Epomaker have very kindly sent me not one but two brand new keyboards to try out. We have the HE75 Tri and the HE75 Mag.
The big differences between the HE75 Tri and the HE75 Mag are 1) the keycaps 2) the sound dampening, and 3) the switches. Before I get on to all of that, let’s look at what the two have in common.
The HE75 Tri and the HE75 Mag are 81 key / 75% keyboards. They have an ANSI layout, are compatible with Android, Mac, and Windows (switch underneath to change modes). They connect via USB-C wired, or BlueTooth 5.0 and 2.4Ghz wireless. There’s a three-position switch to select the connection mode, and the wireless dongle is stashed in a niche on the underside of each board. Both have a 4000 mAh onboard battery.
The HE75 Tri and the HE75 Mag both have a programmable push/click knob, which can be hot-swapped out for two additional keys, should the user wish. This is a cool feature which I haven’t seen before, and I like the concept. The idea that we could start swapping out keys for other extras and vice versa, giving future boards more modular customisation options, is pretty exciting.
The HE75 Tri and the HE75 Mag each weigh about 1.1kg, so they’re fairly lightweight and portable. Two-position flip-down feet with rubber feet allow for a good level of typing angle adjustment, and keep the board sturdy. Both boards have south-facing RGB lights with all the usual on board presets and additional customisation options.
Both keyboards have Cherry Profile PBT doubleshot keycaps. The HE75 Tri has a make-up pallette looking set of keys, graded from pink at the bottom to black at the top. Characters are transparent and on the front (not the top) of the keys. The HE75 Mag has keys which grade from light purple to black, and characters are white and on the top of the keys.
HE75 Tri is loaded with 5 sound dampening layers: a silicone bottom pad, IXPE switch pad and 2 layers of Poron foam sandwiched under plate and PCB absorb shock from every key stroke to mellow the sound profile. The PET Sound-Enhancement pad highlights the “Thocky” sound of the Epomaker Flamingo Switches. These are, of course, hot-swappable.
The HE75 Mag has a solid aluminum alloy plate, flexible Gasket structure, and a shock-absorbing silicone bottom pad. It comes loaded with Gateron Magnetic White Switches, which are ultra-low latency. I have never come across magnetic switches before, so I had to do a bit of reading up on them. Whereas a typical switch basically acts like a tiny hammer, actually pressing down to physically “hit”, a magnetic switch is a proximity sensor without parts which strike each other. This means that magnetic switches are much more durable, accurate, and much more sensitive. The sensitivity of the HE75 Mag‘s keys can easily be adjusted with FN+1/2/3/4 (Comfort, Sensitive, Game, or Custom). Now, whilst there’s a lot of hype about magnetic switches being the next big thing for gamers, the increased accuracy and durability they offer are also attracting interest from typists. I am not a fast typist by any stretch of the imagination, but even I can immediately feel the difference between the familiar (and very nice) Flamingo Switches on the HE75 Tri and the magnetic ones on the HE75 Mag. As you might expect, the mags do not feel as tactile as a regular switch (also, they are Linear), but they do feel very pleasant and fluid once you get used to them. The mag switches are also hot-swappable with other magnetic switches of your choosing.
Volume-wise, the different levels of dampening plus the different switches mean that the HE75 Tri and the HE75 Mag are just about as loud as each other. The Tri has more of a familiar “thock/thunk” mech keyboard sound to it, admittedly, while the Mag is a little more on the clicky side. Whilst I’m not the kind of keyboard user who is obsessed with the sound of their board, I have found that I appreciate the feel of the HE75 Mag even more when I’m wearing headphones. So, if you’re very much about the sound of your board, then magnetic switches (or these ones, at least) might not be for you.
Other than the aesthetics of the keycaps, and the feel of the keys the differences between the HE75 Tri and the HE75 Mag are not immediately apparent – both are great looking, solid, versatile boards. For the moment I’m sticking with the HE75 Mag on my desktop at home. I feel like the longer I use it, and the more used to it I get, the harder it’s going to be to go back to a regular mechanical keyboard. So, perhaps magnetic switches are the way forward.