Grid650
Update: 5/24/2021
I was able to solve the ping issue. I’m not sure what exactly fixed it, but part of it seemed to be that the plate was not super tightly secured to the case.
Things I did:
switch to firmer gaskets
tightened all the screws
Swapped Creamsicles
After taking the whole thing apart for the umpteenth time, I felt the alu plate resonating with the case. When I pressed down on the plate and started hitting buttons, The pinging was much less. So… that’s when I thought of securing the plate more tightly: swapping the gaskets, and tightening the screws.
Some people on the discord also mentioned that the pinging reminded them of spring ping ( from the switches) I wasn’t sure this was the case since I was still getting pinging when I hit lubed switches. Unless the bottom out was causing all the other switches on the board to also ping?? not sure how likely that one is. But anyways swapped every switch out for creamsicles (Salvaged from my D65) so I guess I don’t have a pc board anymore. Oh well.
So now that the ping is fixed… I guess this is at number 1 now? It’s barely below the think in terms of feel, but now there’s no ping pulling the score down.
:P
Original Review
My favorite looking board so far, you can find pictures on my instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPHa2uJMfVM/
In terms of looks, definitely stands out from the rest. Instead of minimal case, they’ve gone with larger bezels, and space at the top for customization. I went for a purely aesthetic module.
In terms of feel, also pretty good. Depending on the plate, (the group buy had a 4mm alu and 1.5mm alu plate), it’s slightly more/less stiff, but only slightly noticeable if you’re looking for the difference. Both plates also sound very similar, so I don’t see a point in switching them out. I guess I would prefer the 4mm for feel though.
The one part where this board seems to fail me is sound. Switch thoccs aren’t muted by the dampening materials too much, so going with Durock POM gave me a crisp thocc, and my usual lubed/filmed NK silks gave me the barely more muted but smooth bottom out. So just based on switch noise, it’s great, however the case itself seems to be a problem. I’ve been using the gasket top mount, which should isolate the keypress from the case, however when bottoming out, there is barely noticeable ping, which resonates throughout the entire case. Especially on the top row, and borders of the case. I’m attaching a video of the noise I’m hearing. (Depending on your sound setup, it might not come out in the audio. ie, it’s not noticeable in my bass heavy soundbar, but its super clear when I’m listening on my iphone). I’ve attempted a lot of different configurations to isolate the noise: swapping plate, swapping switches, removing top module. Nothing gets rid of the ping. I’ve even removed the entire plate/pcb from the case, and light taps on the case produces the same pinging. This makes me think the plate/pcb construction isn’t being isolated well enough.
I love how the case looks, but once I noticed the ping, I can’t stop hearing it… If I could get rid of it, this board would be my new #1, but for now it’ll probably sit below the 7V in my rankings.
