14 ms·

I have the privilege of owning a Happy Hacking 2, it has topre keys. I used it for about a year. And I hated it! It's insanely noisy, to the point of distractio

I have the privilege of owning a Happy Hacking 2, it has topre keys. I used it for about a year. And I hated it! It's insanely noisy, to the point of distraction. It's so damn loud. But the dealbreaker for me is how heavy and deep the keys are. It's just too much energy and travel time for efficient typing IMO. After long sessions my fingertips felt sore from the blunt damage of pushing down the keys. But I'll recognize they have some merit. The chunky feeling has a sense of physically I never experienced in other keyboard. The 60 keys and compact form factor is great for transport and leaves a lot of room for other things on your desk (this is actually super useful). The physical switches for changing the layout are very handy. And honestly the thing look like it could survive an impact from a deep space object. I would be surprised if it starts to show wear within the next 10 years. I still prefer my cheap Cherry Mx-Board 3 with brown cherry keys. The thing is clunky and ugly, but the more muted noise and lower pressure required to activate the keys is what I'm comfortable with. I'm so sorry for my former colleagues that had to go through my topre period and deal with the noise I even personally was very annoyed with. Edit:spelling

sasaf5 5y ago
Yes, I also settled with Mx browns after a long time trying to like Mx blues. It seems to be a common course of action among my coworkers. Also my blues started failing after 5 years, the browns seem to not be affected.
buggythebug 5y ago
Why privilege? It's not gucci bag.
comboy 5y ago
My HHKB Hybrid Type-S is definitely less noisy than MX-Brown (at least in WASD keyboards edition). It may be more silent than my typing on macbook air, but it's hard to compare because it produces lower frequencies, definitely nicer sound than macbook keyboard to me and never even thought about it as noisy.
- BoorishBears 5y ago
  That's the exact HHKB I have and trust me, it's a noisy rattly mess compared to a good mech. Like just lightly glide your fingers across the keys and you should feel/hear the rattle. That same rattle continues as you type, it's just mixed in with the sound of bottoming out. For comparison, my mech is a solid feeling piece of aluminum, the keys have 0 wobble, and there are no rattles at all. It's night and day, I could never go back to a HHKB.
  - andrewzah 5y ago
    I also have a type-s hhkb with the silencing o-rings and I’ve never thought that it sounds noisy. I’ve experimented with various keyboards but for me the sound and the action of the hhkb are my favorite. I just wish it had the layout of the Leopold FC660C.
    - BoorishBears 5y ago
      Like I said, mine is a Type S. They are inherently rattly. Plastic case plus very loose tolerances on the switches = it rattles. It's great if it doesn't bother you, it didn't really bother me until I got to experience better. Even something as small as resting fingers on a key feels so much nicer when the switch has 0 play
      - comboy 5y ago
        I examined mine carefully after reading your comments and.. did you buy it directly from HHKB? Maybe you have some counterfeit? But you may be right, I'm not such a keyboard aficionado, I only had a few mechanical keyboards and maybe my standards are too low (or rather, at level which keeps me happy). But as somebody else noted if you found the holy grail please share.
        andrewzah 5y ago
        I honestly have no idea what the parent is referring to. My HHKB feels solid, and I prefer it to the other mechanical keyboards that I've tried. It is not loud due to the o-rings.
csdvrx 5y ago
I agree so much!! I've tried my best to like mechanical keyboards... but no, I hate them. The noise is distracting, they require too much strength on every key, and they are big and expansive! I thought I might have the wrong keytypes, so I even purchased key testers: the red keys are less noisy, but that doesn't solve the other problems. So I just can't find a reason to like them. My favorite keyboard is the Thinkpad keyboard (TrackPoint Keyboard II Bluetooth 4Y40X49493): the island version (current) is more comfortable than the previous version where the keys were touching (SK-8835 family if you want a numpad) as it leaves some room for nails. Mechanical keyboards seem preferred by gamers, but in my opinion, they make little sense in an office setting. However, my new favorite mouse is the Logitech G600 that's popular for MMOs: after purchasing a few different mice that had been recommended here and testing them all, it's the one that fits the best in my hand, even if it's still too large (why can't they make smaller mice??) What I like the most is how it has side keys that can be mapped in the firmware to physical keys (persistent setting) and to elaborate actions in AutoHotKey! Now give me the same thing 30% smaller, wireless with bluetooth, with a left hand option, and I'd happily pay $200 for it!
- Havoc 5y ago
  >key testers: the red keys are less noisy You get red silents too, which end up not just less loud but also feel wise a little closer to traditional keyboards (which might be seen as a negative by the hardcore mech crowd)
- Lhiw 5y ago
  Silent reds are what I use after a long time on clears and browns. Can't go back, reds are good for gaming but also far less effort for typing. Never found the tactile bump to be all that useful.
  - MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
    Same boat here. I'm eyeball some silent reds right now so if you could share what you got if you've had it for a while I'm all ears. Ideally I'd like to own a mechanical keyboard that just isn't going to have a key die on me.
captn3m0 5y ago
I switch between Cherry Browns and Topre (Leopold 660) and my Topres are much quieter. I prefer them for office calls, as a result
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
uvdn7 5y ago
I have an HHKB for many years. It’s still my favorite keyboard. It’s very personally and subjective. Most of the reasons for why I like it can be explained as I am used to it though - eg it’s layout.
DavidVoid 5y ago
There is a type-s version if you want it to be quieter, or you can mod it yourself with some sound dampening rings. Placing a folded microfibre cloth or a mousepad or something similar underneath the keyboard also dampens the sound quite a bit.
joeman1000 5y ago
Ever try a Type-S? Mine is really quiet.
- jagger27 5y ago
  It’s also not very hard to modify non-silenced keyboards with aftermarket rings. I did that on my old HHKB and it worked great.
  - epolanski 5y ago
    Meh, while it actuates the noise a bit it generally doesn't make a night and day difference. For me coding during night was a no with my older MK even with the rings I would wake people in my house when typing.
    - jagger27 5y ago
      That’s reasonable. Modern silent MX switches and MX clones like the Boba U4 are extremely quiet because of their internal dampening.
Agingcoder 5y ago
The mx board 3 is a remarkably good keyboard - I think I had bought it because it was fairly flat and thin, unlike most mech keyboards, and ended up enjoying it a lot more than expected.
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
I worked at a company that gave people generous leeway to purchase computer gear they wanted. We already had good computers and monitors, so fancy mechanical keyboards were the #1 purchase for most people. The mechanical keyboard fans nerded out over different switches and other hardware, spending countless hours doing research and trying out different types of keys. And then slowly nearly everyone went back to regular old keyboards. There were a few die-hards who stuck to the mechanical keyboards, but most people eventually realized that the mechanical keyboard experience didn't really live up to the mechanical keyboard hype. Some people love them, but the narrative that mechanical keyboards are objectively superior has gotten out of hand in recent years. In my experience, the average programmer doesn't really enjoy heavy mechanical keyboards over the long run. (And before I get buried in comments that we weren't using the "right" switches or keys or whatever, trust me when I say that the office went through a lot of different variations and there was a lot of trading around)
- FpUser 5y ago
  About the only things I care about in keyboards are: 1) Curved ergonomic / sculpt please. I am really shitty typist. Ergonomic however makes me suck less. 2) No funny layouts. Basically it has to be faithful replica of that old IBM keyboard. 3) It is full size with no small keys. Can sort of tolerate smaller F-Keys I got no sense of satisfaction from that loud mech clicking. Tried it and gave back.
- epolanski 5y ago
  I second this feeling. MK are all hype (I own a Keycron and use a Fnatic gaming kb as daily work kb) but I would pay to have the feel of good old 20 years old rubber cheap keyboards again.
- archarios 5y ago
  But.. they are objectively superior. Not everyone needs them. But they are better in many ways.
- Aloha 5y ago
  I'm a diehard Model M guy, but it's not a mechanical key switch.
polack 5y ago
My MX-brown keyboard is definitely louder than my standard HHKB2, even though the MX got after market dampeners installed. Estimate about double the noise from the MX so surprising to hear you had the opposite experience.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
hereforphone 5y ago
Agree brown cherry keys are the best, and the Happy Hacking keyboard is probably overrated (never used one, thankfully never gave into the minor urge to buy one years ago). I use a ROG Claymore now and it's great, the only real disadvantages being that the key caps are pretty flimsy, and they also come off too easily.
duckfruit 5y ago
I would be surprised if it starts to show wear within the next 10 years. I've been using mine daily for around 10 years, and yes, you are entirely correct. If I could somehow clean all the coffee stains and grime it has accumulated it could probably pass off as new! And while I personally love the feel of topre keys, I can see why people might not like them - to each his own. I just wish the new wireless HHKBs weren't so dang ugly!
- TacticalCoder 5y ago
  > I've been using mine daily for around 10 years, and yes, you are entirely correct. If I could somehow clean all the coffee stains and grime it has accumulated it could probably pass off as new! Same... Once in a while I took all the keycaps off of my HHKBs and vaccuum clean everything, then clean everything using q-tips, clean all the keycaps one by one. They're looking close to new despite heavy years of daily usage.
entropie 5y ago
I have a HHKB2 Pro Blank for like 7 years now (heavy daily use). Its just awesome and it pretty much feels like day one. Keys are still very responsive. I love that thing.
allenu 5y ago
I’m with you. I bought the HHKB and thought I’d love it but I didn’t. I also found the keys too “heavy” but I did buy the quieter model, so it never felt loud to me. I have gone back to an old cherry brown switch keyboard and have preferred it.
TacticalCoder 5y ago
I've got a totally different experience... I own three HHKB: two HHKB Pro JP (for they have a narrower spacebar and more modifiers: so less thumb travel: I do have very close Japanese family but I don't speak Japanese) and one HHKB Pro 2 (the first I got). They are, to me, out of this world. They ruined me forever in that I'll never be able to use something else than a Topre. I've got lots of IBM Model Ms, several Cherry boards (including the ultimate Cherry MX brown: the split MX 5000), I worked for years (when I was doing typesetting) on the best keyboard Apple ever made (Apple Extended Keyboard II is the name I think, from the early 90s): it wasn't bad. But Topre is the best thing that ever happened to keyboards: I don't know how to put it in any other way. My only gripe is that there are so little models to chose from: all the enthusiasts making their own keyboards are using Cherry MX switches but it's not because they're better than Topre, it's because they have no choice. There are many MX switches to choose from, yet, to me, they're not anywhere near close the greatness of Topre. I'd totally be in the "build your own keyboard" community if I could easily build one using Topre switches. Heck, I considered cutting two HHKB Pro JP in half each to build me a split one... (it's doable). Regarding the noise: I'm that guy crazy enough to go live somewhere quiet. Not the city, not full rural either because I don't want to hear animal farms and tractors. I'm the crazy one who'll splurge $$$ to get a high-end luxury car only for the sound insulation. I'm also one of those dinosaurs who know what it was it was like to type in a room full of IBM Model M terminal keyboards (or similar) hooked to an AS/400. Topre switches aren't that loud: no need to apologize for coworkers (moreover there are different Topre switches, some of which are quieter than others). I'm not saying it's for everybody but I do really think anyone who's never tried one should try: it may be the keyboard switch they'll use until their last day. I know I'm not the only one who's tried everything that exists out there and settled on Topre for life.
- hnrj95 5y ago
  100%. i’ve tried everything. model m, model f, cherry, etc. nothing feels the same way the hhkb does for me. and the layout, as an emacs user, is sublime
  - TacticalCoder 5y ago
wdb 5y ago
I have tried them once but they just don't match the good old IBM keyboards
zerocount 5y ago
Why did you keep using it if you hated it?
torginus 5y ago
I never understood regular mechanical keyboards either - the fact that the switches are so thick, makes the whole assembly thick, which forces your wrists into a stress position - which is uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure will lead to wrist problems down the line. This also applies to thick "gaming" or "workstation" laptops as well. Call me an unwashed casual, but the most comfortable typing experience for me is on a Macbook. The fact that it's thin, the keys have little travel depth, and take very little to actuate allows me to comfortably type for extended periods of time.
- scns 5y ago
  Keychron has low profile models. https://www.keychron.com/ https://www.keychron.com/

sasaf5 5y ago

Yes, I also settled with Mx browns after a long time trying to like Mx blues. It seems to be a common course of action among my coworkers. Also my blues started failing after 5 years, the browns seem to not be affected.

buggythebug 5y ago

Why privilege? It's not gucci bag.

comboy 5y ago

My HHKB Hybrid Type-S is definitely less noisy than MX-Brown (at least in WASD keyboards edition). It may be more silent than my typing on macbook air, but it's hard to compare because it produces lower frequencies, definitely nicer sound than macbook keyboard to me and never even thought about it as noisy.

BoorishBears 5y ago
That's the exact HHKB I have and trust me, it's a noisy rattly mess compared to a good mech. Like just lightly glide your fingers across the keys and you should feel/hear the rattle. That same rattle continues as you type, it's just mixed in with the sound of bottoming out. For comparison, my mech is a solid feeling piece of aluminum, the keys have 0 wobble, and there are no rattles at all. It's night and day, I could never go back to a HHKB.
- andrewzah 5y ago
  I also have a type-s hhkb with the silencing o-rings and I’ve never thought that it sounds noisy. I’ve experimented with various keyboards but for me the sound and the action of the hhkb are my favorite. I just wish it had the layout of the Leopold FC660C.
  - BoorishBears 5y ago
    Like I said, mine is a Type S. They are inherently rattly. Plastic case plus very loose tolerances on the switches = it rattles. It's great if it doesn't bother you, it didn't really bother me until I got to experience better. Even something as small as resting fingers on a key feels so much nicer when the switch has 0 play
    - comboy 5y ago
      I examined mine carefully after reading your comments and.. did you buy it directly from HHKB? Maybe you have some counterfeit? But you may be right, I'm not such a keyboard aficionado, I only had a few mechanical keyboards and maybe my standards are too low (or rather, at level which keeps me happy). But as somebody else noted if you found the holy grail please share.
      - andrewzah 5y ago
        I honestly have no idea what the parent is referring to. My HHKB feels solid, and I prefer it to the other mechanical keyboards that I've tried. It is not loud due to the o-rings.

csdvrx 5y ago

I agree so much!! I've tried my best to like mechanical keyboards... but no, I hate them. The noise is distracting, they require too much strength on every key, and they are big and expansive! I thought I might have the wrong keytypes, so I even purchased key testers: the red keys are less noisy, but that doesn't solve the other problems. So I just can't find a reason to like them. My favorite keyboard is the Thinkpad keyboard (TrackPoint Keyboard II Bluetooth 4Y40X49493): the island version (current) is more comfortable than the previous version where the keys were touching (SK-8835 family if you want a numpad) as it leaves some room for nails. Mechanical keyboards seem preferred by gamers, but in my opinion, they make little sense in an office setting. However, my new favorite mouse is the Logitech G600 that's popular for MMOs: after purchasing a few different mice that had been recommended here and testing them all, it's the one that fits the best in my hand, even if it's still too large (why can't they make smaller mice??) What I like the most is how it has side keys that can be mapped in the firmware to physical keys (persistent setting) and to elaborate actions in AutoHotKey! Now give me the same thing 30% smaller, wireless with bluetooth, with a left hand option, and I'd happily pay $200 for it!

Havoc 5y ago
>key testers: the red keys are less noisy You get red silents too, which end up not just less loud but also feel wise a little closer to traditional keyboards (which might be seen as a negative by the hardcore mech crowd)
Lhiw 5y ago
Silent reds are what I use after a long time on clears and browns. Can't go back, reds are good for gaming but also far less effort for typing. Never found the tactile bump to be all that useful.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
  Same boat here. I'm eyeball some silent reds right now so if you could share what you got if you've had it for a while I'm all ears. Ideally I'd like to own a mechanical keyboard that just isn't going to have a key die on me.

captn3m0 5y ago

I switch between Cherry Browns and Topre (Leopold 660) and my Topres are much quieter. I prefer them for office calls, as a result

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

uvdn7 5y ago

I have an HHKB for many years. It’s still my favorite keyboard. It’s very personally and subjective. Most of the reasons for why I like it can be explained as I am used to it though - eg it’s layout.

DavidVoid 5y ago

There is a type-s version if you want it to be quieter, or you can mod it yourself with some sound dampening rings. Placing a folded microfibre cloth or a mousepad or something similar underneath the keyboard also dampens the sound quite a bit.

joeman1000 5y ago

Ever try a Type-S? Mine is really quiet.

jagger27 5y ago
It’s also not very hard to modify non-silenced keyboards with aftermarket rings. I did that on my old HHKB and it worked great.
- epolanski 5y ago
  Meh, while it actuates the noise a bit it generally doesn't make a night and day difference. For me coding during night was a no with my older MK even with the rings I would wake people in my house when typing.
  - jagger27 5y ago
    That’s reasonable. Modern silent MX switches and MX clones like the Boba U4 are extremely quiet because of their internal dampening.

Agingcoder 5y ago

The mx board 3 is a remarkably good keyboard - I think I had bought it because it was fairly flat and thin, unlike most mech keyboards, and ended up enjoying it a lot more than expected.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

I worked at a company that gave people generous leeway to purchase computer gear they wanted. We already had good computers and monitors, so fancy mechanical keyboards were the #1 purchase for most people. The mechanical keyboard fans nerded out over different switches and other hardware, spending countless hours doing research and trying out different types of keys. And then slowly nearly everyone went back to regular old keyboards. There were a few die-hards who stuck to the mechanical keyboards, but most people eventually realized that the mechanical keyboard experience didn't really live up to the mechanical keyboard hype. Some people love them, but the narrative that mechanical keyboards are objectively superior has gotten out of hand in recent years. In my experience, the average programmer doesn't really enjoy heavy mechanical keyboards over the long run. (And before I get buried in comments that we weren't using the "right" switches or keys or whatever, trust me when I say that the office went through a lot of different variations and there was a lot of trading around)

FpUser 5y ago
About the only things I care about in keyboards are: 1) Curved ergonomic / sculpt please. I am really shitty typist. Ergonomic however makes me suck less. 2) No funny layouts. Basically it has to be faithful replica of that old IBM keyboard. 3) It is full size with no small keys. Can sort of tolerate smaller F-Keys I got no sense of satisfaction from that loud mech clicking. Tried it and gave back.
epolanski 5y ago
I second this feeling. MK are all hype (I own a Keycron and use a Fnatic gaming kb as daily work kb) but I would pay to have the feel of good old 20 years old rubber cheap keyboards again.
archarios 5y ago
But.. they are objectively superior. Not everyone needs them. But they are better in many ways.
Aloha 5y ago
I'm a diehard Model M guy, but it's not a mechanical key switch.

polack 5y ago

My MX-brown keyboard is definitely louder than my standard HHKB2, even though the MX got after market dampeners installed. Estimate about double the noise from the MX so surprising to hear you had the opposite experience.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

hereforphone 5y ago

Agree brown cherry keys are the best, and the Happy Hacking keyboard is probably overrated (never used one, thankfully never gave into the minor urge to buy one years ago). I use a ROG Claymore now and it's great, the only real disadvantages being that the key caps are pretty flimsy, and they also come off too easily.

duckfruit 5y ago

I would be surprised if it starts to show wear within the next 10 years. I've been using mine daily for around 10 years, and yes, you are entirely correct. If I could somehow clean all the coffee stains and grime it has accumulated it could probably pass off as new! And while I personally love the feel of topre keys, I can see why people might not like them - to each his own. I just wish the new wireless HHKBs weren't so dang ugly!

TacticalCoder 5y ago
> I've been using mine daily for around 10 years, and yes, you are entirely correct. If I could somehow clean all the coffee stains and grime it has accumulated it could probably pass off as new! Same... Once in a while I took all the keycaps off of my HHKBs and vaccuum clean everything, then clean everything using q-tips, clean all the keycaps one by one. They're looking close to new despite heavy years of daily usage.

entropie 5y ago

I have a HHKB2 Pro Blank for like 7 years now (heavy daily use). Its just awesome and it pretty much feels like day one. Keys are still very responsive. I love that thing.

allenu 5y ago

I’m with you. I bought the HHKB and thought I’d love it but I didn’t. I also found the keys too “heavy” but I did buy the quieter model, so it never felt loud to me. I have gone back to an old cherry brown switch keyboard and have preferred it.

TacticalCoder 5y ago

I've got a totally different experience... I own three HHKB: two HHKB Pro JP (for they have a narrower spacebar and more modifiers: so less thumb travel: I do have very close Japanese family but I don't speak Japanese) and one HHKB Pro 2 (the first I got). They are, to me, out of this world. They ruined me forever in that I'll never be able to use something else than a Topre. I've got lots of IBM Model Ms, several Cherry boards (including the ultimate Cherry MX brown: the split MX 5000), I worked for years (when I was doing typesetting) on the best keyboard Apple ever made (Apple Extended Keyboard II is the name I think, from the early 90s): it wasn't bad. But Topre is the best thing that ever happened to keyboards: I don't know how to put it in any other way. My only gripe is that there are so little models to chose from: all the enthusiasts making their own keyboards are using Cherry MX switches but it's not because they're better than Topre, it's because they have no choice. There are many MX switches to choose from, yet, to me, they're not anywhere near close the greatness of Topre. I'd totally be in the "build your own keyboard" community if I could easily build one using Topre switches. Heck, I considered cutting two HHKB Pro JP in half each to build me a split one... (it's doable). Regarding the noise: I'm that guy crazy enough to go live somewhere quiet. Not the city, not full rural either because I don't want to hear animal farms and tractors. I'm the crazy one who'll splurge $$$ to get a high-end luxury car only for the sound insulation. I'm also one of those dinosaurs who know what it was it was like to type in a room full of IBM Model M terminal keyboards (or similar) hooked to an AS/400. Topre switches aren't that loud: no need to apologize for coworkers (moreover there are different Topre switches, some of which are quieter than others). I'm not saying it's for everybody but I do really think anyone who's never tried one should try: it may be the keyboard switch they'll use until their last day. I know I'm not the only one who's tried everything that exists out there and settled on Topre for life.

hnrj95 5y ago
100%. i’ve tried everything. model m, model f, cherry, etc. nothing feels the same way the hhkb does for me. and the layout, as an emacs user, is sublime
- TacticalCoder 5y ago

wdb 5y ago

I have tried them once but they just don't match the good old IBM keyboards

zerocount 5y ago

Why did you keep using it if you hated it?

torginus 5y ago

I never understood regular mechanical keyboards either - the fact that the switches are so thick, makes the whole assembly thick, which forces your wrists into a stress position - which is uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure will lead to wrist problems down the line. This also applies to thick "gaming" or "workstation" laptops as well. Call me an unwashed casual, but the most comfortable typing experience for me is on a Macbook. The fact that it's thin, the keys have little travel depth, and take very little to actuate allows me to comfortably type for extended periods of time.

scns 5y ago
Keychron has low profile models. https://www.keychron.com/ https://www.keychron.com/