I just received a relatively new Niz-tech keyboard. It's a 75%, capacitive switch, bluetooth+wired keyboard.
I honestly wasn't expecting much but this keyboard --albeit not free from defects-- is incredibly well built and generally a pleasure to type on.
I'll post more details soon and also dismantle it but the first impression is very good. The case and general construction is very sturdy. Plastic doesn't look/feel cheap and the sound of these silenced Topre-like capacitive switches is mesmerizing. I got of course the 45g version (a 30g variant is also available).
You can connect it to up to 3 bluetooth devices but it also works on wire. Keycaps are PBT and the font is better than I would have expected, unfortunately they did a few errors here and there but I can live with it. The stem is cherry compatible, so you can switch whatever fancy keycap set you have. Stabs are costar but I still have to dismantle it.
Firmware is very comprehensive (you can basically completely reprogram it), but the BT section would require a better implementation imho. After 1 to 3 hours it turns itself off automatically and to turn it on you need to press the power button. The firmware would need to gradually slowdown itself (after few minutes) up to the point of going in a deep power saving mode and finally turning itself off. As far as I can tell as of now it's either off or on. Battery life is still unknown but I don't expect it to last more than 4-5 days. I'll keep you posted
You can set a game and an eco mode to save power, though, which is nice. In standard usage I really can't tell the difference.
Another nice feature is the option to vary the actuation point: low/mid/high. I must say that's really sweet and you can actually feel the difference.
In my opinion the biggest flaw is the sealed inside lipo battery. I would have loved to use my eneloop on this thing. To charge the battery you need to have a USB cable at hand and the position of the usb port under the keyboard is not very comfortable for ease of swapping.
I'll play with it another week or so and make an extensive review... including dismantling this bitch... but so far looks like a great piece of hardware.
NizPlum capacitive micro 82, first impressions
- matt3o
- -[°_°]-
- Location: Italy
- Main keyboard: WhiteFox
- Main mouse: Anywhere MX
- Favorite switch: Anything, really
- DT Pro Member: 0030
- Contact:
- AdrianMan
- Location: Bucharest Romania
- Main keyboard: Monokei Kei, HHKB, Beige Leopolds - FC660c&980c
- Main mouse: Kensington Expert Trackball
- Favorite switch: topre & smooth+0wobble+BIG bump 50-67g+silent
- DT Pro Member: 0222
Is this the 2019 version ?
The are supposed to have improved sliders & housings, less wobble and smoother.
I had an older Niz 75 board but ultimately sold it because I was barely using it, mostly because I found the sliders to be much more wobbly than my novatouched fc660c/fc980c and even Zealios at that time.
It looked pretty darn cool ... the white case matched great vivid color keycaps and it was my first and only RGB board I ever had, and was very fun to play with.
A pic with keycaps from my Leopold FC750R PD:
And a pic with stock keycaps, the first batch were all of the keys were white:
I also found the board to be louder and thockier than FC660c/980c/Novatouch , even it was supposed to be the silent version, and I lubed the sliders+stabs and dampened the case...
Disassembly was kinda flimsy and plasticky, but I enjoyed that the membrane sheet had some guides on the sides and was easy to install back.
I also installed once some BKE Redux Ultralight domes on it, but it was hardcore and took me ages and opened the board 4 times because there are no guides on the edge of the housings like the topre boards have, and you are aligning the domes blindly basically, and every little mistake / dome corner over another equals a bad feel / not registering keys ... so TLDR : bke domes compatible, for hardcore nerves and lots of fiddling.
I am very curious about the 2019 version ... for me to be a true candidate now for a main driver, it should have better stabilizers, a painted plate in white/black whatever (that shiny aluminium isn't my thing) and to be more silent.
That's about all I have to say about the Niz Plum capacitive older versions for now.
P.S: I also found the port for the cable uncomfortable to use, so I used a magnetic cable like this:
The are supposed to have improved sliders & housings, less wobble and smoother.
I had an older Niz 75 board but ultimately sold it because I was barely using it, mostly because I found the sliders to be much more wobbly than my novatouched fc660c/fc980c and even Zealios at that time.
It looked pretty darn cool ... the white case matched great vivid color keycaps and it was my first and only RGB board I ever had, and was very fun to play with.
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
Disassembly was kinda flimsy and plasticky, but I enjoyed that the membrane sheet had some guides on the sides and was easy to install back.
I also installed once some BKE Redux Ultralight domes on it, but it was hardcore and took me ages and opened the board 4 times because there are no guides on the edge of the housings like the topre boards have, and you are aligning the domes blindly basically, and every little mistake / dome corner over another equals a bad feel / not registering keys ... so TLDR : bke domes compatible, for hardcore nerves and lots of fiddling.
I am very curious about the 2019 version ... for me to be a true candidate now for a main driver, it should have better stabilizers, a painted plate in white/black whatever (that shiny aluminium isn't my thing) and to be more silent.
That's about all I have to say about the Niz Plum capacitive older versions for now.
P.S: I also found the port for the cable uncomfortable to use, so I used a magnetic cable like this:
Spoiler:
- matt3o
- -[°_°]-
- Location: Italy
- Main keyboard: WhiteFox
- Main mouse: Anywhere MX
- Favorite switch: Anything, really
- DT Pro Member: 0030
- Contact:
yes it's the new version (2019). I have both a leopold 660c and a realforce and the niz doesn't really feel wobbly. Actually the realforce is probably less sturdy. I can't say it's really quiet, the sound is a muted "tock" but still very audible.
The place is still aluminum.
- AdrianMan
- Location: Bucharest Romania
- Main keyboard: Monokei Kei, HHKB, Beige Leopolds - FC660c&980c
- Main mouse: Kensington Expert Trackball
- Favorite switch: topre & smooth+0wobble+BIG bump 50-67g+silent
- DT Pro Member: 0222
Yes, if it's 2019 version it has improved sliders+housings + material should be smoother : https://www.nizkeyboard.com/product/201 ... ec-switch/matt3o wrote: ↑21 Jun 2019, 07:46yes it's the new version (2019). I have both a leopold 660c and a realforce and the niz doesn't really feel wobbly. Actually the realforce is probably less sturdy. I can't say it's really quiet, the sound is a muted "tock" but still very audible.
The place is still aluminum.
- Menuhin
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: HHKB PD-KB400BN lubed, has Hasu Bt Controller
- Main mouse: How to make scroll ring of Expert Mouse smoother?
- Favorite switch: Gateron ink lubed
- DT Pro Member: -
I had the original 75% Plum and I sold it not long after I bought my HHKB
The biggest obvious change I can see is their boss who invented many uncommon layouts listened to the community:
Changed the 5.5u spacebar that no one can find
To a standard 6.25u spacebar
Now it is compatible with lots of keycap sets out there.
I still hope there can be a black and POM version of this though.
Regarding the rubber dome sheet - I can only find 35g version on NiZ website for this model, not the 45g version. They are obviously not as snappy as the real Topre domes anyways - but still very comfortable. One thing people can do is to spend another $80 and carefully mod it with the super snappy (or actually too snappy and harsh) BKE Redux domes.
Will I buy it again? Likely is there’s a POM version - there’s no much in POM in the market right now. And if I have the time and $ to mod it for better rubber domes. But the bottom line is, I am too accustomed to the HHKB layout which has a split backspace...
The biggest obvious change I can see is their boss who invented many uncommon layouts listened to the community:
Changed the 5.5u spacebar that no one can find
To a standard 6.25u spacebar
Now it is compatible with lots of keycap sets out there.
I still hope there can be a black and POM version of this though.
Regarding the rubber dome sheet - I can only find 35g version on NiZ website for this model, not the 45g version. They are obviously not as snappy as the real Topre domes anyways - but still very comfortable. One thing people can do is to spend another $80 and carefully mod it with the super snappy (or actually too snappy and harsh) BKE Redux domes.
Will I buy it again? Likely is there’s a POM version - there’s no much in POM in the market right now. And if I have the time and $ to mod it for better rubber domes. But the bottom line is, I am too accustomed to the HHKB layout which has a split backspace...
- matt3o
- -[°_°]-
- Location: Italy
- Main keyboard: WhiteFox
- Main mouse: Anywhere MX
- Favorite switch: Anything, really
- DT Pro Member: 0030
- Contact:
- AdrianMan
- Location: Bucharest Romania
- Main keyboard: Monokei Kei, HHKB, Beige Leopolds - FC660c&980c
- Main mouse: Kensington Expert Trackball
- Favorite switch: topre & smooth+0wobble+BIG bump 50-67g+silent
- DT Pro Member: 0222
You are referring to POM keycaps or case?Menuhin wrote: ↑21 Jun 2019, 11:05I had the original 75% Plum and I sold ....
Will I buy it again? Likely is there’s a POM version - there’s no much in POM in the market right now. And if I have the time and $ to mod it for better rubber domes. But the bottom line is, I am too accustomed to the HHKB layout which has a split backspace...
On the old version, the black ones had POM cases vs white ones and if yes, what was the difference in feel/sound?
- Menuhin
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: HHKB PD-KB400BN lubed, has Hasu Bt Controller
- Main mouse: How to make scroll ring of Expert Mouse smoother?
- Favorite switch: Gateron ink lubed
- DT Pro Member: -
(Sorry for the typos as I used mobile device touchscreen keyboards)AdrianMan wrote: ↑21 Jun 2019, 17:11You are referring to POM keycaps or case?Menuhin wrote: ↑21 Jun 2019, 11:05I had the original 75% Plum and I sold ....
Will I buy it again? Likely is there’s a POM version - there’s no much in POM in the market right now. And if I have the time and $ to mod it for better rubber domes. But the bottom line is, I am too accustomed to the HHKB layout which has a split backspace...
On the old version, the black ones had POM cases vs white ones and if yes, what was the difference in feel/sound?
POM keycaps
POM case does not exist in the non-custom world, I believe, but I maybe wrong
The black PLUM keyboard model have POM keycaps (Cherry profile) and ABS case (I believe) with metal plate.
Sound-wise I believe similar to a silenced Leopold 660C (plated also) or perhaps the other silenced Topre. But when modded with the BKE Redux will be louder - the BKE Redux domes are obnoxiously louder.
Feel-wise It’s a dap lighter than the stock 45g Topre and a bit mushier, i.e. less Tactile, but also less tiring than the 45g Topre. I believe the 45g Plum may feel like 35g Topre. Also, metal-plate mounted makes the bottoming out sturdier like the Leopold and RealForce, but some people like the plastic plate for comfier bottoming out like the HHKB.
P.s. Feel for a case depends a lot on construction and design, e.g. what kind of tray-mount, where are the mounting points, what kind of top-mount, how are the sandwiched mounting constructed and plate materials and plate flex allowance in its design and many other things - case material is just one point among these parameters.
Feel-wise for POM caps - very hard caps yet very slippery. Typing on POM caps makes me feel like swiftly flowing in water, very fluid like.
- AdrianMan
- Location: Bucharest Romania
- Main keyboard: Monokei Kei, HHKB, Beige Leopolds - FC660c&980c
- Main mouse: Kensington Expert Trackball
- Favorite switch: topre & smooth+0wobble+BIG bump 50-67g+silent
- DT Pro Member: 0222
Thanks for the description
I read about PPS keycaps also, they are supposed to be even harder than POM :
https://www.keebtalk.com/t/proxy-shippi ... ycaps/5705
- Menuhin
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: HHKB PD-KB400BN lubed, has Hasu Bt Controller
- Main mouse: How to make scroll ring of Expert Mouse smoother?
- Favorite switch: Gateron ink lubed
- DT Pro Member: -
Thanks for the GB link - I may get one set of black PPS also.AdrianMan wrote: ↑21 Jun 2019, 20:56Thanks for the description
I read about PPS keycaps also, they are supposed to be even harder than POM :
https://www.keebtalk.com/t/proxy-shippi ... ycaps/5705
I have a set of blank Cherry POM but it lacks even the 1.75u Shift...
-
- Main keyboard: keycool
- Main mouse: ibm
- Favorite switch: blue
- DT Pro Member: -
PLUM/NIZ 75 black keyboard has POM side print keycap