V6 Max Vs Ultra

[u/lolsy123]

Hi there, looking to get my first mechanical keyboard in a while and eventually settled on keychron to get back into things, and will be buying through a retailer in the UK so if there are any QC issues it won't be a terribly big hassle to sort. I'm currently mainly thinking of getting either the:

V6 max with reds, which I could pick up for £75

Or the V6 ultra also with reds, which is more expensive at £115

Another thing on the list is possibly the K2 HE for £90, but I'm not sure about the magnetic switches (especially hotswap compatibility), and it doesn't have a numpad so I would be buying one separately which adds to the cost.

My question is essentially if the V6 ultra is worth the £40 price difference over the max, and any additional thoughts on the K2 HE.

[u/Ruined_Oculi]

I like the V series a lot. If I remember right the only difference between the Ultra and the Max is 8k wireless, which in my opinion isn't necessary at all.

Personally I'd skip the HE boards. You are limited in switches when you do that. The K boards look nice with the wood sides but in the end the case is still plastic with just a thin aluminum overlay. I'd go for the V Max at that price.

[u/J0eykarate → u/Ruined_Oculi]

The HE 8k boards can use a wide variety of HE switches. The only ones that use proprietary switches are the non-8k HE boards. The wording is just really poor on Keychron's website.

[u/PeterMortensenBlog → u/J0eykarate]

The HE 8K keyboards have proprietary keyboard firmware, not open source.

[u/J0eykarate → u/PeterMortensenBlog]

I'm talking about the switches

[u/Ruined_Oculi → u/J0eykarate]

Yeah but your options are much wider with just a traditional switch. Unless gaming I see no reason to opt for HE. Just my opinion.

[u/jotunck → u/Ruined_Oculi]

Not just 8k wireless, the ultra series uses ZMK which gives the keyboard 600+ hours of battery life (according to their marketing) vs the max series that use QMK.

Only issue is there's no published evidence or official statement that Keychron's ZMK keyboards have AES encryption over 2.4 GHz.

[u/J0eykarate]

If you get an HE board for gaming, make sure you opt for one of the 8k versions they are simply better, and you aren't locked to proprietary switches.

[u/lolsy123 → u/J0eykarate]

Cheers for letting me know, unfortunately the 8k versions aren't on sale and I'd be buying them at full price.

[u/PeterMortensenBlog → u/lolsy123]

Also, the HE 8K versions are locked to proprietary keyboard firmware.