Damn, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I got bored of my QK65 because of it's one-dimensional sound, but I'm glad to see QK make something different. I've moved onto other boards and already have an o-ring 65 but this one is quite an improvement over the QK65. Not a fan of the weight and bottom design but side profile looks decent.
Pretty stoked for this board. Own a few QK65s and a Cub65 i was hesitant with the price until they announced the mounting styles and configs. Esp after all of the reviews coming out i might have to pick (erm, at least) one up.
this looks like yet another really nice option in the budget custom space... with the Shark67, Choice65 and this. There's a lot of great options for those wanting value or just starting on the hobby.
my personal take is dont even bother to get cheap stuff that u dont like. so far the only budget ones i think really worth getting is zoom75 and the envoy really, otherwise just save ur money and get a premium u want most as long as u can afford one
The short cable that we need to open up the back weight to get it done safely, does sounds annoying to me. I hope they change it for longer one on final product. Also not sure if O-ring mounted PCB needs that much force to take out for other board since I don't know much about it. It kind of time consuming too like the cable to just take out for configuration. Might have to skip this board if it's not a prototype that we see now.
"the first step of the build/rebuild is always take off the weight and then unplug the FPC cable on the db"-said by syrah. Those two huge holes are designed to push out the PCB when rebuilding. According to the buildguide, the FPC cable needs to be connected to the pcb first, and then connected to the daughter board. This process is similar to unikorn. And only two screws which is not that complicated as you think.
If I didn't already have the Envoy, I'd definitely have bought one. Or if it wasn't so similar to the Envoy, then I'd probably get one to experience the gummy o-ring mount. I love the support of split spacebar on hotswap, and that ribbon cable channel, though. That just looks so tidy. But the resulting disassembly hassle does make it less suitable for experimentation than the Envoy...
I mean, it’s not a better QK65, its a cheaper/alternative one. The problem with these buys is that you have to be on point. They do reruns, but if you miss them you can’t get it. Right now you wouldn’t be able to buy a QK65 anyways. Same company, different designer, so can recommend if you’re looking for a board and the buy is still available. 😊
I’m totally broke atm but will probably have earned enough money from my part time job by December to pick one up, here’s hoping that there’s stock until nov/dec, an R2, or another partnership board with neostudio
Insane that they got the design shell of a board like the Envoy and made it work this well at such a low price point. Really makes me want to pick this one up.
Just started getting into keyboards. What do you think is the best sub-200ish 65% or 75% custom keyboard to get right now? I’ve heard some people say the zoom65 v2. Would you agree?
If you have $200ish budget then do yourself a favor and just get the envoy. Packaging to assembly to product quality is really good. Plus their customer support after sales is insane. They also got a good discord community that’s very helpful in my experience as a newbie.
I don't have a gummy o ring board yet so this looks like a good option to try one. Especially since it sounds good foamless. And awesome video, going into all the details really helped me make a decision for this one!
Seems like this will be in-stock and not a group buy. THANK THE LORD. I haven't been keeping up with the custom keyboard hobby for a while now and at the time the only good in-stock budget keyboard I could find was the CK Bakeneko65, which is the keyboard I'm typing this comment on. It's nice to see that there are now way more budget in-stock options to choose from. Still really hate how GBs are still a thing - I am currently pursuing the headphones/IEMs hobby, and group buys don't exist there, or in almost every other hobby, for that matter. I still don't get how people put up with them. Rant aside, I remember that when I got into the hobby, the best thing you could get for $100 was a KBD67 Lite or similar. Looks like this keyboard absolutely puts it to shame. Maybe I'll consider getting back into the keyboard hobby since the options are getting so good now, but I'm already pretty happy with my Bakeneko so...
Audio is a far larger, less niche market than custom keyboards. Many headphone/IEM sellers make millions of dollars in revenues per year. Most keyboard designers are people who design keyboards as a side hobby. No person who designs keyboards as a hobby is willing to fork out 5 to 6 figures worth of money to front an in-stock sale and risk losing money because their product doesn't sell. Notice how only the big players in the hobby with significant amounts of capital (e.g. Cannonkeys, Qwertykeys, Mode - hell, even Mode does pre-orders) do in-stock sales.
it‘s just not possible to offer keyboards in stock while everyone is able to get what he wants or not sitting on hundreds of units that haven‘t been sold
@@AD-nq2nz You bring up good points from a seller/manufacturer's perspective - but from a consumer's perspective, I still don't like group buys. If I enter a GB, I have to wait a long time to receive the product, and I might not even receive it at all. And if I miss the group buy, there's a decent chance I will never be able to get the product in the future. Compare that to buying almost anything else online, where you just press a button, pay up, wait at most ~2-ish weeks, and get the product in your mailbox. No risk involved. I know you can't really compare buying from a niche market and a mainstream one, but it still rubs me the wrong way. I guess it depends on if you care about the sellers, or if you care as the consumer. Let's agree to disagree. Edit: I'd also like to state that for more expensive, special, or unique kits, that only a few people would buy anyways, a group buy would be fine, but for a budget keyboard (like this one), which is meant to be accessible to more people, in my opinion it is unacceptable if it is sold under a group buy (or at the very least, I probably wouldn't buy it).
Can you please do a sound test plateless? I know soldered would be better but ive never had an issue with olateless or half plate hotswap. Very curious for this board and would build it plateless
@thestreamreader the company making the choice 65 has had many previous qc issues and was ranked the lowest out of the 4 budget boards in keyboard’s video
Have you review the Cycle 7, or planning to in the future? I'm considering the Cycle 7 over this and the Choice65, your videos are on point, and professional as always. Thank you for bringing me in to this hobby
I wish same makers would try another design languange for 65% tho, I started to get very boring with how 65% custom board looks, I had zoom65, qk65 and jris65, after having these 3, I realized that 65% are mostly lookig very similar. Now that I already sold qk65 and see that Neo65 is one of the better deal for value 65%, but in my mind I find these newer 65% still looks kinda same with all my boards last year, and in a way I don't find these new boards appealing to me. I also still have space65 and capsule65 with me and I prefer that wild design but then ppl say that design is weird...idk, just trying another design folks
basic designs is how they keep the price down, you don't have to buy every 65% that launches, just wait for the higher end ones that look more distinct, just know you'll be paying a premium
it is real brass and copper brass should be cheaper that stainless steel btw but bc of the huge moq and how small the weights are it‘s not really a that big cost factor
It refers to the way the PCB is secured to the keyboard case. In a normal keyboard, the PCB is screwed into the case and is rigid. A gasket mounted keyboard uses small rubber pieces called gaskets which allows the PCB to "bounce" inside the case like you can see at 5:59.
I had already decided I'm buying at least 1 of these, but might end up buying more. I think aesthetically the case reminds me of the Envoy. Probably because it's a 1 piece design with similar lines. But I appreciate that this uses a simple gasket mount or an o-ring mount. Has wireless (hopefully VIA supported) and is just going to be so much cheaper. If the wireless PCB has VIA support (guessing sideloaded via the daughter board like some others have done) then it's a no brainer for me. One of my biggest issues with so many of the other "budget" boards with their odd proprietary software. EDIT: didn't realize screw-in stabs couldn't work with o-ring mount. But nice to include clip-ins. Also, personally, it's by far the best value out right now. Especially that they are including some form of stabilizers as well. I will actually be able to get this delivered to me in the US for around the $150 price unlike the cycle7 everyone is raving about which was going to cost me over $200.
@@JustSomeGuy009 here's the thing, the only reason it has gasket mount is to allow plateless, but we know 9/10 (if not more) neo65 will be shipped with hotswap PCB so very few ppl will run plateless. adding a seam and making it 2 piece to allow top mount would cost virtually nothing. plus gasket mount is very rarely implemented well, QK certainly has never done gasket mount well. it is very hard to fuck up a top mount and very difficult to do gasket well
@@z4k1_zaki65 that's simply not true, look at cycle7, it's 2 piece, *much* heavier, more complex engravings, more complex chamfers + fillets, more complex inner design, complex assembly mechanism, and the biggest part, lower projected sales volume than any QK board while barely more expensive.
WHAT EVEN IS THE POINT of having a mechanical keyboard that flexes like that when you type on it? Isn’t that sort of board flex exactly what reminds one of $0 keyboards that come with your branded PC?
I love how you explain each configuration. Keep it up!
Awesome shots. Thanks for the vid
Been waiting for this review since seeing the Reddit posts from qwertykeys!
Damn, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I got bored of my QK65 because of it's one-dimensional sound, but I'm glad to see QK make something different. I've moved onto other boards and already have an o-ring 65 but this one is quite an improvement over the QK65. Not a fan of the weight and bottom design but side profile looks decent.
Pretty stoked for this board. Own a few QK65s and a Cub65 i was hesitant with the price until they announced the mounting styles and configs. Esp after all of the reviews coming out i might have to pick (erm, at least) one up.
this looks like yet another really nice option in the budget custom space... with the Shark67, Choice65 and this. There's a lot of great options for those wanting value or just starting on the hobby.
my personal take is dont even bother to get cheap stuff that u dont like. so far the only budget ones i think really worth getting is zoom75 and the envoy really, otherwise just save ur money and get a premium u want most as long as u can afford one
Not NuPhy or Lumina65?
Wow, next level camera work! Cool keyboard too.
Why your video so good and pleasing.. great work!
The short cable that we need to open up the back weight to get it done safely, does sounds annoying to me. I hope they change it for longer one on final product.
Also not sure if O-ring mounted PCB needs that much force to take out for other board since I don't know much about it. It kind of time consuming too like the cable to just take out for configuration. Might have to skip this board if it's not a prototype that we see now.
"the first step of the build/rebuild is always take off the weight and then unplug the FPC cable on the db"-said by syrah. Those two huge holes are designed to push out the PCB when rebuilding. According to the buildguide, the FPC cable needs to be connected to the pcb first, and then connected to the daughter board. This process is similar to unikorn. And only two screws which is not that complicated as you think.
they won‘t change it
If I didn't already have the Envoy, I'd definitely have bought one. Or if it wasn't so similar to the Envoy, then I'd probably get one to experience the gummy o-ring mount. I love the support of split spacebar on hotswap, and that ribbon cable channel, though. That just looks so tidy. But the resulting disassembly hassle does make it less suitable for experimentation than the Envoy...
there is no split spacebar support on either of them
@@DogeTrump Oh sorry, I must have been high from the video. I should have said split backspace, not spacebar. Bad mistake on my part.
this channel needs more subs... insane quality???
The reason my QK65 doesn't see any action is the lack of split spacebar support.
I wish Quertykeys adapted Wuque's / Meletrix' stand on the matter.
I mean, it’s not a better QK65, its a cheaper/alternative one. The problem with these buys is that you have to be on point. They do reruns, but if you miss them you can’t get it. Right now you wouldn’t be able to buy a QK65 anyways. Same company, different designer, so can recommend if you’re looking for a board and the buy is still available. 😊
This guy gets it, any keyboard is "dead" after the GB ends
I hope this stays in stock for a while, the best kit I've seen so far, If it's on stock, I'll buy this on November 100%
yeah i really hope we can hold it till Nov
@@qwertykeys2119 Lets hope so!
I’m totally broke atm but will probably have earned enough money from my part time job by December to pick one up, here’s hoping that there’s stock until nov/dec, an R2, or another partnership board with neostudio
Insane that they got the design shell of a board like the Envoy and made it work this well at such a low price point. Really makes me want to pick this one up.
Amazing review!
Thanks 😊
The board feels more like a QK65 variant with better acoustics out of the box. I love it.
Just started getting into keyboards. What do you think is the best sub-200ish 65% or 75% custom keyboard to get right now? I’ve heard some people say the zoom65 v2. Would you agree?
Not anymore
For 65 i‘d get the neo, for 75 the mkc75
best value is the tkd cycle 7 imo
No. Envoy is.
@@shynnsup8383 it's nice as well, but it starts at a price of about 100$ higher
If you have $200ish budget then do yourself a favor and just get the envoy. Packaging to assembly to product quality is really good. Plus their customer support after sales is insane. They also got a good discord community that’s very helpful in my experience as a newbie.
The sound is good, but the deepness of the spacebar kind of clashes with the higher pitched sound of every other key.
I don't have a gummy o ring board yet so this looks like a good option to try one. Especially since it sounds good foamless. And awesome video, going into all the details really helped me make a decision for this one!
damn that marshall speaker looks lit
Đỉnh thiệt chứ, cách ông này quay video xịn xò thật sự, chỉn chu và cực kỳ đầy đủ, xem mà mê quá trời. 💘
such a good review
Nice vid mate
Seems like this will be in-stock and not a group buy. THANK THE LORD. I haven't been keeping up with the custom keyboard hobby for a while now and at the time the only good in-stock budget keyboard I could find was the CK Bakeneko65, which is the keyboard I'm typing this comment on. It's nice to see that there are now way more budget in-stock options to choose from. Still really hate how GBs are still a thing - I am currently pursuing the headphones/IEMs hobby, and group buys don't exist there, or in almost every other hobby, for that matter. I still don't get how people put up with them.
Rant aside, I remember that when I got into the hobby, the best thing you could get for $100 was a KBD67 Lite or similar. Looks like this keyboard absolutely puts it to shame. Maybe I'll consider getting back into the keyboard hobby since the options are getting so good now, but I'm already pretty happy with my Bakeneko so...
too many variations of colors so GB is still a must for more expensive models
Audio is a far larger, less niche market than custom keyboards. Many headphone/IEM sellers make millions of dollars in revenues per year. Most keyboard designers are people who design keyboards as a side hobby. No person who designs keyboards as a hobby is willing to fork out 5 to 6 figures worth of money to front an in-stock sale and risk losing money because their product doesn't sell. Notice how only the big players in the hobby with significant amounts of capital (e.g. Cannonkeys, Qwertykeys, Mode - hell, even Mode does pre-orders) do in-stock sales.
it‘s just not possible to offer keyboards in stock while everyone is able to get what he wants or not sitting on hundreds of units that haven‘t been sold
@@AD-nq2nz You bring up good points from a seller/manufacturer's perspective - but from a consumer's perspective, I still don't like group buys. If I enter a GB, I have to wait a long time to receive the product, and I might not even receive it at all. And if I miss the group buy, there's a decent chance I will never be able to get the product in the future. Compare that to buying almost anything else online, where you just press a button, pay up, wait at most ~2-ish weeks, and get the product in your mailbox. No risk involved. I know you can't really compare buying from a niche market and a mainstream one, but it still rubs me the wrong way.
I guess it depends on if you care about the sellers, or if you care as the consumer. Let's agree to disagree.
Edit: I'd also like to state that for more expensive, special, or unique kits, that only a few people would buy anyways, a group buy would be fine, but for a budget keyboard (like this one), which is meant to be accessible to more people, in my opinion it is unacceptable if it is sold under a group buy (or at the very least, I probably wouldn't buy it).
Can you please do a sound test plateless?
I know soldered would be better but ive never had an issue with olateless or half plate hotswap.
Very curious for this board and would build it plateless
This is great and i am buying one, but i am 100% more interested in the qk65 v2.
Currently rocking out a bakeneko for a year now. Would this be a good upgrade?
What form factor do you film in and what camera? Video quality and editing is so good
much thanks for sharing this
qk65 is totally different board, its also great board, and I don't really understand comparing them
Can you explain how? I am a noob with keyboards 😂
wait what qk board came in a green case?
I prefer the gasket option, it's nice sound, can't wait to join the gb
This board is back on sale in ashkeebs but I'm not sure if I want this or should I still stay on my hunt for an HHKB since I already have a 65% lol
Ur vids are soooo underated
Can the Neo65 work normally on MacOS?
Whats better, zoom75 and qk75? And how do you get your hands on them?
Great review. Can't decide between this or cycle7
Get both. But I think the choice65 is better budget option.
@thestreamreader the company making the choice 65 has had many previous qc issues and was ranked the lowest out of the 4 budget boards in keyboard’s video
why do you think so?
I have both QK65V2 Classic and Neo65. I still prefer the QK65V2 Classis.
Does Neo65 have full QMK support (not talking about VIA)?
Have you review the Cycle 7, or planning to in the future? I'm considering the Cycle 7 over this and the Choice65, your videos are on point, and professional as always. Thank you for bringing me in to this hobby
Cycle 7 is more premium
i‘d either get neo or cycle
cycle would be my pick, it‘s just a little nicer
such good quality vid
well idk if yours is dead but mine is still working
you win
Hey love your video! Especially the B-rolls! Btw whats the eletric screwdriver are you using?
I wish same makers would try another design languange for 65% tho, I started to get very boring with how 65% custom board looks, I had zoom65, qk65 and jris65, after having these 3, I realized that 65% are mostly lookig very similar. Now that I already sold qk65 and see that Neo65 is one of the better deal for value 65%, but in my mind I find these newer 65% still looks kinda same with all my boards last year, and in a way I don't find these new boards appealing to me. I also still have space65 and capsule65 with me and I prefer that wild design but then ppl say that design is weird...idk, just trying another design folks
the target is to make it cheap - we'll definitely try something new/complex with qk65v2 when it comes out
basic designs is how they keep the price down, you don't have to buy every 65% that launches, just wait for the higher end ones that look more distinct, just know you'll be paying a premium
How is it compare to the jris65 sound wise?
so you didnt use any plate foam either?
Do u think removing the two gaskets on the sides and two under the spacebar (exactly like the envoy) would help improve the overall sound and feel?
it'll enlarge the sound by a bit for some reason - which is fun to test with; but that'll leave it easier to bottom out
When is the board releasing and is there a link for purchasing?
some time late August till early Sept
neo65 and enter67 which is better?
They should've used the F1 feet for the weight and this is basically a Parallel Sequence but affordable.
if i got a rainy75 and a qk65 is it worth to get this too?
Definitely, if you want a budget keyboard that is not foam dependent and you want to try new mounting style too.
Are those real copper/brass weights or just a special finish on stainless steel? A copper weight on such a cheap board would be insane
it is real brass and copper
brass should be cheaper that stainless steel btw
but bc of the huge moq and how small the weights are it‘s not really a that big cost factor
I'm glad I don't use 65s anymore. The option overload is real
How long does it take to ship?
Do the bluetooth hotswap PCB support VIA too?
yes
included bag ? cool
they should have just implement the plate similarly like portal65 where u can pull out the whole assembly with a keycap puller
it actually is
Bro was waiting for a Qk65 update like he was waiting for GTA 6 or smthn
What electric screwdriver is that?
is this milk white or white?
This is good for the price, but if you wait at the end of the year qk65V2 is coming...
what does gasket mount mean
It refers to the way the PCB is secured to the keyboard case. In a normal keyboard, the PCB is screwed into the case and is rigid.
A gasket mounted keyboard uses small rubber pieces called gaskets which allows the PCB to "bounce" inside the case like you can see at 5:59.
Keycaps?
Man, I'm jealous. I have a bakaneko and this is literally that but better. Don't forget it's also cheaper
What makes it better?
Am gonna pick one up for a friend! Also one for me.
nahhh imma still take my QK65 over this
fair
raif
Mad
Crazy
Insane
There are just too many of these keyboards that look so much alike. I dont care anymore 😂
Funny that the only people who can beat Qwertykeys...is Qwertykeys themselves lol
It looks pretty sleek but not a huge fan of the sound
I had already decided I'm buying at least 1 of these, but might end up buying more. I think aesthetically the case reminds me of the Envoy. Probably because it's a 1 piece design with similar lines. But I appreciate that this uses a simple gasket mount or an o-ring mount. Has wireless (hopefully VIA supported) and is just going to be so much cheaper. If the wireless PCB has VIA support (guessing sideloaded via the daughter board like some others have done) then it's a no brainer for me. One of my biggest issues with so many of the other "budget" boards with their odd proprietary software.
EDIT: didn't realize screw-in stabs couldn't work with o-ring mount. But nice to include clip-ins.
Also, personally, it's by far the best value out right now. Especially that they are including some form of stabilizers as well. I will actually be able to get this delivered to me in the US for around the $150 price unlike the cycle7 everyone is raving about which was going to cost me over $200.
buy 1 nicer oring board instead tbh, there‘s actually no reason to buy multiple neos
@@kenguru_kbd for me there is. I want multiple colors to swap into my setup and this is affordable.
sounds like the envoy
No contest, o-ring is the way for this board with no foam.
nearlucid is cool
gasket/oring is confusing to me. if they just did oring/top mount it'd be the most exciting budget board by far (besides cycle7)
Kinda hard to top mount a single piece design though don't you think? Personally am glad it isn't a top mount.
@@JustSomeGuy009 here's the thing, the only reason it has gasket mount is to allow plateless, but we know 9/10 (if not more) neo65 will be shipped with hotswap PCB so very few ppl will run plateless. adding a seam and making it 2 piece to allow top mount would cost virtually nothing. plus gasket mount is very rarely implemented well, QK certainly has never done gasket mount well. it is very hard to fuck up a top mount and very difficult to do gasket well
Top mount is impossible for a single piece case design
@@schtendo4464 Having to cnc 2 different piece of aluminium would rapidly increase the cost lmao
@@z4k1_zaki65 that's simply not true, look at cycle7, it's 2 piece, *much* heavier, more complex engravings, more complex chamfers + fillets, more complex inner design, complex assembly mechanism, and the biggest part, lower projected sales volume than any QK board while barely more expensive.
Bold Title for a mid board. QK65 hits better
Mode Envoy better
For twice the price?
@@z4k1_zaki65 yea, the finish is def superior and since i'm looking for a louder board envoy provides that for me
No your dead imao !!!!!
not good for real
WHAT EVEN IS THE POINT of having a mechanical keyboard that flexes like that when you type on it? Isn’t that sort of board flex exactly what reminds one of $0 keyboards that come with your branded PC?
true