Conversely, the stabilizers on this keyboard are issue-free. All of them are smooth and quiet with zero rattling, indicating Razer has figured out its factory lubing methods, something quite a few manufacturers still struggle with.
Typical Plastic Shell
Photograph: Henri Robbins
Like most of Razer’s keyboards, the latest Huntsman has a very straightforward build: an integrated metal top plate and a plastic bottom shell in a tray-mount assembly with sound-dampening foam. The screws holding the two halves together are counter-sunk into the top housing, which has Razer’s typical black brushed finish. Thankfully, there are no fragile plastic clips holding the two halves together. The shell, even with the metal top, has a slight amount of flex in-hand.
Inside the case, there are two printed circuit boards: A main board that screws into the metal plate, and a daughterboard that screws into the bottom shell. These two boards are connected by a three-pin JST-style connector and a thick ribbon cable. There is a piece of sound-deadening foam between the plate and PCB, filling the empty space between the switches, and another inside the bottom shell. While the use of a secondary daughterboard is nice, the bottom plastic shell feels fairly thin. This seemingly contributes to the underwhelming sound profile of this keyboard, and it ultimately results in a less robust and sturdy design compared with an all-metal (or even thicker plastic) construction.
This keyboard uses a standard tray-mount assembly. The top half screws directly into the bottom shell of the keyboard, using multiple evenly distributed support posts. This design is easy to disassemble, making both modifications and repairs straightforward. Because the bottom half is made from plastic, though, there is a greater risk of the threaded posts stripping or getting damaged during assembly and disassembly.
Compared with standard mechanical keyboards, which have hundreds of distinct switch options that can be freely swapped out, one of the largest issues with Hall Effect keyboards is limited customization. The switches and sensors have multiple competing standards, meaning it can be difficult (or impossible) to find aftermarket switches that are compatible with any given keyboard. I was initially told that third-party switches wouldn’t be compatible with the Huntsman HE lineup, but I was surprised to find that the switches from the Wooting 60HE seemed to be fully compatible. I easily pulled one of the switches from the 60HE, and popped it directly into the Huntsman with zero issues. While I can’t definitively confirm, this indicates that other aftermarket switches using the same standards could also be compatible.
Finicky Functionality
Photograph: Henri Robbins
While testing this keyboard, I ran into a few issues. The most prominent was key repetition: Within a few hours of use, the N key ended up creating a constant input whenever I would press it (namely, nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn) until I pressed another key. When I swapped the switch with another, this new switch refused to register any inputs. The only solution was to fully reset the keyboard.