18 Dec 2013, 00:37

Introduction

Matias History and their keyboards

Matias Mini Quiet Pro Review

Analysis of the Matias Quiet switch

Switch Modifications and Repairs

Compatibility

Silence

GREEN

BLUE

RED

Amplitude Analysis

Frequency Analysis

Typing and Gaming

External Build

Cables and Connectors

Internal Build

Keycaps

Layout and Additional Features

FN Key Layer

Except for three errors:

USB HUB

Conclusion

Strong Points:

Weak Points:

Score: 9.5 out of 10

First of all, I want to warn you dear colleagues that on this review the keyboard will be compared with many others which I have, including aandI'm sorry for the people who are rookies at the mechanical keyboard field, but I won't try to be "least technical as possible". Technical terms from the area will be used, the text will be quite long and I will make references to other mechanical keyboard brands and models during the text, thus I won't be "neutral" as some are. For those who already have mechanical keyboards or understand quite well about the area, even if you won't end up buying a, please, read the article for didactic purposes.is a company with 13 years of experience in the mechanical keyboard market, although its CEO,, has over 20 years of experience in the keyboard area, including keyboards for handy-capped people, such as the(which I believe to be their oldest keyboard) and they sell mechanical keyboards, membrane keyboards, special keyboards and accessories for portable devices.The first mechanical keyboards fromstarted being sold in 2002, these being based on the, which was already out of the market and used themechanical switches. Thewas (and still is) considered by many mechanical keyboard enthusiasts andfans as "the best keyboardever released".was and still is a company very focused on themarket and shows that on several details on their products. And one of the reasons for that, is because mechanical keyboards only became, once again, popular with PCs in 2007~2009, with the release of gaming mechanical keyboards by brands such asand others.focuses especially on selling keyboards for professionals (journalists, doctors, lawyers, writers...) and has for competition brands such as(and the curious thing is that Diatec, owner of the FILCO brand, is a distributor ofkeyboards in Japan),and doesn't competes directly with gaming brands.is a veteran company from the mechanical keyboard field and shows their experience by being able to create a switch better than(up to the point of being copied by them, as on what happened with the), as well as on the many great ideas implemented into their keyboards.Theis currently the best-selling keyboard fromand one of the main reasons is because it promises to be the "", a promise that is actually true.The review will be separated in several segments, including:- Analysis of the Matias Quiet switch- External Build- Internal Build- Keycaps- Layout and additional functionsThe switches "" and "" were based, respectively, on the "" and "" switches, but both were heavily modified to allow enhancements."So, why only a few people ever heard about theswitches and why almost no keyboard uses them nowadays?". Simple, the company know as, gave up on the mechanical keyboard market around the end of the 90s, due to the popularization of cheap Personal Computers and the ascension ofkeyboards due to being far cheaper. The mechanical keyboard market just wasn't being profitable enough for them andwas getting more money from other applications such as creating and selling mechanisms and switches for cars, electronics, computer mice and even consoles (the RESET button on the Super Nintendo was made by). Anyways, both foras well as for, the mechanical keyboard market is only the "".And due to this reason,sold their rights over the production and sales of their switches to the factory that produced them, which was called "", and althoughkeyboards and the necessity of cheaper PCs was one of the reasons why theswitches weren't used anymore (though they were the market leader during 80s and start of 90s, DELL and Apple being some of their biggest customers), what really did actually "kill" theswitches wasthemselves.Even having the rights over the switches,unfortunately never put much of an effort into selling them. They never had even a single web-page, they rarely promoted their switches to other brands, they didn't invest in marketing nor research for creating new switches, their designs didn't allowed backlighting and although their switches were better than the, their quality wasn't really all that much. Basically,only filled orders from existing customers and constantlyto stop making their switches.was one offew customers, using theandswitches on their keyboards sold in between 2003 up until 2012, year on whichstopped producingswitches.But that wasn't the end of it. After years and years selling mechanical keyboards and many variations of their keyboards,in 2010 decided to bet on something new and took 2 years to achieve it. They created two new switches, being based on theandswitches, but modifying these to enhance aspects such as tactile feedback, allowing backlight (which wasn't possible on the originalswitches, only on their clones and by removing the click mechanism out of the switch) and even creating a mechanism to decrease the noise generated by the switch, a mechanism used on the "" switch, which is currently theand their biggest seller.Also, theswitches were the, since they're transparent (yes,andcopied this idea over from) and this allows them to use backlighting systems similar or equal to the ones used in backlit membrane keyboards.A great advantage that theswitches bring over from the oldswitches, is that these are incredibly easy to open, repair and modify if necessary. This is also possible withkeyboards, but the keyboard needs to be "", which unfortunately isn't very common due to howkeyboards are more popular (especially due to the extra weight and how they feel).Most of the mechanical keyboards found in the market (and basically any gaming mechanical keyboard) is, and thus it's not possible to do the same as seen on the video above, it's necessary to remove the switches soldering to repair or replace them.And why would anyone want to open the switch? Well, besides the modification possibilities (ex: placing a heavier spring on the space bar), this can be something very interesting in case you spill soda/beer/juice over your keyboard. If the keyboard is, the best option is to replace theswitch (and thus you need to know something about soldering). Now, when the keyboard is, you can open theswitch, clean its internals, lube the spring, place it back and it should respond as it did before or even better.But, the same doesn't applies toandswitches. You can open the switch easily regardless if it'sorby using two small screwdrivers.Another point that was considered by, was that their switches can and will be used by other brands. And thus, a new problem is born, is there a way to use the same project, PCB and controller with(or) andswitches? Yes.Theswitches were designed to be compatible withswitches, because they can use one of the holes used byas a hole from which the backlighting can go through (a concept that was later copied by). With some proper modification to the PCB, as seen on the Duck Keyboards, it can be done:Which means, if a certain brand wants to offer to their clients the choice betweenand, they can and the switches may even use the same backlighting system if there is one.One of the main features and selling points of theandis something quite simple and that many wished they could have on their mechanical keyboards: silence.Theswitch was designed from the start to be quiet, unlikeswitches, on which you can useto lower the noise a bit, but it doesn't reaches the same level asand not everyone likes the difference on the feedback that these rubber bands can do (myself included).Comparing it to other kinds of keyboards, the noise level thatswitches produce is a bit similar tomembrane keyboards, which are the ones used on low-profilekeyboards and Laptop keyboards.Simply listening to sound recordings or reading text is not enough to prove anything regarding how quieterswitches are compared to, it is necessary to analyze the sounds created by each one through graphics and comparing the amplitude and frequencies generated by each. Thus, to test whether or not theare more silent, we recorded 10 seconds of typing using different switches and checked out the results. The recordings used on this test were made using a "" digital recorder, positioned around 30 cm above each keyboard with the help of a support. A +14.0 dB gain was applied on each of the recording so that the graphs could be easier to understand.But before analyzing the audio, let's establish that:Razer Blackwidow Ultimate (2009 model, iOne) =Das Keyboard Model S Professional (old Costar model) =Matias Mini Quiet Pro =First, let's compare first thewith theswitch:On the graphs it's possible to analyze that theis several times more quiet than theswitch, the main difference being noticed on how much noise theproduces, which reaches some very high levels onkeyboards, especially the ones with. Onkeyboards, the sound of theis far quieter, it's not even possible to recognize when people press it.The same can be verified comparing theswitch with theswitch.And as an extra, the comparison betweenandIt's interesting to notice that theis the main cause for noise atkeyboards and although the amplitude looks just about the same betweenand, what changes between them is the frequencies which are generated. Simplifying what I'll show you guys next, themakes a "click" sound, themakes a "clack" sound and themakes a "tock" sound.It's possible to verify that the high frequncies (above 7000 Hz) are very loud on Cherry MX Blue switches, especially due to their click mechanism. The low frequency sounds are normally caused by the impact of the key reaching its end and doesn't propagates nor is it irritating (for others) like the high frequency sounds caused by theThe amplitude of low frequency signals on theis almost identical to the, although, the medium frequencies and especially the high frequencies are much lower, making the switch more silent (or at least acceptable to others) thanOn theswitch it's very easy to see not only a decrease in the maximum amplitude (which decreases from -39 to -42 dBs), but also at the low frequencies, medium frequencies andhigh frequency signals. The sound of typing on theis a muffled sound, a really quiet sound which has almost no high frequency signals and it's very comfortable to use in places where there are many people since it's actually even quieter than many membrane keyboards.The writer of this article, as owner of two keyboards withswitches and having a preference for this switch amongst the other popularswitches, thought that thewas similar to. And I was immensely mistaken. There's a huge difference between something that'ssimilar and two things that have only a few characteristics in common (ex: both the Ferrari Enzo and the Mazda MX-5 have 4 wheels and an engine).Theswitch has an activation right at the start of the key (and not at the middle likeor at the end like) and awell defined tactile feedback. The"bump" isn't felt most of the times, reason why the key is a lot similar to, but on theswitch it's impossible not to feel the tactile bump. Hell, the tactile feedback can be even felt on the(the process of removing your finger from a key you pressed and it returning to its original state).After pressing the key and going through the tactile bump, the resistance which existed earlier disappears, the only remaining resistance comes from the switch's spring, which isn't much and didn't make my fingers hurt after long sessions of FPS games, something that happens when I play using keyboards with. I playedright on the first day that the keyboard arrived and I really enjoyed how it felt, besides being also awesome to type on.But, I can understand that theswitch may not be for all. Those who have a preference for theswitch may not enjoy theswitch due to its strong tactile feedback. But for those that already use switches such asand, I really recommend you to try this switch.Opening this keyboard was extremely easy, there's only two screws in total, the rest is held on by plastic locks. And fortunately, these aren't cheap plastic locks as the ones you will find onandkeyboards and thus didn't broke (almost all plastic locks of myare broken). They're actually quite similar to the plastic locks used by the CM Storm Trigger and thewas purposely made this way so that modifications and maintenance would become an easy task.Matias keyboards are made using, a stronger plastic compared to the commonused on most mechanical keyboards (and also costs more). It's the same material used on American Football helmets and helmets used by Motorcyclists.Anyways, if someone asked me which keyboard looks more resistant between aand a, although it would be a surprise for many, I will say that theis more resistant.Although, most of you should have already noticed my fingerprints all over the keyboard. Yes, it has afinish, both inside and outside since it's a characteristic of the plastic itself (there isn't any painting on it whatsoever). This, is the detail I disliked the most on it, but the reason for that, according to Edgar Matias, is that the keyboard wouldn't sell well if theversion used a white matte finish and both versions need to have the same kind of finish.But a good thing to know, is thatplans on releasing PC Models using a black matte finish, similar to the one on this image:Another detail shown by the back picture of the keyboard, is that it has a very small amount of rubber to keep it in place, thus it's not difficult to end up moving it around the table (and the glossy finish helps that happen). The height adjustment feet also have no rubber.I'm not one to comment much about cables and talk wonders about nylon-coated cables nor about gold-plated USB connectors (most of which are just marketing bullshit that companies make up, it doesn't matters if the external shielding is made out of gold, silver, steel or brass, the only thing that matters is the internal connectors that touch each other when you plug it into a USB slot).But it's undeniable that there was an extreme care fromso that the keyboard could be portable and wouldn't break due to an extremely fragile connector or cable, as on what happens with keyboards such as Rosewill RK 9000, CM Storm Trigger, CM Quick Fire Rapid and many others which use the mini-USB connector.The first and most important decision thattook was NOT to use thestandard, but theplug:Some could even think, "Doesn't this makes it harder to find a replacement cable?". Yes, a little bit, but theconnector is used by many cellphones and for a good reason: It isstronger and durable than theand thus lasts longer without breaking.Unfortunately on the mechanical keyboard field it's not rare to see keyboards where theplug broke, reason why it's considered as being a strong point (since it makes the keyboard more portable) as well as a weak point (since it can easily break). But the same doesn't happens with the, which is quite sturdy and won't break easily.The second decision, was instead of including a single cable with the keyboard,includes two cables, one with 3.28 Feet (1 meter) and the other one with 6.56 Feet (2 meters).And why would they do that? Backup cable? No. That wasn't the reason for it.The reason whyincludes two cables is because they know the keyboard will be used in several places and a 6.56 Feet (2 meters) cable could be a hassle if someone is trying to use the keyboard on a Laptop. Besides that,also used a special connector on the 3.28 Feet (1 meter) cable:Yes, this is a USB 2.0 cable that, there's no "wrong side", just like also happens on the recently released USB 3.1 standard."But then, if it was already possible to make USB 2.0 plugs like that, then why no one else does?" The answer is simple:. More specifically, a common USB plug with only a single side costs, while the double-sided USB plug costs. As long as this difference in cost exists, you can be sure that no one will use this kind of USB plug andwas the first company I've ever seen using one.Another excelent idea was to make the cable's plug in a "L" shape:And this kind of shape brings two advantages compared to the straight cables:- It lowers the risk of the USB plug breaking.- It makes it possible for the user to easily organize the cable in case your keyboard is close to your monitor.Although those who have their computers on theirmay end up having some complications since the 6.56 Feet (2 Meters) cable may not be enough to reach the computer.By opening up the keyboard and removing its plastic covers, it's possible to see its steel plate, the keyboard's controller at the top (which is removable), the PCB and its USB HUBS at the top.A picture of the top cover without the keyboard's controller.The keyboard's PCB. Here it's possible to see that the PCB has a very simple design, there's signs showing the switches, its circuits are easy to understand, there's not much cleaning residue on it and there are writings at the top (with black marker) showing that the keyboard went through a QC test before being assembled and sold.Following, a close-up picture of the PCB, showing a little bit of the cleaning residue (do not worry about it, these white stains are harmless) and also the keyboard's soldering, on which there's no excess nor lack and it also has a, which is a characteristic of well applied soldering.And to wrap it all up, the keyboard's controller, which is removable to allow repairs in case something happens (simply replacing it could solve problems in case they happened).First of all, for those who don't know,are that plastic piece with something written on top of it, also called by most as "keys", although the term "keys" isn't very specific, as it may apply to the mechanism underneath the keycaps as well.Evaluating the quality of theconsists on two things: Itsand its(or painting).First, its material, its surface, if the keycap feels confortable to touch or not, the plastic quality and knowing whether or not it will break only because you tried to remove the keycap, as on what happened with the first keycap on this picture:On the picture above, the keycaps and keyboards are:- Logitech G710+ (- Thermaltake eSports Meka G-Unit (- Metadot Das Keybord Model S Professional (- Corsair K70 (- CM Storm Trigger (All of which are ABS plastic keycaps, but there are several quality levels even when it comes to ABS.Second, its, how the lettering is printed into the key, what kind of materials and methods are used (ex: UV Coating) and if the key wears off over time and how fast that happens. I believe no one wants to buy an expensive keyboard so that the keys wear off like these:Many of the keyboards on the pictures above are very expensive. But that's not a reason to demotivate people from buying nice keyboards (which may or not be expensive) but it's a reason for them to seek more details regarding the keyboard to see if its lettering is good or not.The keycaps come from the same Taiwanese supplier as used on(old models),and. Besides Edgar Matias admitting that himself, another proof is the plastic used and the molding mark on the rear of the keycap.Anyways, although they may come from the same supplier that doesn't exactly means they're exactly the same (it just means they use the same plastic).keycaps for an example use an UV-Coating over the keys to prevent wearing over time, but that UV-Coating itself may wear over time, making it look like the keycap is actually made of low-quality material, which isn't really true.The keycaps used on theare high quality laser etched ABS keycaps (with no UV coating) and the lettering looks really nice, although only time can show if the lettering is really resistant or not.One of the first things you readers must have noticed when you opened this topic, is the "weird" layout of theThe keyboard has a layout called "75%", which represents its size in percentage compared to akeyboard (with number pad, this would be the "100%" and it's the most common kind of keyboard in the market). Thehas a layout a bit smaller than TKL (tenkeyless, without numberpad) keyboards through the removal of a few keys and others that were moved.It may seem strange to many, but compact keyboards such as theand many others are better to use because they decrease the distance between the keyboard and the mouse, making it easier to move your hands between these and making it more comfortable to use. Also, it leaves more space available on your desk.But, thehas some details that most of the other mechanical keyboards don't, such as having "Page Up" and "Page Down" instead of "Delete" and "Insert" and the key "Delete" is at the top right of the keyboard, similar to how it is on some laptops.Another detail, is that the arrow keys aren't in the same place as on others and some keys are only accessible by using the FN key, which is located above the right arrow key. Does this layout makes the keyboard bad? No, that's what makes it so great.Although on the first weeks I made a few mistakes, the layout of themakes a lot of sense, since after all, while theandaren't exactly at the same place as on others, they're still on the same area, while thekey is on the same place as it is on many laptop keyboards which most of us are used to. Same goes for the arrow keys, which are also similar to the layout of laptops.I confess, I pressed by mistake the FN key a few times on the first week, but it was easy to adapt to how its layout is after using it for some time.One thing is unfortunately true: There's no lack of bad usage of the FN key on keyboards sold in the market, there were plenty ofideas as on where to place the FN key, up to the point of making peoplesuch key. And there's no lack of such examples:The most common thing, is tothe user to use both hands in a movement that's not really confortable to press the FN key (located either at the left side or right side of the spacebar) and then press a key located on the function row (F1, F2, F3, F4...) to execute a multimedia function, control the backlight or open up a certain software (ex: calculator).But lets be honest, are we happy with that? Do we want to remove both our hands, including the one you're holding the mouse with, just to press two keys to lower or increase the volume? No, and that's one of the reasons why so many people want a keyboard with specific keys for multimedia and/or features such asorthat can regulate the volume on the keyboard.And let's also analyze one thing, as example we'll use thewith a FN key at the right side of the spacebar and a FN Layer on the function keys.Tell me, does it makes sense to press the FN key and F5 to pause a song? F6 to stop it? F7 and F8 to skip or go back a song? F10 to mute the sound and F11/F12 to decrease or increase the volume? No, it doesn't makes much sense and that's the reason why you need to look at the keyboard to use the FN key. Besides, you must remove your left hand from the left side of the keyboard and use it to press the function keys while your right hand holds the FN key. And that's just a hassle, no one wants to do that.One of the fewthat I learned and companies such asfollow strictly is that "". A good design must make sense and the user must be able to understand how to proceed without consulting a manual or making some sort of mumbo-jumbo so that it can work.But now, let's go back to theLet's think this way: Does it makes sense to use your right index finger to press theandarrow keys to decrease the volume while your right middle finger hold the FN key? You barely need to remove your hand from the mouse and you can already press them, it's extremely easy and fast to get used to.Does it makes sense to press the FN key andkey to pause a song? Does it makes sense to press the FN Key andorkeys to get theandkeys?Although it may look weird at first glance, the FN system and layer used on theis far easier to press and to understand than in other keyboards,, reason why on the second week of use I was already used to the FN layer and using the FN key far more than I ever did with any of my other keyboards, without even having to look at the keyboard to do that. Honestly, this was a fantastic and well planned idea, better than any other keyboard with FN layer I've used.- There's a key that's usedoften by: Thekey. As you can see on the pictures of the keyboard, thekey is located at thekey, which makes it difficult to press using only the right hand, while the other FN layer keys are far easier to press using only your right hand.To press the Print-Screen key you'll either need both hands or stretching your right hand a lot to reach the FN and F9 key at the same time. And if you want to get a Print-Screen of only the currently active window (which on other keyboards would be ALT + Print-Screen), you're basically screwed.- As much as the FN key can be useful, it may end up being a problem on games if you don't know how it works on the. Why? Because when you press the FN key,(ex: W or A) and you'll need to press it again to activate it once again.The result? Well, I hit a few trees while playing Far Cry 3 on the first days I got the keyboard, because I was trying lower/increase the volume while driving and as a result it kept blocking the other keys. In otherkeyboards with FN keys such problem doesn't happens and it probably won't happen on futurekeyboards since I reported this problem to them.- Due to a project mistake, the "" key just doesn't exists on theand it's not accessible even through FN layer. It's an error thatadmits to exist. I know that many just don't use this key because the right mouse click does just about the same and it's faster in most cases, but it's really a key that doesn't exists here.As a "fix" for those who do use it,recommends to use thesoftware and replace thefor the. It's a small mistake most won't notice, but it's still a mistake nonetheless.Unfortunately many keyboards, mechanical or not, misplace USB HUBs, which end up being:- Hard to use (you need to turn the keyboard around to know where to put the USB plug - USBs at the rear side):- Being a hassle for your mouse (unless you're left handed - USB HUB at the right side of the keyboard):in the other hand, had an excellent idea to solve this problem: they placed the USB HUBs into "cavities" that allow the USB HUBs to be well positioned and used without being a bother to anyone, be it left handed or right handed people.These "cavities" that exist on the USB HUBs allow that USB Sticks, mice, wireless receivers, cellphone cables and other USB devices may be connected without being a bother to the mouse and being far easier to connect than USB HUBs at the rear part of the keyboard, although thealso has an extra USB slot at its rear.Theis a keyboard on which after analyzing it completely, all I could see was how hardand its team worked on this keyboard and all of its aspects, be it its switch, the external and internal build, its layout, the FN key system and its keycaps. There are only a few weak points on this keyboard and its strong points outnumber them in both quantity and value. It's really a keyboard on which I felt happy by doing a full analysis and learning how hard people worked on it so that it could become what it currently is: one of the best mechanical keyboards in the market.Thus, analyzing the review, we have as weak and strong points:- It promises to be the most silent Mechanical Keyboard in the market and it really is.- Excellent tactile feedback for those who enjoy it.- External build is very well done using Polycarbonate Plastic (used on helmets).- Internal build is excellent, very well done soldering, circuits are easy to understand and its components can be replaced.- The Micro-USB cables are very well done and far more reliable than Mini-USB cables, the short cable has a USB plug that works on both sides and they use a "L" shaped connector that won't break easily.- The FN Layer key system was very well done.- Compact layout, which makes the keyboard more comfortable to use, portable and uses far less space on your desk.- High quality Laser Etched ABS keycaps (Taiwanese Supplier).- The FN Key cancels the actions that other keys could be doing (ex: if you press the FN key while holding "A", it'll cancel "A" and you'll need to press it again).- Print-Screen key is in a hard to reach place.- There's no "Menu" key.- Glossy finish.To arrive at thescore, I hard to reconsider the"weak point", since there's a difference between something that's a defect, problem or just lack of quality, all of which I use to decrease the score of a keyboard. Since theand I never scored any keyboard for how "good looking" they are (Logitech G710+ was a very good looking keyboard, but that didn't kept me from giving it a 7/10 due to how bad its keycaps are), I won't decrease any points due to the, thus the final score is:And for those who got interested in the, or maybe didn't, it's interesting to know that on(January 2014),will release thePC version of this keyboard, having a refresh rate of 200 Mhz (enough for those who aren't hardcore gamers), inbuilt rechargeable 1600 mAh battery which can last months and just about the same quality as seen on the wired version.