Das Keyboard Model S Professional Wired Mechanical Keyboard, Cherry MX Brown Mechanical Switches, 2-Port USB Hub, Laser Etched Keycaps (104 Keys, Black)

The following review is regarding my experience with the Das Keyboard Professional (w/ Cherry MX Blue switches), which I’ve owned for several months now. I also own the Cherry MX Brown version of the same keyboard.SPECIFICATIONSCord Length: 6.5’Top Panel Thickness: ~ 1 mmTop Panel Material: Anodized aluminum (matte), though feels similar to powder-coated finishBUILD QUALITYThe build quality of this keyboard is its strongest attribute. It’s extremely solid – there is no flexing of the keyboard at all. The keyboard is also perfectly stable on my desk as I type. After using it daily for several months now, the keyboard looks brand new. There hasn’t been any fading of the text on the key cap labels, and the black finish of the key caps hasn’t changed either. While the top panel of this keyboard is made of a solid piece of metal, the bottom is plastic (though a pretty solid feeling plastic). I suppose if the bottom of the keyboard was also made of metal that may be better, though it is possible that the plastic bottom is more effective in absorbing vibrations.DESIGN & FEATURESThis keyboard is very well designed. The non-flashy approach looks great to me, particularly compared to so many of the mechanical keyboards that look maybe a bit over the top. The font of the key-cap labels is traditional looking, which I prefer to the extra-large stylized font found on many gaming keyboards. The media keys are, in my experience, useful and well-placed. The inclusion of a dedicated “sleep” button is also very useful to me, and many other mechanical keyboards I looked at didn’t have one. In the Windows power settings, I set the sleep key to put my display into standby rather than put my computer to sleep.The volume knob is also useful to me, and I think the way in which it is placed (where it hangs over the right edge of the backplate slightly) makes it easy to adjust. The knob appears to be made of plastic, with a rubberized finish along the side and a red (looks like anodized) ring accenting the top. While I’d prefer to have the volume knob be entirely black, the red accent doesn’t stand out too much and I imagine some people would actually like it.The das keyboard logo is, in my opinion, cool and it looks good on the top-right of the backplate. Just under the logo are the blue indicator lights for num lock, caps lock, and scroll lock. The indicator lights do the job and look great from a normal typing position, though they do put out quite a bit of light straight up – in a dark room my ceiling is illuminated in blue light just above the keyboard (I keep num lock on always).The magnetic stand / ruler of this keyboard actually seems to work pretty well. It provides a nice even support across the entire keyboard, and I never have an issue with the keyboard sliding on my glass desk. I admit that I haven’t yet had a need to take the stand off and use it as a ruler, but maybe to some it would be more useful.The USB 3.0 hub (two ports) along the top right of the keyboard is very useful to me. I have my wireless mouse adapter plugged into one of them. These USB ports are an actual hub as opposed to a pass-through, so the keyboard only requires one port on the computer.Regarding the keyboard’s cord – it does seem to be attached to the keyboard securely, though it is pretty darn thick. It attaches right in the back-center of the keyboard. It is nice having an extra long cord – though for my particular setup I still need to use a USB extension cable with it. I would definitely prefer to have a cord that isn’t operantly attached.Also this keyboard doesn’t have a backlight, which hasn’t been an issue for me as my monitor provides enough light to illuminate the keyboard, but for the price a plain white backlight would still be a nice option to have.Additional features include NKRO (which does work – supposedly it is disabled by pressing shift + mute), and Das Keyboard claims this keyboard’s firmware can be updated (though not sure what could really be changed). This keyboard requires no software or drivers, which I definitely prefer compared to keyboards from many of their competitors (like Corsair, Logitech, Razer – all of which want you to have their own software always running).CHERRY MX BLUE VERSIONI purchased the cherry MX Blue version, and this is the version that I have been using most the time since I bought it several months ago. I personally like the “crisp” feel of the blue switches, though I will admit that I worry about them being too loud at times. This worry led me to also purchase the same version of this keyboard with the brown switches.CHERRY MX BROWN VERSIONI purchased the cherry MX Brown version of this keyboard as well, and I tried it off and on over the last few months, as well as exclusively for a few weeks. Well I did like many aspects of the brown switches; overall I have concluded that I prefer the blues. The brown switches were quieter than the blue switches, but I never got over the way they felt more “mushy” compared to the blue switches.PRICESo, I like the keyboard - so far, it’s the best of any mechanical keyboard I’ve owned. The price is steep, and if it perhaps had backlit keys the price would seem more reasonable. That being said, a keyboard like this should last a very long time, and I would recommend it all things considered. I would give it a 4.5 star rating if I could, but I feel that a five star rating is more appropriate than a four star one.

My first mechanical keyboard with modern switches (instead of the older buckling-spring assemblies) was a Velocifire VM01. It served me well, but I decided recently to splurge and go for a more premium deck – in this case the Das Keyboard Prime 13 with Cherry MX Brown keyswitches. It does, I must admit, have a very different feel to my significantly cheaper VM01 Keyboard. It’s not unpleasant. The switches feel very similar to the way my old Unicomp Model M buckling spring keyboard felt. There’s a very satisfying buoyancy to the keys (for lack of a better word). It’s a genuine joy to type on. I look forward to using this keyboard for National Novel Writing Month.The backlighting is even and strong – much more so than the VM01. The steel faceplate is cool to the touch and very solid. There’s no noticeable flex, even when I press very hard down on the center of the keyboard or pick it up and twist the corners away from each other.The keycaps feel nice, have a clear and professional-looking font to them, and have very little wiggle which is a nice change from my VM01. That’s a difference that $75 will get you. I may still need to put O-ring dampeners on the keys. We’ll see how loud the keyboard actually sounds once I get it set up in my office.I don’t notice the audible “PING!” when releasing larger keys such as the space bar and backspace buttons that annoyed me with the VM01. That’s a level of quality I expected – but it’s nice to see that my trust in the Das company wasn’t unfounded. This is definitely one of the nicest premium keyboards I’ve ever used – if not the best period.One very minor criticism – on keys that have two legends on them (like the number/symbol keys along the top and the bracket/curly brace keys on the side) the backlight only illuminates the top symbol and not the bottom. This is probably due to the fact that Cherry switches have their LED on the top of the switch…but it would have been nice to have both light up still.I don’t know if it’s just my unfamiliarity with the Cherry MX Brown switches, but I notice myself adding a lot of extra spaces in my writing. I’ll have to see if that goes away with more regular use. It could be that the space bar on my old Velocifire VM01 was just less sensitive and I’m used to really banging it to get it to actuate. Haha. The large buttons on this keyboard do require what seems like a lot less pressure to register than I’m used to on the VM01. I’m not sure if that’s real or imagined.Although I was assured when I bought the VM01 that the OUTEMU off-brand brown switches were comparable to Cherry MX Browns – I’m going to have to disagree. There’s a decidedly different feel to these branded Cherries on the Das. Again, this may just be confirmation bias since I paid almost twice as much for this keyboard as the VM01 – but I feel like the Cherry switches are just smoother, and require less actuation force.This is the closest feel I’ve found in a post-Model-M keyboard to the buckling spring monster I used back in the day. The keys pop back up in a satisfying and strong way. The sound is nice and clacky without being *completely* over the top. The overall look and feel of the keyboard itself is very high-end and professional looking. I see some of my coworkers bringing in high-end VGA keyboards and realize that the “gamer” aesthetic isn’t really for me. I would feel juvenile using a board with multi-colored lights on it like some twenty-something’s sports car.The cord is braided, which you’ll either love or hate. I personally like the look and feel of it myself. It terminates in 2 USB 2.0 plugs – one for the keyboard and one for the USB pass-through port on the top right of the keyboard. I like to use this for my wireless mouse receiver. It’s discreet and keeps it out of my way.This was my first purchase from Das, and I don’t believe it will be the last. It took me a long time to be able to justify the price to myself but now that I’ve used it first hand I don’t know that I’ll be willing to go back to squishy ten dollar membrane keyboards again. Das may well have ruined me for them.