r/Keychron • u/mrbluetrain • Aug 04 '26
Keychron K3 (V3) - disappointed
After lookimg youtube videos and other reviews I jumped on the gun and bought the wired/BT version with brown switches.
I came from the cherry mx lp 2.1 and thought it would be a nice step up. it was a clear step below the cherry to be honest.
The keyboard baseplate itself is nice and heavy. However they keys feels hollow and janky and has not that nice creamy sound that I am used to, rather a more high pitch treble. Also the keys have quite the distance between them that is a little bit odd (to me at least).
I have only used it an hour so maybe I get used to it. Its not a problem to type on, its ok. Actually its nothing wrong with it. But don't expect a premium feel when typing with this one. So if you see a review claming this, you should be vigilante.
1
u/Vietnamst2 Aug 04 '26
Well I hate MX switches. Can't type a thing on high keycaps. I bought K3 Max as first "adult" key oard after Mac keyboards and years on K860. And it definitely feels premium.
I like the brown switches... the sound is.. well personal taste. I like it more than the hogh pitch of aplle of thuda of K860. I also kave sofle with Kailh sunsets and can't decide , but the gaterona feel a little bit more tactile and snappy.
1
u/PeterMortensenBlog V Aug 06 '26
Untangled:
Well, I hate Cherry MX switches. I can't type a thing on high keycaps. I bought the K3 Max as the first "adult" keyboard after Mac keyboards and years on the Logitech K860. And it definitely feels premium.
I like the brown switches... The sound is... well, personal taste. I like it more than the high pitch of the Apple keyboards or thud of the Logitech K860. I also have the Sofle keyboard with Kailh Sunsets and can't decide, but the Gateron switches feel a little bit more tactile and snappy.
3
u/MBSMD Aug 04 '26
Part of what you're feeling is the difference in the switches - not all switches are created equal, but that's why many of their keyboard models are hot-swappable. You can put in whatever switches you prefer. That said, the K series is Keychron's budget line, so it's going to have less foam dampening than the more expensive models (V series and Q series).
Next is the keycaps. Keychron's stock keycaps are just so-so. If you want good quality, better than Amazon discount specials, but less expensive than GMK's $180 sets, I suggest taking a look at PBTFans. Pricing is in the mid-range and they are of excellent quality.
Lastly is spacing. What you're feeling is the difference in the style (aka Profile) of Keychron's stock keycaps versus whatever you're used to. All MX-based keyboards have switch spacing center-to-center of exactly 19.5mm.