Cherry recently announced a tenkeyless version of their Stream scissor switch keyboard series. I recently ordered one from Amazon and despite the fact that it originally showed a release date of March 25th I received it a day later (March 19th). On the site now it states release date is March 28th - so I don’t know whats going on behind the scenes - chances are they may ship it out.
TLDR: If you were/are a fan of the Logitech UltraX or Enermax Aurora Lite then throw your money at Amazon and buy this!
The keyboard cost $26 and I’m shocked by how good it is for the price. I previously owned a Stream fullsize from a few years back and I was concerned because it cost twice as much as the current roster. I can’t confirm this on the current fullsize but the one I had a few years back had a metal exterior - while this one is plastic - so this might account for some of the savings. This (IMO) is not a bad thing because I don’t like metal keyboards as they tend to get cold and not a fan of that (why can’t metal keyboards have a surface warmer?) This still retains a metal interior plate though!
The stabilizers are very good, it is very quiet, and has the right amount of throw distance - not too short or long. Plastics quality is very good.
The closest competitor to this keyboard would be the chiclet tenkeyless from Matias which I did not care for at all - actually more like I hated it. The Matias cost twice as much in comparison - but even if the prices were reversed I would still choose the Cherry - definitely the superior of the two.
To not sound like a influencer/Cherry salesperson I will address one thing I wish were different and that is the bezels are a little thick for my tastes - particuarly at the bottom. Its like a keyboard that went out drinking and now has water weight on Sunday morning. It doesn’t have enough bezel to be a useful wrist rest but still enough that my hand grazes it sometimes when typing. Ehh I’ll live. I need to find a wrist rest that is not as thick as those for mechanicals.
Did I mention this is a $26 keyboard with SCREWS keeping it together? No cheapo plastic clips here!
Logitech and Enermax caught me with my pants down by discontinuing their excellent scissor switch keyboards making them hard to find on the second hand market. I won’t make the same mistake twice - I’m going to put some more mileage on this example to make sure it has some longevity and then go back and buy several more to put into storage.
Not sure if I’ll grab one of these Cherry boards but dang, it’s kind of sobering to look at how good some of these “non mechanical” boards are sometimes.
The fullsize version was the one that almost killed my entry to this hobby.
At the beginning I got a Logitech Masterkeys L with mx browns and was unimpressed by the loudness and crappy scratchy feel of mx browns.
Then I had the Cherry stream randomly for cheap as I was attracted by the scissor switches and I liked the typing feel. I used it as a daily for a couple of months.
And I then said to give one more chance to mechs and bought a Filco TKL clone (Ganss GS87) with mx clears. After I got it, I liked the mx clears a lot. After that stuff the case with dynamat, add DSA think different and a red vortex metal case shot me straight in the rabbit hole. My life was not been the same after that.
Will be ordering one to give the SX switches a shot when I get my tax return LOL! Like I mentioned before I do still to this day like the key feel of my Logitech DiNovo Edge & will bust it out still from time to time. So I wouldn’t mind having a inexpensive Chery made replacement since my DiNovo is getting on its last legs. I don’t expect SX to be superior to the Perfect stroke scissor switches Logi had at the time. AFAIK they were one of the best scissor designs. Although I can see SX being close enough for me to be happy with, especially at the much lower price. Will report back once I get one & get a chance to try it!
Please reply back with your thoughts when you get it.
It has been some time since I’ve typed on an UltraX - would very much appreciate your opinions of whether I am crazy or not. This does feel very much like the one I had ages ago but maybe I’m wrong.
If you read reviews of the Logitech Illuminated on Amazon these days - the reviews are terrible. Race to the bottom on cost savings unfortunately.
It has been one year and I’m still in love with this keyboard - a personal record. This is indeed my personal end game. The scissor switches are still crispy and overall I’m just feeling grateful that this keyboard exists.
I do miss the aesthetics and layout customization of mechanicals but I simply cannot find a low profile switch that replicates this typing experience
