Cherry has historically made the vast majority of mechanical switches sold in North America, but in recent months, new manufacturer Kailh has entered the market -- no, not the farmers market. Kailh started selling switches in North America after Cherry's patent expired, therefore allowing Kailh's suspiciously similar switches to be sold legally.
Kailh has rapidly become more popular with companies like Thermaltake and Razer, who have adopted them due to their lower price. Before Cherry's patent expired, Kailh had a reputation for cheap switches in China, both in quality and price. Because some keyboard enthusiasts were less-than-enthusiastic about buying these new switches, Razer has made claims to tighten quality control.
With the rise of Kailh-manufactured switches, we’re seeing budget keyboards coming out of the woodwork -- many of them from companies based in Asia. These companies are now expanding into the North American market with rapidity. As Kailh rises, Cherry is also seeing increased competition in markets it previously saw little fight. We go more in depth in the Poseidon Z keyboard review, for those of you interested.
One company that adopted Kailh switches is Nixeus, who recently sent us their new tenkeyless MODA keyboard to review.
Nixeus MODA Mechanical Keyboard Specs
- Form Factor: TKL
- Switches: Brown (Kailh)
- Backlight: None
- Interface: USB 2.0
- Anti-Ghosting: Switchable 6 and Anti-Ghosting
- Polling Rate: 1000hz
- Response time: ~1ms
- Macro Keys: Preprogrammed media function keys
- Wrist Rest: None
- Cable: Unbraided cable (Non-detachable)
- Key Lifecycle: 50 Million keystrokes
- Keyboard Size: 15.75″ (Width) X 8.07″ (Height) X 1.97″ (Depth)
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price: ~$80 MSRP
Nixeus MODA Keyboard Review
Using the MODA has been a mixed experience for me. On one hand, there’s nothing particularly enticing about it, but it's a simple keyboard that gets the job done pretty well. When I opened the MODA's packaging, it was pretty apparent that it's a budget keyboard. Now this is not to say it feels cheap, it’s just obvious that the MODA board isn’t built for the $100+ market. One thing to note about the packaging is that it clearly states it uses Kailh brand switches, which most companies have not done on their packaging for Kailh switch keyboards. This certainly shows that Kailh is gaining trust in the industry.
The MODA is fairly standard in that it features 6-key rollover, media keys, and brown switches. It lacks any macros and only features volume up, volume down, volume mute, web homepage, and mail media keys. The media keys function as intended, but I'm doubtful they'll often be used since their placement is slightly awkward.
The cable, much to my chagrin, is non-braided and non-detachable. The advantage to this is that it's cheaper and has fewer points of failure. Even so, I would have rather seen a braided cable on the MODA, but considering this is a budget keyboard, it’s understandable that compromises must be made.
The MODA lacks a numpad, which is a deal breaker for many, but I prefer TKL boards. Without a keypad, the keyboard is cheaper and makes typing/using the mouse more user-friendly.
My main complaint about the MODA is the caps locks and scroll lock. The caps lock works but the LED indicator creates a very uneven and somewhat ugly shine on other keys/keyboard. This is a small issue though since it isn't on often. The bigger deal isn’t just that the LED indicator doesn’t work for scroll lock, but that scroll lock doesn’t even work on the board we received. While it is a minor -- and rarely used -- key, the fact that a switch isn’t working is cause for concern.
The switches on the MODA have functioned fine for the most part. I have experienced neither switch sticking nor other general issues with quality control, aside from the aforementioned scroll lock. Nixeus claims 50 million keystrokes per switch, but considering one switch already doesn’t work, I am somewhat skeptical. Then again, our sample size is only one, so we don’t know how many others in that production batch feature the same issue. No Amazon reviews have mentioned faulty switches yet, either.
The feel of Kailh browns are similar to Cherry browns. The difference between them is minor, and if I hadn’t been told they were different, I would have assumed it was simply differing batch quality.
The inclusion of Kailh switches is actually something I love about this keyboard because they’re cheaper than Cherry switches, allowing the MODA to be cheaper for the consumer. It also uses Costar (wire bar) stabilizers for the larger keys.
MODA says the switches are tested in Switzerland, which explains why I keep accidently saying “Bork, bork, bork” whenever I type.
Speaking of build quality, the build quality of the MODA was fairly good -- even the internal soldering was impressive. The physical keyboard was sturdy as any other, mostly due to the metal plate used for switch mounting; however, the extended part of the keyboard in front of the spacebar isn’t reinforced and feels cheaper than the rest of the keyboard. It gives the keyboard a more flimsy feeling than it truly deserves.
The keycaps are one area though that I have quality issues with. They are laser-etched key caps that look decent, but feel like cheap plastic. This is somewhat expected out of a budget keyboard but is still disappointing. Luckily, keycaps don’t really matter too much -- a minor issue for me at most.
Nixeus includes a keycap remover, 8 additional blue key caps, a quick start guide, and a warranty card. The warranty card and quick start guide are well-written and short. The MODA features a 3-year warranty, which is long considering the budget positioning of this keyboard; it does add weight to their 50 million keystrokes claim, too.
Conclusion
After using the Nixeus MODA for a couple weeks, it's become apparent that this a low-end board. I like the MODA, but it lacks core features like N-key rollover, macros, braided cables, and other higher end features.
Despite lacking some of features, the MODA does attempt to keep consumers satisfied with a 3-year warranty, additional keycaps, and a keycap puller.
The MODA feels somewhat low quality, features an undesirable caps-lock indicator, and has an inflated MSRP.
At $80 MSRP, the Niexus MODA feels more akin to a $60 keyboard. Upon visitin Amazon, I saw that the keyboard is selling for $65 -- definitely a better price than the MSRP. Far more reasonable.
The Nixeus MODA ($65) competes with the Tt Poseidon Z ($70), and, well… there isn’t much else. The low-end mechanical keyboard market is quite small and there are few options that are consistently cheap. So overall, the MODA is a budget keyboard --msomething it does pretty well. I would rather recommend the Poseidon Z due to its backlighting, longer warranty, and lack of switch issues (at $5 more). The only reason to opt for the MODA over the Poseidon Z is if you really hate tenkey boards. If the price were lowered by $10, it would be a great low-budget mechanical keyboard.
- Michael "The Bear" Kerns.