The Azio Retro Classic Mechanical Keyboard Review: Eyecatching, But Stiff
by E. Fylladitakis on January 3, 2018 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Mechanical Keyboards
- Kailh
- Azio
- Steampunk
Mechanical keyboards are one of the most popular items for advanced PC users nowadays. Their reintroduction into the main consumers market was nearly a decade ago but their market growth was slow because of the initially high cost and low availability. Slowly but steadily, ever more manufacturers introduced new products, bringing new features and/or lower prices to the consumers.
Nowadays there are dozens upon dozens of mechanical keyboards available, for every user and budget. Even if the user is not a heavy gamer or typist, having a quality mechanical keyboard is often considered to be a sign of prestige, leading to a market overgrowth that everybody wants a piece of. New companies are being founded on a monthly basis and old names who never even marketed peripherals before introduced mechanical keyboards into their product catalogues.
In this review we will be having a look at a product from Azio Corp, a fresh face here in AnandTech. Azio is an American company, based in California, US. The company was founded back in 2005 and ever since then specializes on the design and manufacturing of PC keyboards, mice, and audio products. Recently, after a very successful crowdfunding campaign, the company released a new series of mechanical keyboards dubbed the “Retro Classic”. The Retro Classic is one of the few mechanical keyboards that is entrusting its success almost entirely on its unusual aesthetic design. On the technical side of things, it also comes with new mechanical switches from Kailh that we have never seen before.
Packaging and Bundle
Azio supplies the Retro Classic in very thick and sturdy cardboard boxes. The design on the boxes is minimalistic, with just a picture of the keyboard itself on it. After all, it would be quite the paradox if the artwork on a box were to be more attractive than a keyboard basing its success on aesthetics.
The Azio Retro Classic doesn't have any advanced technical features so, as you might expect, there are not any special items bundled alongside the keyboard. We found only a basic manual and a warranty card inside the box. Meanwhile the keycaps of this keyboard are not meant to be removed, so Azio does not provide a keycap puller. Typical keycap pullers will not work with the round shape of the keycaps anyway, only some wire pullers might but these might also scratch the paint off the keycaps.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
50 Comments
View All Comments
ddriver - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
Nobody says there shouldn't be research fanboy.You report news, then investigate, then publish the findings, that's how it works. I don't recall any media outlet delaying initial report until they have the "whole story". News is reported immediately, investigations are reported when they are finished. That's how it works.
I am not making a point about absence of investigation, I am making a point about absence of reporting of a verified issue. There is nothing preventing an initial pipeline story to inform of the issue, with a subsequent detailed story on it to "investigate". Nothing other than the "do not speak ill of intel" doctrine of AT... This is not the first time, this is a reoccurring pattern here at AT when it comes to intel or crapple or other of the AT darlings.
Now if that was an amd bug I am sure it would have been reported right away, without holding off in order to cook up damage control.
PeachNCream - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
ddriver - If you dislike Anandtech and feel the site is biased, why are you reading and commenting on so many articles? It seems like you're very actively engaged as a reader and respond very rapidly to discussion comments - more rapidly that any other individual that regularly makes comments. That implies you spend more time here than even the readers with favorable opinions. That kind of attentiveness doesn't make sense in light of the opinion you seem to present.ddriver - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
Much of the stuff I do professionally takes computational time - rendering batches, simulations, builds... That gives me time to kill waiting for stuff to get done, which is when I comment. God forbid I dedicate any of my free time to AT, that would be a sad day...PeachNCream - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
I didn't ask why you have free time. I'm just curious why you spend quite a bit of it with a website you say you dislike.ddriver - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
There's just too much good stuff in my life. I need bad stuff to balance things out. People tend to lose appreciation of the good stuff if they are exposed solely to it. And of course, wherever I am, I do whatever I can to help out poor mediocre souls ;)edzieba - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
"You report news, then investigate,"Investigate, THEN report. If you get it the other way around, what you are doing is regurgitating, not reporting.
supdawgwtfd - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
Interesting...It appears AT are actively deleting comments?
Tom's hardware has no news on this bug either....
Ryan Smith - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
"It appears AT are actively deleting comments?"The only comments I've deleted this week have been spam. Deleting critical comments is not a good way to do business.
supdawgwtfd - Thursday, January 4, 2018 - link
My belief in you is 0.Many a time i have come across people who claim "i didn't delete anything".
They truth always came out in the end that yes in fact it was deleted and usually by the person making the claim that they didn't delete it at all.
Now... I want out of this train wreck of a website...
Where is the delete account button?
supdawgwtfd - Thursday, January 4, 2018 - link
NOT REPORTING ON REALLY REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS IF FUCKING BUSINESS SUICIDE!!!Where is the bloody account delete button on this train wreck of a website? Afte 15 years i'm out.