Martin T 05/08/2023
Summary: it's a Filco so it's well made and doesn't have loads of gimmicks (other than multimedia keys) and it has PBT keycaps so they shouldn't wear. If you like that sort of thing, buy it!
More detail:
One fault with Filco's Majestouch 2 keyboard is that the keycaps wear rather quickly. Having tried various aftermarket PBT keycaps and been disappointed with the quality, legibility or just that they weren't the right heights, I was pleased to see Filco come out with standard PBT keycaps of their own. If they sold them separately I might have purchased a set to upgrade my Majestouch 2 but no, you have to buy the keycaps with the keyboard attached!
There are two things I'm not particularly keen on. One is Filco's decision to put Volume Up on F1 and Volume Down on F2 ... every other keyboard I've seen puts Up to the right of Left. That being said, Up, Down and Mute are on one block of function keys, and Previous, PlayPause, Stop and Next are on the adjoining block ... unlike Varmilo where in trying to keep all of the functions together you have Next, Down, Up and Mute on F9-F12, and Back and PlayPause on F7 and F8.
Also, given Filco's reputation for rock solid build quality and Japanese attention to detail, the vertical alignment of the multimedia icons on the front faces of the keys is a bit irregular.
Time will tell how well the keycaps last, I haven't determined whether the (rather nicely Filco-branded) spacebar is ABS or PBT but that will become evident in a few months, I'm sure. The keycaps look and feel as you would except new PBT ones too. Switch action feels slightly stiffer than other Silent Reds that I own but how much of that is just learning a new keyboard I'm not absolutely sure. Certainly not objectionable and I could easily be convinced that it's just running in.
Whether it's any quieter than the ABS-keycapped Majestouch 2 I couldn't say, but the sound is deeper. Some keys have a slight ping to them on the rebound which I don't remember from the 2.
One thing that Filco definitely got right (and which Varmilo don't, in my opinion) is the size and location of the status LEDs. I don't use the legs at the back of the keyboard but the LEDs are sufficiently far away from the keypad keys that they are still visible. With Varmilos I find that the LEDs are blocked by the keycaps.
I can't dock half a star for the odd multimedia key ordering so having thought about it a bit, I'm not going to dock any stars at all. I don't anticipate looking for new keycaps, or fitting dampers or anything like that. For people who want a good, reliable keyboard that doesn't require a load of fiddling about, you won't go wrong with one of these.
