Start & Q9U USB Mode 00:00
Q9U XLR Mode 00:25
Q2U XLR Mode 00:40
Q2U USB Mode 00:55
AT2020 XLR 01:10
Google Pixel 6a 01:25
Mods & Keys Q9U USB Mode 01:40
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DISCLAIMER - SOUND TESTS USUALLY AREN'T ACCURATE REPRESENTATIONS OF WHAT BOARDS SOUND LIKE IN REAL LIFE. THINK OF IT AS A WAY TO SHOW OFF WHAT A BOARD MAY SOUND LIKE, NOT AN ACCURATE "THIS IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE IN REAL LIFE" VIDEO.
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Sound test specs
- Recorded in an untreated room, so background noises can sometimes be heard
- Glorious 4mm thick desk mat on a solid wood desk
- Panasonic HDC-TM90 Camcorder
- Gain was increased in DaVinci Resolve as well as audio level normalization, but no other sort of EQ or alterations were made to the audio
- Recorded in Reaper and rendered in 24-bit/48 kHz
- Audio interfaces sample rates at 48 kHz
Mic specs
- Samson Q9U dynamic microphone used in both USB mode and XLR mode, XLR mode ran into an Audient Evo 4 audio interface, mic mounted on a boom arm attached to the desk used to type on
- Samson Q2U dynamic microphone used in both USB and XLR mode, XLR mode ran into a Sterling H224 audio interface, mic mounted on a boom arm attached to the desk used to type on
- Audio Technica AT2020 condenser microphone ran into a Sterling H224 audio interface, mic mounted on a c-stand, not in contact with the desk used to type on
- Google Pixel 6a mounted on a gooseneck mount clamped to the desk used to type on
- All mics and phone 15 cm away from the top of the keycaps (rough distance between my ears and the keycaps when measured directly vertically)
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Keyboard specs
Silver Neo70
- Plateless
- Foamless
- Gasket Mount
- Aluminum back weight
- Non-flex cut solderable PCB
- Cherry MX Red Hyperglides spring swapped with Geon 67.5g 22mm single-stage springs (bag lubed with GPL105), stem lubed with 205g0
- Cherry clip-ins, housings lubed with 205g0 and dielectric grease on the wire ends where they touch the housings
- JC Studio (Leek Bros) "Cherry" dye-sub PBT keycaps
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First and foremost, thank YOU for all the views, subs, and just general interest in the hobby and these videos in general!
This still is and always will be a hobby for me, so I'm shocked that there are people who even sub or watch my videos (this is just a form of expression and me sharing my love of the hobby with the world). I love the process of building boards and making videos, and the end result of getting views or subs is not what I'm after.
This is my last sound test video of 2023, and I wanted to end it off with a good, simple sound test. I've been working behind the scenes on improving video production quality, but I'll save that for 2024 (sound tests aren't going away, it's just that there will be other videos too).
Just like the Neo65, I think the 70 sounds great plateless. I am a huge fan of the feel of plateless (even though I usually go with stiff mounting styles and plates), plus I love just getting the "cheapest" variants of the Neo line-up.
In my opinion, the anodization of the 65 and the 70 is unbelievably smooth, and for the price, they are fantastic boards. The 70 doesn't have any JST connectors, so you just lay down both the alphas and the nav clusters and there are magnetic connectors that "lock" the PCBs in. Pretty sturdy, and makes taking out and putting in the PCBs a breeze.
2023 was a fantastic year in the hobby, because we now have options for all three "tiers" of keyboards. There have always been high-end options in the hobby, but now there are much cheaper options available (and some of them sound/look/feel really fantastic compared to the cheaper options in years past), and boards that between the cheapest options and most expensive options have filled out that middle portion as well.
Will we see a cycle/neo/frog-ish revolution in the switch and keycap categories of the hobby in 2024? Maybe! I only wish for good things to happen in the hobby.
Personally, I've fallen back to using cheap cherry switches (I stocked up on a bunch of cherry mx hyperglide reds for .16-.20 cents a pop during BFCM) and buying GMK only when on sale, so both my keycap and switch collection are stocked and ready to rock and roll for the next few years.
If 2022 was the year of falling into the rabbit hole, and 2023 was the year of stockpiling and experiencing/learning (although you never really stop learning) what my preferences were, 2024 is the year of enjoying my preferences.
Here's to a great 2024 for all of us, and for the hobby in general!