[megous]

I wonder if this is the audiophile equivalent of computer enthusiasm.

I mean, like audiophiles buying gold cables for 10x the price and no reason, and using 20's tech (vacuum tubes) in their amps, selecting individual tubes and all that...

So here the keyboard enthusiasts select their switches, key curvatures, materials, etc. and the result might just be some placebo feel good improvement and more noise for everyone else.

[segfaultbuserr]

> I wonder if this is the audiophile equivalent of computer enthusiasm.

Obviously, there are many similarities, for examples,

* Community-driven

* DIY

* Emphasis on personal paste and preferences

This is why, drop.com is actually a well-known group-buy website that offers BOTH audiophiles AND mechanical keyboards.

> I mean, like audiophiles buying gold cables for 10x the price and no reason, and using 20's tech (vacuum tubes) in their amps, selecting individual tubes and all that...

But there are some important differences as well. Computer enthusiasm is either the delivery of objective performance or personal tastes and preferences. However, a large subset of the audiophile market is pseudoscientific, useless snake-oil that pretends to be an objective improvement.

Using vacuum tubes and selecting them individually is a personal preference, but buying "cryo-treated" vacuum tubes, some questionable power conditioners, and gold cables and actually believing them can have a significant effect (compared to, let's say, spending the money on upgrading the sound source or the acrostics of your room) is pure snake-oil.

On the other hand, computer enthusiasts know exactly what they are buying for, the transparency and competition is radical in the industry, unlike parts of the audiophile market.

> some placebo feel good improvement

There is no placebo effect, as mechanical keyboards users simply say that it's comfortable to type, and I don't see claims about how they can make you type faster (on the other hand, whether advocacy of alternative keyboard layouts are completely placebo effects would be something worth an actual discussion, e.g. I'm currently typing this on Dvorak).

You'll know without question that two mechanical keyboards have different characteristics, and you would have a personal preference. On the other hand, the same cannot often be said for some audio "equipment" such as a gold cable.

[oposa]

I don't know. I think there are some parallels, but more in the sense that many audiophile probably don't care that much about the audio. It is more about singling that you are successful enough to buy and care about different things. I think the same can be true of mechanical keyboards (and tech gadgets in general). People like the idea of something being special and having time for that more than they care whether it is. Which is why you will likely find that most people care more about the keycaps than the decaps.

[DennisP]

Not all mechs are noisy. Personally I was having significant pain in my finger joints until I switched to mechs with (fairly quiet) Cherry Brown and Red switches, and trained myself to type mostly without bottoming out the keys.

[the_pwner224]

There are very clearly noticeable differences between the different keyswitches, and also between different shapes of keycaps. And not just in mechanical keyboards.

I have used a mass-manufactured red (linear quiet) keyboard, a custom split blue (tactile loud/clicky) mechanical keyboards, the keyboard on my current XPS 15, and many years ago a MSI gaming laptop with a SteelSeries-made rubber dome keyboard. I realize these are audiophile terms, but there is a huge difference in how each keyboard feels and how satisfying it is to type on them. It's not just like having slightly 'cripser' etc. audio - the differences are extremely obvious.

The red keyboard sucks for typing; I didn't realize how much until I switched to the blue. They offer no feedback and my WPM and error rate is much higher/lower on the reds. The blues have very solid feedback and feel nice to type on, the sound is also beautiful. The keyboard on the XPS 15 sucks, it's like typing on a piece of styrofoam - but better still than the new MacBook keybaords, which feel like like typing on a piece of wood. The MSI laptop had a very deep keyboard (almost as much key travel as a mechanical one) and the keys were heavy. The pressure required to push them down felt nice, and they bottomed out in a very satisfying way. I only use the MSI laptop a few times a year but I always look forward to typing on it.

If you only drove 4 door sedans (normal rubber domes) you would think that people are crazy for wanting to get their own customized cars in different form factors, but if you drove a sedan and a SUV and a pickup truck and a motorcycle you would know that it's very much not just a 'placebo feel good' difference.

On the other hand if you go to /r/mechanicalkeyboards you'll find weirdos spending $200 on keycaps and cases and $50 on USB cables, or people that collect dozens of keyboards, or people that use 10x3 keyboards (letters + space, no numbers ctrl alt etc.). Those people are the audiophile-type ones. I just have a nice $120 keyboard which I love to use and which will last a decade or more.

You can find audiophile-type stuff for really every category of purchaseable products. I have a beautiful metal $15 fountain pen (Pilot Metropolitan); on /r/fountainpens you'll find weirdos spending $100 on an ugly octagonal pen made with transparent plastic. Here's a video on laundry machine collectors who bring dirty clothes to meets and listen/watch to the laundry machines go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmmmxI-Y_6U

Also, to some people the sound is really pleasing. You may want to try out Bucklespring, which plays the sounds of an old IBM buckling-spring keyboard through your computer speakers, and you might realize why so many people like clicky keyboards. When I'm not using headphones I can hear the blues, when I am wearing headphones the blue switches are muffled and their sound mixes with the sound of Bucklespring. When I take the laptop outside and I'm alone I turn up the speakers a bit; the buckling spring keyboard on its own sounds amazingly good, and helps reduce the type-on-wood feeling of laptop keyboards.

https://github.com/zevv/bucklespring

[detaro]

> Those people are the audiophile-type ones.

At least what I've seen feels to me more like casemodders with PCs, people putting decals or body-kits on their cars, or collectors ... It's more about making something their own and making it look cool, not pretending it works that much better.