Comment by y0ghur7_xxx | Hacker News Reader

Comment by y0ghur7_xxx | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand why so many people are in love with the Model M. I used one for nearly 3 years before switching to a Cherry MX blue keyboard.

After using a modern mechanical keyboard, I would never switch back to a Model M. Probably because of time, on the Model M every key has a different feeling. You never know where the activation point of the key is, because it is a little bit different for every key. The same is for the feedback the keys give you when pressing them down: those old springs just don't give you that reliable feeling the Cherry MX Blue keys give you.

I went through the cherries and never found one I liked remotely as much as the Model M, so to each their own.

Ironically the only thing I found that I liked as a replacement was the Apple keyboard, and that couldn’t be more different.

(I assure you, it could be much more different. Ever tried a rubber keyboard? Not rubber dome, rubber. Flexible keyboards, roll ’em up and take ’em with you—or toss ’em if you prefer, they were awful to type on. I haven’t got the foggiest idea why they were a thing for a couple of years about thirteen years ago. My school got a bunch of them for a year or so.

Or touch keyboards, they’re also much more differenter than Apple keyboards!)

Good point, I admit I was being facetious. An even further one would be one of those "keyboards" which project a keyboard image on a table!

I can tell you why I like the Apple keyboards, including the newer butterfly ones. As much as I loved the Model M i never used it correctly as I always bottomed out the keys instead of relying on the tactile feedback to know when to stop. As a result what I really want to feel is the satisfying thunk at the bottom of every keystroke. Something about the travel distance and feel of those Apple keyboards is just close enough to comfortable that it became good enough.

>I don't understand why so many people are in love with the Model M

I think it's similar to people who like the audio quality of vinyl records, but play them on a classic 1960's record player, negating the actual benefits. It's not really about the better quality, it's about the nostalgia and retro feel. I know a guy at work who types his personal notes on a mechanical typewriter. Not because it's easier or better, but because he likes the way it makes him feel to use a mechanical typewriter.

Doesn't matter what you play a vinyl on, vinyls are just going to be worse than CDs, despite what proponents tell you.

When you extract the audio by literally scraping a piece of metal across the surface- every time you play a vinyl, you degrade it. The "warm" quality of the audio proponents talk about is just noise introduced by the degrading material.

When CDs were new, many of them were mastered poorly. So there is a very specific few years where you want the vinyl instead of the CD. That's the most you can say for vinyl.

/tangent

> vinyls are just going to be worse than CDs, despite what proponents tell you.

In terms of pure measurements, absolutely. In terms of experience? Well, it really depends on the person (and I am someone who much prefers modern digital music formats over analog).

I fully agree with the argument that digital can sound better than vinyl when properly mastered, but nothing you say here is correct.

You’re not scraping metal across the surface unless you’re using a phonograph with steel needles to play 78’s, which are not “vinyl”, and you hit the arm such that it goes perpendicular to the grooves, which is not a good idea, because it will make an unpleasant sound and badly damage the surface.

Digital material is still often mastered poorly. Some older material is still not properly mastered, despite multiple “remastering” releases.

I've used a Model M from 1985 for the last 6 years. I don't know how much it had been used before and I've recently started to think that it might have started to wear off. But all that time it has been the best keyboard I've ever used. I'm serious, my typos went down to less than half, instantaneously.

The sound does annoy me, though.

The cherries I've tried (mechanical keyboards - though I don't know the model names) felt like cheap toys in comparison. I think the inexpensive Dell SK-8115 is much better than those. The Dell has distinctively shaped keys and a solid activation point. Not a mechanical keyboard, though, and probably wears off quicker.

I find the old Model Ms to be heavier than newer Unicomp ones, which I really enjoy.

But I really can't stand most Cherry keys; blues are the most tolerable of the lot but they sound so 'tinky' because of the little click jackets.

Now Kailh Box switches, that's where it's at. Less wobble, better dust (and even some water) resistance, better tactility, a better click mechanism... Cherry isn't remotely the best game in town.

I used modern mechanical keyboards with a variety of switches for a while. Recently I got a Model M (a few months younger than me) and I like it a lot more.

As far as the feeling, it could be that the plastic rivets holding your Model M's internal "sandwich" together have failed. If you do a bolt or screw mod to put the pressure back on the parts that failed you'll have a much more consistent feel.

Couldn’t agree more, I think the Model M is way overrated. The main issue I had is that, for me at least, my fingers would quickly become fatigued. I’ve found modern Cherry MX switches to be much better, not to mention quieter. Plus there’s a whole world of custom keyboards centered around the Cherry MX “ecosystem”.

> I don't understand why so many people are in love with the Model M. I used one for nearly 3 years before switching to a Cherry MX blue keyboard.

Because people like different things. I've grown to love cherry blues, but buckling springs are still my favorite.

I beg to differ. If there’s one thing consistent with a model M is its feel. Are you sure your keyboard is working properly? I do have two, and all keys have the exact same feel and weight activation.

I also own a topre hhkb and it’s a totally different experience - specially the model S with the additional rubber rings.

I remember using model m’s at our high school’s library and not being particularly impressed by them.

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