Fire Angel 14/02/2021
A very good keyboard but it should be better at this price.
The feel of this keyboard is perfect for me, the Cherry MX Blue switches give just the right amount of audible and tactile feedback. I am old enough to remember the computers and keyboards of the early 1980s and having a membrane keyboard cannot satisfy after that experience, so the DAS Keyboard 4 Professional passes the most important test.
The extra media control keys work well with a variety of Macs, from a current model to an ancient (made in 2004) PowerMac G5 still hanging around because it has PhotoShop CS3 on it. Nice. The numeric keypad lacks the proper Mac numeric keypad layout (with the = on it) but this is sadly becoming normal for all third party keyboards for the Mac. I don't like this trend but I can live with it.
The build is solid and heavy so it doesn't wander about on the desk and overall I like the looks.
If you don't like your keyboard flat there is a supplied foot you can attach to the underside with magnets. This is also a ruler, though not a particularly useful one even if you don't need it to prop up your keyboard. It's a gimmick, built in feet would do the job better and wouldn't easily become separated from the keyboard. The keyboard is too flat for me even with the foot fitted, so I prop it up further with a piece of wood. I will make something more elegant with magnets in it at some stage to completely replace the supplied foot. The lack of slope even with the foot fitted is a definite minus point. If I weren't good at making things out of wood and plastic I would be sending the keyboard back as using it so near to flat would be a pain.
It has printed key-caps. I know they are varnished and better than most printed keys, I don't care; at this price they should be two-shot moulded. Since the keyboard has Cherry MX blue switches when legends start to wear off I can easily replace the key-caps, so it's an irritation rather than a deal breaker. Still, I've seen keyboards costing a third of this price with two-shot moulded keys, so DAS really should be looking at this.
Overall I like this keyboard a lot, in spite of the irritating flaws. The feel and looks are great positives, the build quality seems superb and it works with every Mac I could find with USB ports on it. With my last two keyboards I kept feeling that they were slowing me down and there is no hint of that with this one.
Positives: Tactile feedback, audible feedback, looks, build quality, Cherry MX blue switches, works with almost any Mac with USB ports on, volume control, extra media keys.
Negatives: Lack of slope even with the supplied foot attached, printed key-caps, numeric keypad doesn't have proper Mac layout.
