I was particularly looking forward to this section. I have never held the Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile switches in my hands. After all, the K100 AIR is the first desktop keyboard to feature these switches, so I was very curious to see how they would perform in practice.
To get a better impression of the construction of these switches, Cherry sent all testers a small care package. Due to the complicated construction, it is unfortunately a bit risky to remove the keycaps and look under the hood.
Writing feel and office operation
The typing feel of the tactile ULP switches differs significantly from the familiar notebook or low-profile keys of flat keyboards. Compared to a Ruberdome, the Switch feels much more precise, there is no wobble or other awkward movements.
All in all, it is very easy to type very well and especially fast with the flat keys. Fans of flat notebook keys will definitely get their money’s worth here, and I’m even debating whether the K100 AIR could replace my MX Blue tank in the home office. I love mechanical keyboards, the clunkier the better, and my favorite thing to put on my desk is an old terminal keyboard that’s so heavy it bends the tabletop. But I’m pretty sure I can type a lot faster with the ULP keys, and it’s not as tiring either because there’s a much shorter distance to cover and the keys aren’t quite as hard to trigger. On the other hand, I make one or two more mistakes with the flat keys, because I sometimes accidentally press another key. I’m definitely going to try this out for a while.
Gaming operation
Playing was actually a bigger adjustment for me than writing. I played the usual round of Counter-Strike GO completely without getting used to it, and it does feel quite different. The flat keys lack the pronounced curvature, which makes the orientation of the fingers a bit more difficult and the proverbial fingertip feeling falls somewhat by the wayside.
Of course, it’s not like you can’t play with the keyboard at all, but for me personally, high (linear) switches remain the reference. However, I should also mention here that I am massively oriented towards the key travel in this respect and therefore I also have my difficulties with the MX Speed switches with a shorter release travel, for example.
Interim summary
Contrary to expectations, the Cherry MX ULP Switch is incredibly easy to type with. Overall, however, the Switch somehow lacks the soul of a mechanical switch, and I miss the sensitivity of a high-build and noticeably curved keycap when playing. The feel of the keyboard is somewhat reminiscent of a (very good) rubberdome keyboard and is absolutely not comparable with sticky crutches like the old Razer Death Stalker.
Soundcheck
Of course, I also took the usual pictures of the K100 AIR, because as we all know, they say more than 1000 words. This time, we recorded with the new Elgato Wave DX microphone, which ensures somewhat lower noise and more natural recordings.
Normal writing:
5 x spacebar, 5 x backspace and 5 x enter
Operation of the volume control and multimedia buttons
Of course, the typical spring noise of the regular Cherry MX switches is completely absent in the Cherry MX ULP switches because they have a completely different construction. Overall, the ULP switches are also a bit quieter and lack the typical mechanical sound. But a well-lubricated linear switch on a stable, well-damped board still sounds higher quality to me.
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