with MT3 keycaps). Time will tell how they hold up but they feel and sound fantastic.
I never knew Thomas was a Tarkov gamer! Hell yeah 😎 I might have to pick up one of these Q Series boards as a work keyboard.
I wonder if its possible to get it with nordic layout for åäö with the same colors
That spacebar sound is super cool
Wow, a modern keyboard I actually consider buying. If only it looked at all aesthetically interesting...
Do you happen to know if the keyboard saves macros onboard or does it need to the software to be running to work?
I have both the V6 and Q6, and they really do sound very different. I do prefer the way my V6 sounds. The V6 also has a surprising weight to it. My Q6 is heavily modded, and now that I think of it, I really should have thought to put clicky switches in it. I was typing on my Q6 while watching this video
Clicky switches sound so good on a Q6!
My experience as well with the q vs v. metal is simple no good as a resonance chamber. There is reason one can use thick plastic and mdf for speaker cabinets…
@@ManFromLaBamba The V series is really quite solid. I think compared to many of older plastic ALPS boards I have it's actually a lot nicer. It's definitely nicer than the plastic Cherry boards I've seen
In my experience, switches that sound good sound best in roomy, resonant plastic cases, which switches that sound bad sound best in thick, rigid cases, so that makes sense, yes.
@@Chyrosran22 this is why my favorite boards have the thick plastic with the steel plate and no foam inside. The sound just goes together properly with the right switches
VIA's still running atop QMK, so it doesn't seem like the authors wanted to antagonize people by forcing them to run bare QMK. In its defense, I received a PCB with a screwed up key matrix, but was able to read the C sources and solve the issue within 20 or 30 minutes. This was without C or QMK experience, and probably marginal programming ability.
Opening the thing up and shorting the test points isn't difficult. I'm sorry, it just isn't. All I had to use was a fragment of wire that I bent to make the connection and my fingers. He has a legitimate gripe with the naming of the firmware files, and the overall ramshackle, fragmented presentation of the directions. It's a good thing that THERE IS NO WAY TO ACTUALLY BRICK IT. And yes, you don't even have to know C to understand the preprocessor definitions. I'm not sure what he expected. The fact that the thing exists at all is a bloody miracle. The only complaint I have about it is that the powder coating is simply not durable. I wore some of it off with only my hands. That's pretty pathetic. I have had zero problems with the keyboard itself. Absolutely none. Anytime something didn't work, I looked at the troubleshooting page and fixed it. It has not missed even one keystroke. The most I've had to do to service it was change a spring.
What did he expect buying a flawless reproduction of a keyboard that was last made like 30+ years ago conceived and brought to market by ONE GUY? Was he supposed to pay someone to write a frontend or something? That would be worthless if it wasn't also tested thoroughly, so there'd be the cost of that. The directions should be clearer. The firmware file naming convention should match up an index of the files somewhere, instead of trying to put all the information in the filenames. I'll give him that; that really was inexcusable. Other than that, I don't see what the problem is.
My biggest complaint is that he didn't tell us earlier that he was putting out a whole other line of keyboards. I would have bought a full-sized one. I bought this like 6 months or so ago--don't tell me he didn't know he'd be selling those! They were probably already in production! But I get it--he wanted to sell the ones he had. Not many people would buy an f77 if you could buy a model M layout with a steel case!
@@bsadewitz I didn't expect every person buying these to sit down for quality time with QMK if they're averse to it, so sorry if that was the impression my comment gave. It's more that QMK/VIA are sometimes introduced in confusing ways, so people can misinterpret their relationship as some sort of holy war where none exists. The matrix issue example was not a physical problem with the PCB, but an incorrect bitmask in one of the QMK sources, probably leftover from a pre-production version of the PCB where the matrix was different or had two more keys on the offending row.
For the macrokeys, I'd definitely prefer the E.S.P. Zener symbols, so at least you can try guessing their mapping.
They're just keycaps. We can swap them out with literally anything else. :D
I wondered when someone would invent a modern linear clicky.
Thanks for the review. I found this board while poking around the keychron site. I think its my my goldilocks. Mainly getting into custom for repairability, but playing with switches and keycaps could be fun too.
I'm genuinely curious how much Sony has shit themselves over their shapes being used. Yes, I know, generalized shapes don't fall under IP laws, but they even hit dbrand with a cease and desist over using the shapes before. Keychron doesn't even really hide it, other than coloring differences, these pretty much are the PS iconography, even almost down to use of the icons.
I have only bought keychrons as far as mech keyboards. Bought a Ducky One 3 for the office as something different, thought it was less nice than even the cheapest Keychron I have owned. Bought a Q6 instead, massively nicer keyboard for barely any more money. I cannot fathom why anybody would buy the Ducky, unless they really REALLY care about latency.
A Q6 is absolutely a viable home defense tool.
I love my Keychron Q1 V2 75%. I've modded it with some Keychron christmas style keycaps (don't remember the name) and gateron milky yellow switches and it's my end game for now as it's super solid and dense feeling (all metal construction and heavy). The switches are incredibly smooth and the keycaps are awesome looking to me. It did cost a good bit though but not really any more than another keyboard I bought from massdrop back in the day that turned out to not be even in the same league as the Keychron imo (even after heavily modding aka custom self made silicone dampener and lubing every single switch).
Love their keucap shape too - but just wish they sold more UK iso keyboards in more colours - they've some spectacularly beautiful blue sets - but only in US layout
Rocking those k400plus stylings
I've had the Q6 pro in my cart for a couple of days, but I can't get over how good these caps look compared to what's offered with the Q6 pro. Do you guys know if they sell these separate - and how this set is called?
Damn -- Where was this video when I was researching new keyboards!?! Luckily I did get the Q full-sized kbd anyway. ;)
I've almost considered this one, then I thought I really didn't need the aluminium case and the gasket mount. Besides I had already half a mind to go with clicky switches so the plastic case of the K10 pro was a better choice anyway for those and for about 70 Euros less. Frankly if you don't mind the lack of uber fancy stuff and don't want to mod anything the K10 Pro is great: hot swappable, wired/wireless, VIA-compatible, full size and most of all with a normal caps lock and the numlock key already programmed to light up.
Is the quality of the alu finish good? I've seem some spots, not sure if dirt of imperfections.
I have the silver gray Q6 and the surface finish is really robust and good IMO. No complaints whatsoever. The dark spots on the board in this video are definitely just some grime.
edit: I've had the keeb for roughly 6 months and there is no chipping/flaking at all.
Dirt. Don't forget, I really use my keyboards, they will show signs up use and whatnot. Part of the testing process. I generally don't treat them kindly, either xD .
In my experience of owning a q2 75% for a good 3-4 months now the finish is flawless for me and mine has seen some decently heavy use and dirt/grime in that time but looks as good as the day I received it.
WHAT A VOICE. WOOOOOOOOW
It looks like you had no issues with your Q6. I ended up with an ISO version, and, compared to the Q1 (ANSI no knob), I've had way more issues than I care to deal with. When I opened it up from the box the knob wouldn't press. Had to open it up to fix that. The board wouldn't reprogram out of the box. I learned that when I got it it still wasn't official via compatible. I also learned that via changed how they do things so now it takes longer to get official compatibility. I also learned some computers can't use via properly (thank GOD for vial). I flashed it countless times, the red LED underneath the space bar has not turned off since, and I've used version 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.5. For some reason Keychron thought for version 1.5 they would have the numlock key be white when set on instead plan rgb for on. I was hoping to get the other versions (1.3-1.4) from Keychron, but haven't heard back. I don't understand why they don't have legacy versions available on their site.
ALL THAT ASIDE this is the best deal on a heavy rgb full size keyboard until the pro version. The Clickez sound wonderful on it. I hope no one has the issues I've had with mine.
40 stormtroopers seem to be a bit heavy for a keyboard 😂 Really wish manufacturers bring back on board programmability, been using an FK-9200 and couldn’t replace it with another keyboard even if the switches are mushy as heck because the PF keys and the calculator are just too convenient
is the keyboard really all that convenient these days over just opening the calculator app in windows and using your numpad with it?
@@InvidiousIgnoramus those are so many seconds wasted and takes you away from the spreadsheet or report you’re writing, breaking the train of thought. Plus you can’t forward the results with a press of a button from the calculator app
I did look at one of these, but no UK layout sadly, which other keyboards in their range do have, such a shame.
I have a different keyboard (the K10) but swapped out the stock keycaps for this profile, Keychron's OSA, and man, they're the nicest-feeling profile I've used. They're about the same height as OEM, but the rounded sides not only look nice, they also affect how it feels typing.I find it makes me a lot less likely to ever accidentally press two keys at once.
I have a Q5 I enjoy it but I wish the LEDs were north facing. Back lights really help at night for me.
I think I'm going to get some of those novelkeys clickies and chuck them in a hollow chassis for a boomy retro kinda sound and feel.
I'm really thinking of getting this.
Also I'm a proud godless heathen who likes to use a controller on my PC as I am primarily a steam user. Its just so comfortable for everything but shooters.
I really like those keycaps. Does anyone know what they are?
I have the q6 but I really hate that they supplied foam gaskets instead of rubber, makes the typing too flexy and floaty. Though this might be because I used the PC plate.
Is that a mic mute button? I’ve been looking for one of them on keyboard
_Any_ Keyboard supports mic mute, just assign the functionality. Better if it's a macro key so you don't have to sacrifice a key useful for something different
I have two ISO Q3 (tkl) one with knob and one without. I payed a bit over 100€ for each as they were on sale and the bang for buck is really amazing on these at this price point.
I'm bit annoyed with the Q1 because it has only three vertical buttons instead of four like in gmmk pro which allows the setup of page up + down keys while keeping the delete key where it is in all layouts.
One feature which Chyrosran22 did not mention is the Mac / Win switch and that actually translates just to 4 customizeable layers in QMK / VIA (both modes have two layers): the switch acts like layer switch key and can be changed on the fly. Nothing prevents you from using the switch for your own needs in case you are only using one platform.
Also these switches intrest me from being a bit different kind of linear switches even though I usually prefer to have tactility in my switches.
monsgeek will be releasing a full size aluminum keyboard like this for like $110 this month which looks very interesting
Ayy, good to know you're an Altora Music fan too.
I'm glad they (Keychron) have a southpaw board but I wish it was full size and not exclusive to the Q range. I personally don't like the thick blocks of aluminum that go for premium keyboard cases these days.
Is it just me or are the WIndows keys upside down?
Are those keycaps like SA caps (as concave) or are just rounded standard keycaps?
They are cylindrical if that's what you mean :) .
I have the q6 and the q6 pro on the way… thinking I may go with pre lube black inks on those… with maybe tx rev 3 stabs… or tune Durocks…
which one do you prefer?
@@Jay-bi8kn stabilizers of board? If board, wireless ALL THE WAY…
meh, You should try the K3, it's mechanical and low profile with optical switches.- would love to hear your opinoin on this one.
I have a K6 that has hot-swappable switches. Think you might be wrong about them not being HS.
The layout isn't my favorite though, home is on it's own key, but end is Fn + ^, delete is not on Fn + backspace, despite both those keys having no other Fn level. Nor do page up and down have Fn level alternatives.
it's a little bit silly.
K series comes with both hotswap and non-hotswap pcb
I bought a K4v2 1,5 Years ago. It was great and i really loved it. Bought it including the case for travel. I was very happy with it but then it just broke. From one Day to the other it just went unsuable not recognizing the spacebar or any key of the bottom row. Support didn't help at all "we have 12 Months of warranty" then. Offering me a 20% Discount on $stuff which i couldn't use because NONE of the keyboards i would have loved to buy to give them another chance was able to be used with dicount codes. THEN they said they would try to help me and i should say which keyboards i would like to buy. Showed them. didn't get back to me with any help. AND rinse and repeat. Don't know what persons they have in support but it felt like i had to explain the case every time again but the "name" of the person stayed the same.
Support is 0% helpful and i have a broken keyboard that costed 100$ at the time.
Don't know if i want to buy another one there honestly but i can't find any other manufactuerer actually selling "Traditional 1800" ISO-DE keyboards.
Just wanted to tell my story. Not everything about this company is great. Although i liked the Keyboard as long as it worked.
Love that a q6 barebone in sweden cost 250 dollar. Prices are just crazy
Would you review keychron K3? That keyboard came with gateron low-profile blue which are basically mini clicky alps.
Yeah I don't know. I tried the Gateron low profile 2.0 blue and tactility is ok(ish) but the sound is too high-pitched in my opinion. Can't compare to the deeper, fuller sound of Zeal Clikiez or even blue Alps.
@@andremuller3497 That's just how it is with low profiles. You don't get as much space for sound as you would with deeper cases and deeeper keycaps...
WHY DIDN'T YOU GET THE BLACK Q6 WITH BLACK KEYCAPS?!
Q6 vs K10 pro?
did this guy mention the round dial looking thing?
yes. by default it controls audio volume and play/pause upon clicking.
Linear but Clicky? i kinda wish this Q is on Matias / Alps platform instead, that would be fun.
6:15 yeah I would stay away from any website that requires HID support. enabling that in your browser is a great way to get hacked,
what about the keycaps?
Also, linear switches with hysteris are not exactly common in the MX compatibles range.
This only has hysteresis in the clicker, not the contacts, so it's not different in that respect.
@@Chyrosran22 I see. So it is just about click. Weird idea.
@@sir0herrbatka Just a side effect of how it works, I don't think it's intentionally that big.
ShadowFrax?
The machining contributes to much more of the cost than the materials. You don't save as much on manufacturing costs by going smaller compared to lower cost manufacturing processes.
I've recently build a board with cream clickies and I think they are the best sounding clickies among the MX switches. The Zeal clickies are too sharp both in sound and tactility for my taste and I dislike the upstroke click on the box switches.
I bought the switches from Europe at Novelkeys which does make them more expensive but I combined them with a keycap set I wanted anyway and taking into account you'll pay 21% in added taxes anyway the actual transportation costs weren't that bad.
There's also the K Pro series.
Nice! I really got my V1 for the price i paid for it.
amazing keyboard I have to admit :d
Peep the Wooting cable plugged into the board
I just received my Q10. Started using the Alice 80 at work and wanted a larger board for home. It is so much better than my brick typing experience on the GMMK Pro. I'll def check out those switches next. As I'm watching your video I'm swapping mine to Durock Lupine switches.
The 'num clear' font spacing is pretty ugly :( And shouldn't it be 'num lock'? Other keys look strange too, like 'backspace', where the 'p' is to low.
I assume this is to make it compatible with windows and mac, on mac layouts num lock reads "clear" instead so I think it's supposed to be more like "num/clear".
Would have been nice if he would have demonstrated the knob.
Do audiobooks. Or game narrator. Please 😭❤️
If they made this wireless it would be an instant buy for me.
Full sized. Nice
Did you voice the postal guy? lol
U sound like a guy that can do easy listening radio easy on the ears :D
36°01'22.1"N 82°29'29.6"W
I bought 2 of these keyboards.... i put Zilence in one, clickiez in mine and my mother loves her zilence one and i love my clickiez one. so yeah... very good keyboards.
No print screen button😮
Yeah it's there, it just looks weird ;) .