CHERRY XTRFY K5V2 Compact Keyboard in review – Will the new MX2A switches and the fusion with Xtrfy help back to the top?

Practical test

Of course, I was particularly excited about the practical test, as I was able to test the new Cherry MX2A Red switches for the first time. For a long time, the Cherry MX Red was regarded as “the gaming switch par excellence” and had such a good reputation that it was still recommended even when the switches from many other manufacturers had long since “passed” the MX Red. Let’s first take a look at what Cherry has come up with to improve the switches.

 

MX2A Red Switches

“The CHERRY Gold Crosspoint contact mechanism and the “Made in Germany” manufacturing quality are unique. The MX2A series offers a new typing experience and sets a new standard for mechanical switches.”

Technical data MX2A Red

• Linear switching characteristic
• 45 cN Actuating force
• 2.0 mm forward travel
• 4.0 mm Total travel
• > 100 million actuations
• Greased
• No click

 

Gaming

To get started, we had to play a good round of Counter-Strike 2. Compared to the original MX Red (tested in the Steelseries Apex M500), the new version feels much smoother and the factory lubrication is immediately noticeable. Although the old and new MX Red have practically identical technical data (travel, force), the new switches feel a little crisper. The somewhat unstable feel (“wobble”) has also been noticeably improved in the new version. Overall, the MX2A Red reminded me a lot of the recently tested Corsair MLX Red, although in direct comparison it feels a little smoother. The new MX2A Red has definitely taken a huge step forward in terms of lubrication alone, but in my opinion it’s not enough to overtake the competition. At this point, I would like to point out once again that switches and their characteristics must always match the personal preferences of the respective user. The “best” linear switch is no good for a user who prefers tactile switches, etc.

 

Productivity and everyday life

For the productivity test, I naturally used the keyboard again for a few days in everyday use. I don’t want to talk about the “compact” layout again at this point, but it’s no longer a secret that I simply can’t work “barrier-free” with all these double assignments of essential keys (e.g. POS1, END, EINFG). Nor is it a secret that I actually prefer tactile switches for typing. Leaving personal preferences aside, typing with the K5V2 Compact is actually very acceptable, although the adjustment phase from tactile to linear switches provokes a few typing errors at the beginning, as touching a surrounding key is often punished by accidentally triggering this key. After a short warm-up phase, however, the number of typing errors was limited and I didn’t have any problems with ghosting or skipped entries. In productive use, however, you can tell that the keyboard is explicitly aimed at gamers.

What really annoyed me about the K5V2 Compact was the lack of support for any software. It’s understandable that most manufacturers find it difficult to use the open-source QMK/VIA firmware, but I don’t quite understand why the keyboard can’t be configured even with Cherry’s own utility software. Especially with the colorful and also quite bright illumination, a lot of potential is left behind, because the lighting control via the key combinations is very cumbersome and confusing – especially since the operating instructions are not particularly informative in this regard. The fact that practically every key is assigned twice and it would be virtually impossible to memorize this assignment makes the use of PBT keycaps on the K5V2 virtually impossible.

 

Current measurement

Before the sound check, the obligatory power consumption measurement. As the K5V2 Compact is already very bright in USB 2 mode, I was curious to see whether it could perhaps scratch the limits of the specification in USB 3 mode.

Overall, the small K5V2 Compact draws as much power as the Ducky One 2 in full-size format, but is still easily within the green range.

 

Sound check

And finally, of course, the obligatory sound check, so that everyone can make up their own mind. As always, recordings were made with the Elgato Wave DX on the Elgato Wave XLR interface.

Normal typing

5x Space, 5x Backspace, 5x Enter

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