Good Looks Aren't Enough - The Altar 1 From Electronic Materials Office

[@danielbullon7122]

It's hard to unsee that misaligned M once you notice

[@marks4553]

ugh my OCD

[@RichardSong20]

looks like a printing technology supplier failure..😅

[@MrCraziieOne]

6:33, i feel if you stare at it long enough, most of the letters feel misaligned

[@MECKENICALROBOT]

V2 fix

[@MECKENICALROBOT]

Or. Mmmmmmmmmm that’s a ʕ ͠°ʖ̫°͠ ʔ⸝^nice! Keyboard

[@Magoggles]

5:40 "It's nothing outrageous..." *Zooms in on an atrocity* That is horrifying.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Yeah I'll admit, that statement doesn't quite reflect the "M" 🫣

[@HarishBabuM]

@@CheeseTurbulence why it is misaligned?

[@drakeonyou]

I feel like at that price, keycaps should've been doubleshot.

[@jack_2612]

for that price, I'd say there are too many corners being cut. For 350 I'd require proper foam, pre-lubed switches (I mean you sell the keyboard with linears by default ffs), stabs, full aluminum body and top notch keycaps. If not doubleshot, at least high quality.

[@kenshinbattousai374]

Painted keys are honestly unacceptable past the $50 price point.

[@Arithryka]

@@kenshinbattousai374 $50 is dirt cheap if you consider how much inflation we've had in the past several years (at least in the USA)

[@tonogram]

This keyboard definitely feels like it's capitalizing on a trend, and hiding a lack of thoughtful design behind nostalgic branding.

[@francois.m]

That's cos it is.

[@techmad8204]

What trend?

[@tonogram]

@@techmad8204 Low-profile keyboards are trendy lately (also see Work Louder as a prime example), but also retro/nostalgic minimalist tech brands have been popping up like crazy.

[@judef]

@@techmad8204industrial design like teenage engineering or nothing phones

[@jinsory5582]

I mean, so what? Any product for the consumer market has to look for certain fulcrums to leverage. But it doesn't matter if somebody'll like it, and I like the design. I'd only not like it if the product release is a scam or something. Edit: But I guess I just share a different tolerance for 'thoughtful design'. To be fair, there is definitely room to improve at that price, I agree with that. But the design goal for something 'trendy' doesn't seem bad.

[@EaGilgamesh]

Fantastic video! That keyboard should be around the 140-160$ish price point, 349 is insanity

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you! 🙂

[@yeezet4592]

Assembled in the UK I guess.

[@EaGilgamesh]

@@yeezet4592 yeah that makes sense, hard to justify the price by saying "we charge more because we haven't figured out how to assemble them efficiently" as is the problem with most first iteration products. It's tough breaking even I get it but as a consumer that price point is not it for me lol

[@yeezet4592]

@EaGilgamesh I definitely agree. I don't think it's really fair for the price when unicomps are less than half the price, and you can get ergonomic keyboard at the same price which reduce rsi

[@EaGilgamesh]

@@yeezet4592 That issue should be fixed after finding investors and looking around manufacturers. Make no mistake, there will be buyers for a product like this, i don't doubt that at all, I just hope they figure it out because I'd like to own this keyboard but 300+$ is far too much to risk problems with first iteration tech products.

[@williamtopping]

I'm surprised teenage engineering haven't realised a keyboard for all the hipster drips

[@akr12877]

Don't give them ideas

[@WACkZerden]

@@akr12877 😆:

[@drill_fiend1097]

Should have done that instead of that joke of an overhyped AI speaker with tiny display.

[@benjamindeutsch6299]

I love your production quality! Everything feels very intentional and thoughtful in your video, and your notes on the product were perceptive and also balanced. I can’t compliment the video enough, excellent job!

[@occamydg]

Like the general look of it, but *hate* the font on the number keycaps.

[@lels3618]

it's my favourite part :)

[@AshLordCurry]

​@@lels3618same

[@seymansey]

It’s basically a rip of the teenage engieering fonts on the OP1 hence I like it

[@ImOnMy116]

appreciate the thoughtful review and genuine criticism! I think in seeing products like this, it’s hard to know what kind of individual is designing it and what the aim is. From the outside looking in, I’d not think there was much of a market for a rather expensive low profile keyboard, but if such a market existed, I’d expect it to be populated by slightly more discerning individuals (such as yourself). If so, I’d expect more attention to detail (like better prelubed stabilizers, keycap quality / compatibility, etc.). I’m pretty strictly in the full travel MX switches camp (both for feel and compatibility), so I feel out of place trying to speak to what folks expect from this.

[@Blacksadify]

I can chime in as someone who daily drives a low profile keyboard, and has for years. Many people inaccurately think that these should be geared for travel, or to sit on a Mac/laptop instead of using the normal keyboard. That simply isn't the case, and is why a lot of these products don't do as well as they potentially could. The majority of the market is geared toward cheap, light low profile boards built for "travel" that rarely happens. Instead, they should be focusing on just making a very high end board and good typing experience that people will daily drive. I think of it as a bit of a mirror to the SFF PC case market, where you're going to have less people buying overall, but who don't mind paying higher than average prices for something that's good quality. It's really not that different from what people are looking for in the 65-75% keyboard market, just with a lower profile. Gasket mount or something similar, good switch choices, hot swappable, 2.4g and BT, good battery life, good stabs, customizeable RGB, sound dampening layers, good build quality, etc. There are only a handful of low profile boards available that fit even this basic criteria which can be found on $75 regular keyboards, which is weird. It's almost like a self fulfilling prophecy: They make shitty low end low profile boards because it's a smaller market, then the market continues to stay small because the offerings are terrible, rinse and repeat. The new low-profile Iqunix Magi65 is superior to this board in every way, imo, and it's considerably cheaper. There are some good options out there, but not all that many.

[@insu_na]

If I had to guess then I'd say the stabilizer wasn't lubed because all the common switch lubes we use are PFAS or "forever chemicals" in other words, and the manufacturer of this board tried to give an environmentally friendly vibe.

[@ImOnMy116]

@@Blacksadify appreciate the response, and totally track that what you’re sharing makes sense! To clarify, when I said full-travel, I was referring to the travel distance of the key press. Standard Cherry MX switches have a 4 mm travel to bottom out. From a quick google, choc switches have a travel of about 3 mm. Agree that for those that like a low profile board, it shouldn’t be exclusively limited to lightweight / lower quality feeling boards. I was just saying for myself, I like a longer travel switch.

[@Blacksadify]

@@ImOnMy116 Oh, I see what you're saying. I misunderstood. Yeah, I could see that being a point of contention if you're used to a longer travel time on keystrokes. I've used LP keyboards for long enough now that it's just second nature having shorter travel distance.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

@ImOnMy116 Thank you as always! 🙂

[@rbrblblzzz9458]

OMG that is the sickest keybaord ever seen, I hope there could be a military-green-color option

[@samlinville436]

I’m glad I’m not the only one constantly thwarted by that Pair button 🤦‍♂️

[@frankietie]

I love the riff deadthcore at the beggining of the video bro

[@ashhadnaqavi]

Yeah that djenty kinda sounds is sick

[@leob_v2]

Such a pleasure watching another video of yours - quality and style never fail to deliver. As for the keyboard - absolutely agree with you - such a good attempt, and the looks are so appealing, but it's a little bit let down by keycaps and sound profile, combined with that price...I sincerely wish they are able to iterate and produce high quality stuff, and people reward it through sales - the world is so much more interesting with products like these than without them.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you so much! 🙂

[@raphaelstanzani]

Love the rock song on the intro. Didn’t heard about this board. They should paired with FNkeycaps for the low profile keycaps.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you as always! 🙂

[@backgammonbacon]

£349 lol.

[@DDnight546]

I think you might just be in a parallel universe while low profile keyboard never hype at all in our timeline.

[@mojojojo1529]

For this kind of price you absolutely should expect better quality. The alignment of the lettering on the keycaps alone would warrant a full refund.

[@PitiPablo_]

Didn't expect a very djentleman intro but im all for it! edit: I just noticed all those band names lmao, cheeky

[@cypherbuddha]

I loved the concept, but it seems unfinished. The M Key, the lettering, and the rattling in each key are unacceptable. If I were to buy, I would replace the keycaps for sure.

[@dealloc]

I think the problems we see here is the challenge, that new companies that wants to do hardware face, is that if you don't already have a foot in the market. Manufactures will charge you more than they do for well-established companies like Logitech, Razer, Apple, etc. It feels like they had a vision but couldn't achieve it to its fullest. This also reflects on the price compared to the material and the lack of quality assurance on some aspects-as well as the keycaps which just _seem_ cheap. It makes it obvious on where they spent their money; and I think they chose wisely, considering their situation. But this is just a hunch based on my own experience, working at a company who also deliver their own hardware. We haven't been able to upgrade the design without a huge payout. And the one's it's going to hurt the most, is the end-consumer that will feel they didn't get what they paid for.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

That's my suspicion as well, I have no experience in the hardware field, so I didn't want to make any unqualified assumptions.

[@user-tt6wm2pu6z]

While I'm a bit upset with how this keyboard is priced for what it offers, it's still interesting enough for me to consider it as my next keyboard purchase now that I've grown tired of using my G915 TKL (practically any boutique LP keyboard is now able to beat that thing). Hopefully future iterations and manufacturing steps can help make it more worth its asking price because this keyboard already provides a strong base to build from

[@mikaschwarzer1977]

The titles were hilarious for the emo keyboard!

[@dmitrypavlov7795]

They removed plastic from packaging but included more hazardous receipt strip, I love this hilarious eco shit 😂

[@aebisdecunter]

As not a brit, I'm proud of my country (the whole world minus USA) and stood proud for out anthem). Yes, our anthem has a single line in it: A L U M I N I U M

[@brokencreationlordmegatrol3037]

For a keyboard that expensive … the screen printing actually lining up would be nice ya know ?

[@negative_1ne976]

its been a year since i backed the nomad e, if it comes out like this I'm gonna cry and get my money back. IF I see that raised M one more time I think I will have to admit myself into the psych ward

[@svampefett]

I just wish Wooting keyboards looked more like this. Then it would actually be the final keyboard for me.

[@SofaEaterLovesYou]

Thats the problem with expensive stuff is that it needs to be perfect to justify the price. No one complains about a $30 BT keyboard's pairing switch.

[@darikozz]

the M alone would drive me insane

[@Leo_banana]

The intro of this video (or channel? I'm new here) immediately gets my interest

[@hellNo116]

i don't know why i am keep watching videos of such keyboards. you video is well made and well shot. it is not my problem. whenever i watch videos of such keyboards i find stuff i don't like that are basically the fact that the keyboard is not ortholinear and staggered. unfortunately there is no market incentive for someone to build such board for us. i know there are ones. basically whenever i am watching this videos i am a sucker for the design aesthetic but end up wanting more in terms of usability.

[@winsucker7755]

Masterpiece of a product and a review - also love the music!

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you! 🙂

[@alicethegrinsecatz6011]

I like the synthwave. It gives this 80s/90s vibe.

[@Stonehawk]

half way in, the vibe i'm getting is sadly style over substance. they wish to *look* utilitarian but this is not the same as actually _being_ utilitarian, and that's rather frustrating.

[@Reprodestruxion]

And Embarrassing if it comes from the country that birthed the arts & crafts movement

[@gabdrn]

Got one too, usually I make my own keyboards but this one looked so cool I wanted to give a try on fully-made niche keybs with it. But on the first time using it I was SO disappointed! You pointed out every single flaw this keyboard has. Plus the space bar feels kind of mushy. For this price point I'd expect a keyboard equivalent to your modding result...

[@blaccroyal1]

Song is Ascent by Dillon Knighton

[@curtislevey7639]

I really like the size and design and I think I would have got on particularly well with the raised modifier keys. I'm also a huge fan of anything using recycled materials. But it's a shame about its quality and cheap feel. And don't like that you could accidentally pair to another device at any moment 🤣

[@teekatas]

Ouch, glad I wait for this one😅. I REALLY, REALLY like the design, not boring and also not over the top. But my instinct also tell me that this is their first custom keyboard, and hardware is not easy... Hopefully the maker continue to refine his next keyboard...

[@trianguc8319]

to be honest, looks like the the lofree flow is much better than this keyboard, I mean you when you talk about LOW PROFILE, you'd want your keeb to be a low-profile as possible, but this thing is just putting low profile switches and keycaps onto a damn high profile case

[@AllomanticSquash]

Great video as always!

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you! 🙂

[@yamagvchi]

lol that intro escalated quickly

[@suauhwang]

I like the mac layout, FN-key on the left and X-Key aligned with the space key.

[@ianorourke9709]

i watched the entire video and i still want one :(((

[@vasiovasio]

1:31 Man, you spill the tea! Do you remember her - My Name is Boxxy! :)

[@user-zf2xe8nm5f]

This is the opposite to what is missing from the market: a premium, backlit, proprietary USB/wireless lounge keyboard that has a quality trackpad and enough edge to prevent accidental keystrike plus well placed media keys and an additional mouse click key on the opposite side to the trackpad. See the discontinued Logitech K830 and thats where the gap in the market is.

[@jammies701]

Nice vid mate

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you as always 🙂

[@ryan4888]

my partner and I both purchased this keyboard, and both of our units have defects

[@SillySolly]

What kind if I may ask?😊

[@ryan4888]

@@SillySolly both of our units have a space-bar defect. the space-bar doesn't depress as much as the other keys and inserts a lot of double spaces

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Oh that is even worse, mine just had the raddling which at least made it "usable" 😕

[@rumatadestora]

Imagine pre-ordering and waiting for a 400$ keyboard only to listen to that kind of keycap rattle when you finally get it. It's just lazy QC

[@NITROUSOXIDE921]

Thanks for shedding light on this new brand but sadly it only shows this product has horrible QC. Id be willing to take a risk on this if it was less than £100- ditch the fancy materials and price tag

[@Ivlodded]

wouldve loved an ortholinear tkl layout one ... oh well

[@paulsim7589]

I have to confess, the big Nope from me is the high and general poo'ness of the volume control. Also, I am a fan of USB, so it would be quite annoying having USB and Device 1 share the same 'position' regardless of the pairing button being a bit over eger. Maybe an Altar II is what I need to wait for.

[@akiwoo5205]

I would miss the home, end, page up, and page down keys.

[@akukolabs]

I was really rooting for this board when it first was announced. Shame to see it didn’t quite hit the mark. Hopefully a mark ii is on the horizon with some refinements.

[@akukolabs]

Would have been nice to see some UV printing for a legends too, that black outline really makes the whole board feel a little cheaper than it probably should be.

[@2n3g5c9]

For seeing it in person, those are the cheapest keycaps I’ve ever seen.

[@trungbui598]

~~~~ A-lu-mi-ni-um ~~~~

[@krjal3038]

The hilarious irony of Google offering to translate your comment into English.

[@lordeross4870]

if i could also flick the knop up and down this would be epic for on the go broadcast control.

[@HereForTheMetal]

Receipts can't be recycled. So it's an interesting approach to include the manual printed on a long-ass receipt when leaning into being environmentally conscious for packaging.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Didn’t think about that aspect, thanks for pointing that out! 😮

[@Damien_N]

I'm quite happy with mine. not a fan of Linear Switches though. That said, they just released a new firmware today that among other things, sorts out the oddity that was the pair button being active when using it in USB mode.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Saw that too, it's great that they are addressing issues. They also fixed the pairing button behaviour 💪

[@jammies701]

Nice vid mate though. I feel like if the keys aren't going to have a uniform topography, the arrows should be higher, not lower

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you 🙇‍♂️ and agree 🙂

[@AncientGameplays]

Great video here with excellent quality

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Thank you! 🙂

[@lostsanityreturned]

And since this board is from anywhere other than the US, aluminium* Fixed it for you

[@digiscream]

OK, they get many, many points for actually supporting an ISO layout from day one - however, they managed to fk that up by not _actually_ having the keys in the proper places (@, \, " etc). Kind of feels like they did half a job there, just like using transfers on the keycaps instead of using a proper double-shot process. And what the hell is up with that daft oversized escape key, and the Fn key where Ctrl should be? And what about the parity in US versus UK pricing? The damn thing's made in the UK, there's absolutely no excuse for that. It's a cool idea, and they were perilously close to getting it 100% right, but then it was Friday afternoon and they all went home. At these prices, it's a flat "nope" when even Keychron manage to get all these things right (sometimes).

[@WadWad]

Looks nice, major M misalignment, lack of individual RGB + glow through keys, and doesn't use VIA, make this only worth $85 - $125 tops imo

[@mikemoritz2741]

Eesh, that price tag is gross

[@MrJamesschro]

They seem to have spent all their money designing the website, brand, and keyboard, and cheaped out on the actual deliverable.

[@krush1202]

I’d love to get one of these keyboards….. if the keys were backlit.

[@francois.m]

I'm glad y'all haven't heard about Geonworks.

[@AlvaroALorite]

There is a certain niche for products that look very cool, are pleasent to play with, but they are uncomfortable to use or borderline unfunctional.

[@kellymoses8566]

For the price they absolutely should have rejected the M key.

[@uumuu]

Oh man the pad printed legends look horrendous, shame cause the actual font is really nice

[@ninjabuddy1]

Wouldn't be more environmentally conscious and recycle-friendly to get an old stock keyboard from a landfill

[@Prestonification]

ALMOST REPORTED YOU FOR THAT "ALOO-MINI-UM" SCHIT! " aLOOOMINUM!

[@iamsteezze]

I think this board is beautiful, but who told these people that charging $350 is ideal for a keyboard. I would love to have this keyboard and it would solve my keyboard hunting issues, but for that price I can’t and it makes me really sad

[@johnosam4681]

The color scheme reminds of that of lenovo, hope they get backlight/touchid

[@m4nc1n1]

This looks fantastic! But it is not a $350 board

[@GeorgiBalabanov]

I'm absolutely not into custom and specialized keyboards and stuff but nice review. l liked the intro music :) Two things bug me with this keyboard though - the knob is hideous imho and also bad for transportation. I very much prefer a roller like on the Logi G915. Also the lack of backlighting is a no-no for me - I don't need any of the unicorn vomit stuff but just a simple subtle one ad on my Thinkpad is is a must have.

[@xymaryai8283]

whyyyyy staggered, i want a 6 row ortholinear and no one makes them

[@markaceto]

349???? That’s WILD. Every customer should get a full refund on that jank.

[@cinestyleinc]

I'll stick with my Nuphy Air 60 V2 for 1/4 this price and much more modability and very nice build quality for a low profile small layout - I can live without the Function row and have 75/96 layouts in Halo, Gem, and Air as well as some other brands, but Nuphy is by far my favorite for hardware, not so much software.

[@LeFoUv3r7]

I understand why you love this board but I dislike almost everything in this board. It's a good thing : it mean everybody can find his beloved kb ^^

[@GrumpyBearU_U]

This keyboard looked so nice in the renders on their website, but the physical product is so far off from that. Also, no one seems to mention how the colored piece of the rotary knob is clearly red instead of the orange in the renders and in their branding. That, and of course the poor quality keycaps, would really bug me as it doesn't match at all.

[@Mexmex1975]

$350???????? You can go kick rocks, sir!

[@Frickolas]

Need to do an 18650 cell swap so you can charge it twice a year

[@GeorgeTsiros]

Can't hear what you are saying. "But the wired connection will only work if it's on usb" is that what you said?

[@Internetianer]

This is really cool board, minus that misaligned M... That aside, what was that killer track in the intro?

[@CheeseTurbulence]

Track from the intro: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaq0ZX-lZteLsNU

[@Internetianer]

@@CheeseTurbulence Thank you so much! :3

[@EddyGann]

I did end up picking up this keyboard right when they opened pre-orders, and haven't loved the typing experience on it. I'm curious if you feel like the mods and sunset key switches made a noticeable enough impact for you in terms of sound and feel to justify the additional investment?

[@CheeseTurbulence]

I would say no, even with the changes the board (IMO) remains unsatisfying. 😞

[@EddyGann]

@@CheeseTurbulence dang… that’s a bummer to hear. I’m gonna give some modding on it a go. I think if this board was like… half the price, I wouldn’t be so bummed about the typing experience.

[@escapedcops08]

A NEW company asking 100's of dollars for an unproven product? Common sense says no. "The world is fucked unless we, collectively, do something about it" They've lost my support making this statement. Guilt shaming isn't professional.

[@JumbieLove290]

I'll use a British word to describe this type of keyboard; It is the epitome of Wank.

[@jakejakejakejakejakejake]

Great video! ^_^ X PS "Scarce" is pronounced "sk-air-s". I only know one language though, so no shade, fam! ^_^ X

[@thekid7500]

Wow pretty uncanny video as I have also recently received my Altar 1 and was quite literally looking to get those kailh choc sunset switches. Enjoyed the review and can agree with most points. And yeah for the price I wish it was a little more refined so I didn’t have to upgrade certain aspects of it but I would appreciate any info on those sunset switches. From what I hear they are very good. Thanks.

[@swr410]

Also consider the silent chocs from the same store, low pro kb ca. The Sunsets are good, but the Silent Twilights are even better, IMO.

[@CheeseTurbulence]

@@swr410 I'm gonna have to try the Twilights as well, thank you! 🙂

[@CheeseTurbulence]

I really like the Sunsets, they are definitely an upgrade to the stock reds but the difference, at least in terms of sound, isn't as big as I hoped (the foam does a lot more). But the feel is much better (if you like tactile's).

[@swr410]

@@CheeseTurbulence yeah, I had a similar experience with sound. The biggest difference I found was using thin PE foam (the kind of thing some electronics like TVs are wrapped in as an inner layer of packaging). I put that between the switches and hotswap PCB, and that really improved things. That was on a Typeractive Corne, for what it’s worth. The Twilights also made a huge difference in sound, and feel really good IMO.

[@thekid7500]

⁠​⁠@@CheeseTurbulenceyeah gonna have to decide which switch to go with. Leaning more towards a tactile feel with this board though. Also, definitely gonna throw some foam in as well to help the sound, as lubing the stabilizers helped but there’s still more to gain in terms of sound by doing that. Thanks again.

[@terence321]

am i the only one that hate that the knob sticks out so far?

[@youtubeplaylist6374]

Great video. Can you review the Unicorne split keyboard by by Boardsource?

[@CheeseTurbulence]

That's a super cool looking board, I'll put it on the list but I can't guarantee it 🙂 Thanks for suggesting it though!

[@dejanlekic5513]

No big Enter key that spans two rows is a big minus...

[@ambhaiji]

7:18 they can't be serious

[@807800]

All that effort and that price, and yet they didn't offer firmware based customization? Really!

[@r4dius]

There's no need to argue, it's $350 so it's a no already

[@thebirdhasbeencharged]

$99 it would be perfect

[@waltercheng5707]

Black TE Op-1

[@alistairblaire6001]

The legends look terrible. For the price they should be pristine. It's not even just the M key, I can see unevenness across every row. This would have been worth considering if it weren't for that.

[@TheBigGiant_SpaceChiken]

I like the look of low profile boards, I just don´t like the very short travel of their switches, I don´t find them satisfying to type on. So for me, $349 bucks is way too much. Add to that the fact that you´re very limited as far as switches go, even though it´s hot swap and no VIA. Hard pass for me.

[@johnbeer4963]

if there was a wired only version with no battery in it i might buy

[@el10leo]

Might as well not have a battery. It's 250mAh, why do you even care?

[@johnbeer4963]

@@el10leo It's a total waste to me to have a keyboard with a battery in it, I don't even use wireless mice

[@el10leo]

@@johnbeer4963 you could remove the tiny battery if you so wanted to. I don't see what's the problem. You'd like the cost reduction from not having that option? The keyboard is ludicrous at $350, if you cut down wireless it might go for how much? $300 at the lowest? It's still an absurd price. This keyboard is awful, wireless or not.