HHKB build quality not all what it's made out to be

ankit255 · 26 Feb 2013, 01:15

Hey,
I've posted this at GH too but just want to show as many people as possible how pathetic the build quality of a $450 keyboard can be and hence why it is a huge mistake to trust that kind of money on a keyboard like this even if the failure rate is very low, since warranty and repair is impossible (read: not at all viable to be without keyboard for 2-3 months, which is the down time).

Just a caution for others who are on the fence about buying the type-s vs regular or other cheaper keyboards with much better build quality(Filco for example).

The sound is a lot louder in the original video for some reason than on the youtube uploaded one. Also, even though this might seem as a minor issue, it is somewhat significant considering the other keys don't make any noise of the same pitch and amplitude. It is downright depressing and annoying when you hear $450 not spent on a *perfect* product. (perfect could be with extremely minor problems like slight key misalignment which doesn't impact function but something as ridiculous as loud noise from a "silent" keyboard)

huttala · 26 Feb 2013, 02:57

Have you talked to the reseller ? Seems like you got an faulty board, my HHKB that isn't silenced does not make that sound, so has to be something wrong with the one you got.

ankit255 · 26 Feb 2013, 03:00

The people on GH say it's quite common to have this problem on hhkb, even if it is silenced. I got it from elite keyboards.
But i can't wait for a 4-8 weeks time period for it to be "repaired". I also used a friend's non silent happy hacking keyboard and it had a good spacebar with a nice "thick" sounding spacebar, so I know there are some boards with this and some without, and from people's accounts on GH, it isn't a rare thing, so I don't think I stand any chance at a RMA from EK.. Sadly.

Icarium · 26 Feb 2013, 09:29

You could still ask, they seem to be nice in general and I'm sure you can find another keyboard for those 4-8 weeks if it should come to that.

Go optimism!

002 · 26 Feb 2013, 13:10

That's a bit crap, I agree.

Old mate in this video doesn't seem to have the problem with his HHKB. At about 0:42 he compares the space bars and it's nothing like yours.

fossala · 26 Feb 2013, 15:23

Mine is fine.

ankit255 · 26 Feb 2013, 16:44

fossala wrote:Mine is fine.

002 wrote:That's a bit crap, I agree.

Old mate in this video doesn't seem to have the problem with his HHKB. At about 0:42 he compares the space bars and it's nothing like yours.

I think EK should be doing returns if the failure rate is supposedly this low. It's pretty stupid that if there's a problem with a $450 keyboard, you're going to have to wait for 2 months. Completely ridiculous.

I just wish I hadn't bought it...

guilleguillaume · 26 Feb 2013, 18:10

Here in Spain if you buy anything online you have 7 days to return it without giving any reason.

Is not like that in USA? I guess you are an international buyer.

I hoped for no problems everytime I bought from EK because of his unexisting warranty.

ne0phyte · 26 Feb 2013, 20:17

I just ordered a HHKB Pro 2 at Smartimports.net directly from Japan and I really hope it will be okay

ankit255 · 27 Feb 2013, 00:18

ne0phyte wrote:I just ordered a HHKB Pro 2 at Smartimports.net directly from Japan and I really hope it will be okay

Good luck. Most probably you'll be fine since all the bad luck of the world is redirected to me. Im pretty sure if i buy something, I'll get one with defects. I'm going to ask my mom to buy a phone for me but give it to me only after she uses it for a day so there are no problems.

webwit · 27 Feb 2013, 00:37

ne0phyte wrote:I just ordered a HHKB Pro 2 at Smartimports.net directly from Japan and I really hope it will be okay

That's a good price... 157 euro.

ne0phyte · 27 Feb 2013, 00:55

webwit wrote:
ne0phyte wrote:I just ordered a HHKB Pro 2 at Smartimports.net directly from Japan and I really hope it will be okay
That's a good price... 157 euro.

THAT would be a good price. I don't know what currency you selected but I payed 227.90€ (incl. insured EMS 3-5 days shipping). But $295 with express shipping is still a lot cheaper than EK.

webwit · 27 Feb 2013, 01:16

It's 206 dollar to euro according to google. Must be paypal. Special exchange rate for you!

ne0phyte · 27 Feb 2013, 01:24

Weird. It shows €206.05 right now and my order shows €205.38

webwit · 27 Feb 2013, 01:30

Ah my bad. It already showed euro instead of dollar prices. I blame geoip.

Trev · 27 Feb 2013, 05:18

ankit255 wrote:Hey,
...
The sound is a lot louder in the original video for some reason than on the youtube uploaded one. Also, even though this might seem as a minor issue, it is somewhat significant considering the other keys don't make any noise of the same pitch and amplitude. It is downright depressing and annoying when you hear $450 not spent on a *perfect* product. (perfect could be with extremely minor problems like slight key misalignment which doesn't impact function but something as ridiculous as loud noise from a "silent" keyboard)

I had a very similar issue with my Realforce 87U. It made a click (high in both pitch/amplitude).

The good news is that I was able to completely fix it. I simply filled these holes with a liberal amount of "EK mech lube", which I think is just a very thick teflon grease.

Fill those, reattach spacebar, smash the key at least 50-100 times to work in the grease. You should notice it getting quieter and quieter.

It's still louder than the other keys due to the size, but none of that high-pitched click is present.It's a huge improvement for me. I really hope the same trick works in your case. Either way, that's where the noise was coming from. Even if the lube is only serving to dampen the impact of those plastic parts, I'm happy. It's been going strong for a week now.

ankit255 · 02 Mar 2013, 01:02

I got an RMA offered and accepted

Trev · 02 Mar 2013, 01:13

ankit255 wrote:I got an RMA offered and accepted

Good stuff.

It's just a shame such a high-end keyboard would make it to customers in that state. IMO, at their price point you should be seeing nothing less than a flawless board.

ankit255 · 02 Mar 2013, 07:19

Trev wrote:
ankit255 wrote:I got an RMA offered and accepted
Good stuff.

It's just a shame such a high-end keyboard would make it to customers in that state. IMO, at their price point you should be seeing nothing less than a flawless board.

Agreed. I even read somewhere that these keyboards are tested down the assembly line multiple times by both humans and machines before being passed to the consumer market... But, oh well, errors do happen and no way to make manufacturing perfect considering nothing in life (not even us humans) is.