i-Rocks keyboard update video (i-Rocks "v2" Clicky)
Vložit
- čas přidán 18. 05. 2022
- Skip to 5:30 for a typing demonstration.
Ermagherd, a new video type :p . Pretty surprising update from i-Rocks to their K76M Fun keyboard - a few small changes resulting in a massive difference in quality. Hope you enjoy the video!
Intro by Kyle Carter
Outro by Facundo Cabanne
My keyboard reviews: bit.ly/1TbOtft
My switch teardowns: bit.ly/2C1QGHz
My TOP X videos: bit.ly/2FmpZfd
My XL typing demos: bit.ly/2OoAW3w
My tutorials and featurettes: bit.ly/2OrkLUh
My unboxing videos: bit.ly/2TSrr0m
I'm Thomas and I do videos and reviews on mechanical keyboards ranging from the most sickening modern RGB gaming keyboards to vintage hardware relics, or sometimes keycaps or keyswitches ranging from Cherry MX to Alps SKCM to IBM buckling springs and anything in between.
Follow me on Twitter for updates on my keyboard videos! / chyrosran22
The practice sentence was: "Hello my name is Thomas and I'm typing on the updated i-Rocks keyboard right now. This is a very nice, light-typing keyboard, I really like it! They should do more of these!" - Věda a technologie
If they don't make this keyboard's official name the i-rocks Smaple I will be very disappointed.
I wasn’t entirely sure about these until you started typing, and then HOLY HELL those really do sound like Alps! It’s something about the dryness of the click noise-there’s a snappiness to it that the Cherry design can’t seem to replicate.
TealTechnick has managed to get in touch with i-Rocks and is now selling the switches straight from his website and at a very reasonable price. They look to be the undampened ones from the photos and sound tests, though I'm reaching out for confirmation. They should work with dual Alps and MX compatible PCB and he's running GBs on plates, though those are one of the absolute easiest and cheapest things to get 3D printed or CNC'd in my experience with hand-wired builds.
That is very useful information, thank you!
Have you considered doing consulting work? I feel like you could lend a lot of experience to key switch manufacturers
imagine how the custom keyboard industry would reshape if he did
@@ethur10n no offense, but I don't think he should
@@DarkoPetreski why? Because of his biases toward modern Mx-style switches?
@@atlasthechamp82 No, i like the guy. It's just that he has a very specific taste. Dunno how to explain it.
@@DarkoPetreski His taste is spot on!
Not a single expletive? Not even a hint of a blue tinge to the air? 😂
You must be impressed!
Might be getting one once it's in production and won't have that unplugging issue. Would like to see one with an ISO layout, as my main locale (Hungarian) uses it.
Agreed. ISO is the way to go.
@@XalphYT For left shift absolutely, but the ANSI return is just so much better. I found that out after not looking at the keycaps I was buying carefully enough and converting my board to make them fit, now it saves me from spending money on too many boards because few of the fancy ones have universal PCBs.
As an update a year later, the i-rocks website lists a model K76M Plus that looks like the model reviewed here - however, I can’t find it for sale anywhere & haven’t heard back from i-rocks if it Is for sale anywhere.
I would like to put it up against the Matias Tactile Pro to see how it sounds. I like the Matias well enough, but it feels sluggish oddly enough, and the keys occasionally chatter.
i might buy this when it's available. holy shit they sound fantastic and the keycaps being mx compatible means i can pick up a set of high quality PBT caps and deck this thing out. not to mention a numpad!
Awww hell yeah. Always a good day for more thomas videos! Thanks for making my day mate :)
Very interesting! I love clicky Alps or any good approximation thereof. Good to see you Tom!
Now I'm hyped. I want to try this out man
Now I wonder... What IS your favorite Alps descendant switch? The i-Rocks, the Matias or the OA2? Wanted to add the Clickiez, but as you said until they make the tactility similar to Blue Alps, they more "Alps inspired" than an actual Alps descendants.
I think the Clickiez have the potential to be better, but need some tactility and weighting adjustments. In the meantime it's probably these ones!
Since these are MX-compatible... how would they sound with a set of thick SA doubleshot keycaps on them? May also want to grease the stabs while you're at it to silence them and let the switch sound dominate.
Do they sell the switches independently from the keyboards?
I am not a guy that goes for the sound, but damn, this one is pretty nice.
My Zeal Clickiez preorder finally shipped a few days ago, but I’m also curious about these switches. If the official product is affordable when iRocks release a board with the updated version, I’d love to try them.
Wow.. impressive!! these are really cool
How in the hell does a keyboard not work cold-boot? That's a deal breaker if I've ever seen one.
USB can be weird. It may work fine under Linux.
@@sir0herrbatka correct, I have a split keyboard that has the issue, but it’s only an issue with Windows, I dual boot with Manjaro and it doesn’t have any problems
I've seen a few boards with full nkro that won't work in bios on older motherboards after a reboot until you replug them. nkro over USB does some trickery with the USB protocol that some bioses don't understand, and I assume the board isn't smart enough to switch on the fly after a reboot.
@@ENDESGA Redox? Because I have exactly the same problem with redox. Anyway, even different motherboard can make a difference sometimes.
@@sir0herrbatka Iris V5 from Keebio, and I have the issue with another board too that was also fixed via Linux
earliest i've ever been to a chyrosran vid 🙏
Me too!
same
Its a very good looking keyboard, I hope they don’t change the styling on this one when they get it into production.
I think they're on to something with this keyboard! Other than that startup issue, this would be a great keyboard for people who want tactile Alps-like switches, but can't afford real ones. I know I can't afford a retro OG Alps or Keymacs keyboard. If they release this keyboard with those switches (w/o dampeners) and fix that boot up issue at a reasonable price (less than $100), I would definitely buy one. I would switch out the keycaps for something a little more retro looking, but I've been pretty interested in Alps switches for a while. I agree that I like the keyboard shell much more than the lego style from the previous version. I really hope they don't screw up and add dampeners to their switches!
I also agree with other people that should call this the "iRocks Smaple" keyboard. Nice update vid! Keep us posted!
hey thomas! judging by some of your comments in your gateron yellow and other videos, I wonder if you would consider doing a redux on you best linear switch video. i think the tactile video is good and the clicky video is perfect, but linear has had the best development in recent times. i think that the opto electric and some of the new mx switches have passed the vintage stuff in terms of smoothness. i think that aqua kings, tangerines, cj's, alpacas, oil kings are now the smoothest switches ever made and all have really good spring weightings. i think that with linear, the modern stuff has the vintage beat!
In your dreams pal!
In one of the Q&As he mentioned he didn't really enjoy doing TopX videos.
There's still hope he might one day revisit them, but I wouldn't wait around for it.
@@greenUserman yeah. But he also said they get good views
It's true, the linear list is heavily outdated. I think the chances of me redoing that list are slim though. Maybe if I get really bored someday xD .
@@Chyrosran22 yeah, I think you said those videos suck to make but they get tons of views soooo… eventually. Cheers mate 🍻
Every now and then I'll take a look at the company website to see if they have any updates on this keyboard but so far, nothing yet. Quite a shame, love unique endeavors like this and will prolly scoop one up should it become available.
Edit: The older comment just before mine kind of dashed those hopes already, shucks.
I think it sounds very nice, actually.
Update: I-Rocks confirmed via email that they decided not to move forward with this model. They suggested to try the silent switch model K78 or one of their newer gaming cherry models, which is really a shame. Seems like they don’t know what they have & a missed opportunity.
that sucks..., especially for the fact that I own a k76m. I would've loved a TKL version.
That's so unfortunate.
hi im loving the content and ive been watching for a few months and im wondering if youll be attending the mkuk meetup in september? I would love to meet you irl and see some of the wonderful boards you have in person
thank you so much for the birthday present!
Bros voice goes down to a Bb1 without trying, i gotta hear how low this man can go
Would these switches be available separately?
Chyros you should do a demonstration of these with SA keycaps :D
looks a lot like the sega tera drive keyboard (great) and has amazing sound, i want one god damn
In terms of feel how do these stack against complicated alps whites?
Can this switch fit into alps PCB and plate? If so, do they sell switch separately? This could be better than the matias clicky, which sounds very pingy and high pitch.
No. The itocks switch has a center "pin" like MX switches which most Alps PCBs won't have. And they are larger than alps so they don't fit in the plates either. You generally need a custom board to use them.
I'd tried to fit one in an Alps+Cherry compatible plate. It could barely fit and the travel smoothness seemed to be affected, so not recommended.
@@BillyBuerger Damn shame. Imagine those in keymacs :D
@@twetto9129 The other thing I noticed with these switches is that the bottom housing is kind of soft. So you might be able to squeeze it into a tight plate but often it will deform the housing slightly making the stem stick. You really need a plate with the larger openings for them to work correctly.
Clickety clack the Chyrosran is back. Nice video 😀
Is there any update on this keyboard? I want one so badly.
I asked irocks and they say there aren’t any plans for non silent version of the switches. There is the K76M plus / K76MN plus that doesnt have the removable lego cover, but only comes with red and and brown switches.
a clicky that sounds this good? holy hell i am impressed.
besides the rattly space bar (which is an easy fix), these sound amazing
Just discovered your channel looking for a review on IBM M keyboards. So underrated..
Can I ask you what microphone are you using? And what audio software? Your tone is ootw.
Thanks
I'm using an sE X1 mic, the software is Audacity :) .
can these switches be desoldered and placed on mx boards?
I’m pretty much sold on this board. Do we have any other info about it and/or its non-dampened switches? I’d love to grab one of these but as far as I can tell I-Rocks doesn’t seem to have much in the way of an English website or social media presence.
What are the best tactile alps switches/clones I can get for under 100?
When will this come out? I wonder if it will be cheap? How much the lego one was?
Have you tried disabling NKRO to get rid of boot up issue? Some USB controllers freak if it's more than 6KRO, it's always fixed the issue on keebs i had a problem with. It's usually a thing when going through 2.0 hubs or early usb 3.0, most motherboards made since 2020ish won't have it, i.e anything USB 3.2 up with modern chipset.
PS. Disabling legacy USB boot in BIOS and just relying on EFI should fix it too, but it'll often cause issues with vintage boards - especially those running through various adapters.
Yes, any keyboard that always presents itself as true NKRO is going to have this issue
Dude, you should review the NCR80, a really cool vintage inspired board that you can get for like $100
WELCOME BACK!
Crossing my fingers, this looks very promising
Oo. I have a couple of vintage laptops with Alps, and have been wanting something similar as I'm not allowed to use my Unicomp Classic at work --- my favourite is an IBM 5140 with Alps SKCM Brown. This sounds ideal. I just need it to be ISO, the way the gods intended, and, you know, _actually available_ ...
I love that laptop, i would love to own one.
Will the switches be available loose?
The bopomofo symbols on the keys look nice!
Im honestly confused why you only received the k76 in 2020 because they launched in 2016. You can’t buy them anymore
Simnple is beautiful. Something many brand producers forget..
Oh i got 2 Unicomp Keyboards with the. not turning on after pc bootup.
did find out using a Logitech mouse USB Extension Cable works.
but don't know why it does. just a little tip 😀
Iirc it has to do with the version of the USB protocols that are implemented. It is definitely a strange issue, though.
Depending on your computer and access to the bios, try looking for ErP mode and disabling that to see if your cold boot usb issue is resolved. A lot of newer mobos in the last 5-7 years come with features to keep peripherals and usb devices with slight power, even when the computer is off, sleeping, or suspend state.
This feature does not play well with some Keyboard firmware/pcb components. Disabling will mean you lose the usb charging for attached devices while off feature, so if that is a deal breaker skip it.
@@zenithseeker7 I'm happy it works 😀
@@zenithseeker7 I was lucky to find it. did not wanted to go. to the back of the pc every time i turn it on. so did use it. i never have to reconnect the usb again🙂
I’ve never had that problem on boot up but my Unicomp used to fail to connect after Windows sleep. It went away with Windows 11 but sometimes the PC itself won’t wake from sleep now - which has nothing to do with the keyboard and everything to do with this being an old weird PC that needs to be replaced, not hacked to work with an unsupported OS.
chyrosran22 whats ur mordern fav clicky switch?
Can you please tell us what is the switch being heard in your intro videos? great video, btw.
Blue Alps in his Acer KB-101a.
It's mega super loud, good lord. But looks really nice, I like it
Haha, you should hear some of my older boards! xD
The switches sound really nice! But that stabilizer needs fixing lol
love your voice :)
I had to rush to the train station to rush home until my armpits were sweaty like crazy just to watch this video when I saw the update 🤣🤣🤣
Where can I buy this?
Substantive keyboard stuff, aside, those Chinese character stems look really cool. It's like having cuneiform or something!
Are the stems of these compatible with og Alps housings
No.
Chyrosran22 oh well
Hey, would you say these are the closest things to the blue alps?
It's not close or even all that similar to blue Alps. But because nothing else is even trying really, it's probably closest of anything in production, yeah. But again, that's not saying much.
They look kind of like they are pin-compatible to Alps SKCM/L.
Why does it sound so rattly? Bad stabilizers or inherent to the switches?
Only seems to be the space bar, so probably just typical stab rattle from badly stabilised keys
It's the spacebar for sure. The rest of the keys sound find to me.
I gotta get one! I wonder if they sell these. If anyone has a link to buy (when they make one), please do send it to me
Now i wanna know how inputting Chinese works?
wow. i-rocks really did spell "smaple" right. thank you for correcting my grammar.
(just for the joke from the back of the keyboard lol)
I'm going to assume that these sound better than matias
There's a bit of a rattle, but mixed with some thocc.
They should call this keyboard the IRox Smaple, that should be its product name.
MMmmmm maple
i-Rocks Smaple
4:00 It at least sounds miles ahead better that any of custom keyboards in community. I don't like sound of shaking compressed spray bottle on my keyboards.
The blind hate for customs in this part of the community is almost as bad as the blind love for them. I get the dislike for the overuse of the MX design and the abundance of 400$+ keyboards that sound mostly the same, but they aren't all bad keyboards they are just different.
And there are things that customs get right like the focus on getting rid of stab rattle, It's hard to like most sounds test on this channel because the space bar is always rattling. Or the insane amount of options so you can tune your keyboard. And with the zeal clickiez showing the good side of clickies im sure there are going to be custom boards tuned for a more roomy sound like RAMA cases
Tbh that's the only sound i like in the custom keyboard community, something like jelly epoch marbly/poppy sound not too clacky or too deeply thocky just right in between like a shaking spray bottle you mention. If I can just put alps on that jelly epoch board I would do that for the sake of experiments because i've seen alps with very small tight aluminium case and it sounds very sad.
No weirdness? Its ANSI!
Keyboard sound ... nice. Spacebar sound ... oh no, never mind!
If this is low latency count me IN
How do they compare with Monterey light blue switches? Hoping this will be a modern equivalent as my Chicony has a trackball instead of arrow keys as well as chattering issues.
oh no, chyros said thock
No profanity? Must be a really good keyboard 😉
Taiwanese 'bopomofo' phonetic notations on the keyboard.
I wish it were little silent then I could use.
0:16 "𝗦 𝗺 𝗮 𝗽 𝗹 𝗲"
Holy shit , I'd buy the fuck out of that