Keep Quiet with the Das Keyboard Model S

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…with Quiet Key Design. The essential thing to notice in that title is the emphasis on its quiet key design. As with most keyboard enthusiasts, the joy in using a mechanical keyboard comes from tactility, the way it makes you place your hands, and with that, the sound. The click you hear every time you press a key is one that can’t be simulated. It took me years to realize why the Apple keyboard was universally hated in keyboard conversations, but when I got my hands on a Das Keyboard, it finally made sense.

With the Quiet Das Keyboard, I am presented with something that feels elegant. It’s neither something that is discussed nor something that is understood when it comes to gamers or typists, but for me, elegance is something that ranks high. When a gadget is presented in a way that sets itself apart from others in terms of design, that is how it grabs my attention. When I can have it be a part of my workstation without looking ghastly, that is how it keeps my attention. The entire Das Keyboard line does exactly this. The keys all look like something that focuses heavily on the starkness that gamers are often associated with, and because of that, it helps create a brand. The elegance paired with the brash gamer-type appeal has birthed a small semblance of artistry, and that’s exactly what people are missing when it comes to accessories.

The application of that elegance has, in my eyes, put Das in a league of its own, and when it comes to adding things to a workspace that I visit every single day, I want it to look nice.

Along with the Das Keyboard comes the keyboard layout. It possesses a basic look, yet it has a very welcoming feel to it. The keyboard’s keys bounce back at you, and with a slight curve to the keys themselves, it feels as if it fits my fingers perfectly. As someone who has been using an Apple keyboard for many, many years, I was used to simply gliding my fingers across the keyboard and barely pressing the keys as if I were lazily doing so. Because of this, switching to a mechanical keyboard was a challenge for me. The increased size, the increased key height, and the overall width of the board made it a bit difficult to fall into. After logging a few typing hours on it, however, I found it nothing short of a joy to use. I was typing and flying through articles with all sounds around me muted. The noise that is produced by a mechanical keyboard is one that simply cannot be rivaled. It’s a sound that is completely lost on most Apple fans, but it is something each and every one of them should invest time in discovering. The sound of rain hitting the window, people swiftly shuffling down the street, the smell of tea being brewed in the kitchen down the hall, and the noise of my keyboard help create an atmosphere that I have never experienced before.

New with this version of the Das Keyboard Model S Professional is the new “quiet keys.” Once called “silent,” the name “quiet” helps push the point a bit further. The keys are admittedly far from silent, but the noise they create is far from problematic. With my comparison keyboard, a Logitech G110, I found the keys to be amazingly loud and clanky. Every key press would soon be the reason for getting therapy in the coming years after a severe rage-filled thrashing due to seething migraines. However, some people like that. With me, the keys on the Quiet were ones that I found to be the perfect blend of noisy and peaceful. Each click felt like it was a symbolic key stroke that was working to create a piece of art that was nothing more than words.



There are very few things to find problematic in keyboards, I’ve found. The biggest problem that most keyboards have is that keyboard x doesn’t have a new feature that keyboard y has. As far as issues go, my biggest worry is that the keyboard uses Bank Gothic for its keys and has large branding on the corner of its exterior. Of course, my way of alleviating this would be to use a nicer font and place branding on the back. By establishing its own iconic design, the keyboard then becomes recognized for its look, not its large branding. It will be known as the keyboard that looks nice, it’ll create a name for itself, and it won’t have to introduce itself first. Then again, the keyboard is arguably the nicest on the market already, so its designers may not have to or want to worry about trivial things such as this.

All in all, the keyboard creates a typing atmosphere that can not be rivaled by much else. The sound of quiet keys clicking away while working puts me in a self-contained environment that makes it hard to escape. I was in the zone, I had to write, I had nothing to write, but I had to write, write, write. The look of the keyboard itself makes it a nice addition to my family of computer hardware. Right in-between my speakers, directly in the middle-front of my computer lies the keyboard that has made things different. I’ve tested other mechanical keyboards, and none stand a chance. Some tried to introduce gimmicky new things like switched positioning or inverted space bars, but the true winner is the one that can innovate off of the simplest ideas. Das Keyboard does that. They’ve been doing it, but they’ve managed to do it again. If you’re looking for something that will help you be a better sniper, will allow you to more easily identify where the space bar is, or will introduce a sea of new things to learn, you may want to look elsewhere. But if I could recommend any keyboard for those who work in a similar environment as I do, one where peacefulness, elegance, and usage all reign as king, it would be this exact one.

The Das Keyboard Model S Professional can be bought directly from its creators for $149.00.

About Shawn Wilkins

An enthusiastic writer who values quality over quantity. The abundance of posts shouldn't make the site, but rather, the quality of them. Aiming for perfection is the goal and anything less isn't acceptable. Long walks on the beach are accepted, however.
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