Smoothest Typing Machine – KeyChron Q6 HE QMK Wireless Custom Keyboard
KeyChron Q6 HE is a $249 USD 100% Mechanical Keyboard with a wireless design, Hall Effect Gateron Double-rail Magnetic Switches, and dynamic rapid triggering, adjustable actuation points. Today we will review the KeyChron Q6 HE and compare it to my favorite and daily keyboard, Keychron Q6 MAX (219 USD), and KiiBoom Moonshadow 81 (199 USD).
Introduction
KeyChron is right now the most popular keyboard manufacturer from the entire world, and at least from a quality perspective they offer literally the most reliable and best made keyboards, for the most sane of prices. While a KeyChron keyboard is not cheap, they have outstanding quality, fully metallic chassis, and most of their flagship models can be found in the homes of every gamer, content creator and even heavy typist, including writers and business owners. As the company is incredibly popular, you can find KeyChron keyboards to purchase from multiple channels, including a direct KeyChron shop, but also within electronic and keyboard dedicated shops in every country.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to KeyChron for providing us with the sample for this review.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3Rec00V
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_onit6ZL
Official Link – https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q6-he-qmk-wireless-custom-keyboard
Build Quality/Aesthetics
KeyChron Q6 HE is the latest, most advanced keyboard designed by KeyChron, now with Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic switches, and you can order it in either a Carbon Black or Shell White color. This being said, this one cannot be ordered barebones, as it is only compatible with Hall Effect switches, and more precisely right now it only works with the Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula Switches. You can replace each switch, as they are not soldered, but only with other Gateron Nebulas. KeyChron makes it quite clear that Q6 He is only compatible with the Nebula Switch, and it does not support any other switch like Gateron Jade or Gateron KS-20 Magnetic switches.
To explain it a bit more, Q6 HE is the 100% layout wireless QMK Custom Keyboard built around the Gateron Double-Rain Magnetic switches. Those have the fastest feedback mechanism, dynamic rapid trigger, adjustable actuation points, and should make gaming a more fun experience and give you an advantage even in competitive games. In addition to the Hall Effect switches, Q6 HE introduces a 2.4G connection that has a 1000Hz polling rate, making it one of the most responsive keyboards currently available on the market.
Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula switches are the first to have the dual-rail structure, and come with special pre-lubbing, being the most stable switch available on the market with physically no wobble distance. They have a 40g starting force, 60g end force, and a 0.1mm sensitivity, and an actual force between 0.2 and 3.8mm. This is a classic linear switch, and can live up to 150 million clicks. To take advantage of that customizable actuation force, we have Dynamic Rapid Trigger, which allows the keyboard to react in a different way – if you enable this feature, you activate or deactivate the key based on travel distance rather than fixed points. This allows for more immediate repetition of keystrokes in mod-moption.
Very complex macros are possible with Q6 HE, including multiple actions on a single keystroke, depending on how deep you press in the key. Even analog mode is possible, giving controller-like precision to your keyboard. This allows you to use a variable input instead of the usual on/off signals, giving you a more dynamic and fluid control. All KeyChron keyboards are universally compatible with all platforms, and I had the pleasure to use this, to program and switch between taking some notes on a tablet, that stayed connected to my keyboard via Bluetooth, then use the switch at the back to quickly switch it with the PC computer I was using to program. A really nice and useful feature.
KeyChron has the most solid body ever seen for the Q6 HE, with a 6063 aluminum body, and you can still customize and fine tune the keyboard, but while with the first ever q6 I wanted to play around, the new Q6 He is perfect from the factory and I don’t feel the need to do anything, the acoustic foam, lube job on the stabs, even keycap quality, all is just perfect. We have the double gasket design once again, and the whole keyboard is powered by a powerful MCU chip, with a 256K flash chip, and QM open-source firmware.
Subjective Usage / Sound Quality
KeyChron Q6 HE is basically the smoothest keyboard in the whole world, every single key press feels infinitely smooth, there is no texture, no scratching effect, and it makes every single other mechanical switch feel quite scratchy and textured in the sensation. Unfortunately, it also has a rather heavy key press, with the actuation force being a rather heavy 40g for the Start Force and a really heavy 60g for the End Force.
The advantage is that you can actually set the minimum sensitivity to 0.2mm, which would make the switches feel light, but you still have to use a 40 g of force to press the key. Somehow, it feels like those keys were not made to be bottomed out, but out of habit, I press every single key bottom-out every single time. The double rail structure ensures that the keys feel tight and there is no wobble effect, and even compared to the Red switches or brown switches from Gateron, or even Aqua King or TTC Frozen Silent switches will have more wobble, feel much more scratchy, but are also far easier to press.
Q6 HE has a sound that is on the quieter end of the spectrum, with a thocc sound, with a bit of a high pitch ending in the bottom-out. It has the most pleasing sound out of the factory, although I recently have gotten the KeyChron Q6 MAX with Brown Tactile and that has a much louder, but more thoccy sound. All in all, Q6 HE has the damping and overall type sound that you’d expect from a flagship, and the best part is that there is no more metallic ping in the sound. I experienced this with an early version of Q6, and with countless keyboards from other manufacturers, where the stabs on the space key in particular would produce a loud metallic ping sound, but Q6 MAX and Q6 HE do not have the issue at all. If you’re running an old Q6 that has the issue, upgrading to the newest ones will solve the issue.
For typing, Q6 HE is a heavier keyboard with an incredibly quaint and pleasing sound, it makes typing more precise and considerably increases my accuracy at the cost of some hand fatigue as my fingers get fatigued more easily from the keys. The profile that KeyChron uses is OSA, which is a unique profile in my collection, is a OEM height profile, with SA-like shape. This profile is highly resistant to dirt, oil and feels very smooth and nice to the touch every single day, but it has sharp edges, which is different from the MOA profile that I typically use on the other KeyChron Q6 MAX that I have with TTC Frozen V2 Switches. The same OSA profile feels very different on the KeyChron Q6 MAX with side-printed keycaps, as those come with a more textured surface, feel more grainy and more plasticky, but both are indeed OSA profiles.
For gaming, Q6 HE is much better than any keyboard I have ever tested, and the heavier, harder to actuate keys are a large improvement. You can actually make Q6 HE much more responsive, in the sense that it becomes instant if you turn on Rapid Trigger, and it works wonders, but you can also use the Snap Action or Gamepad Analog functions to further customize Q6 He for your games. Setting the operation too low would theoretically cause more misfiring, but because Q6 HE has that base 40g force to press a key, you never feel like you’re missing or miss pressing a key when using it. Playing around with the Rapid Trigger is fun, and helps you get the best settings for you. I found that setting the Set Actuation Distance to 1.0mm works well for me, and I also use Rapid Trigger a lot for all keys, with a Press Trigger Distance of 0.1mm and a Release Reset Distance of 2.8mm. This makes the keyboard react instantly to input, but not feel too touchy when I am pressing something, giving me both a quick keyboard, but also a reliable one.
Firmware is also rock solid and KeyChron has likely the best firmware integration from all the keyboards I tested to date, you can set everything online, although you have to install a couple of drivers, all automatically, if you want to upgrade the firmware. While FW upgrades do not come every single day, they usually bring nice key improvements, like the addition of Snap Action to the Q6 HE. You can set the Actuation Distance as high or as low as you like, and it should work just fine. The only firmware bug I experienced ever with the Q6 HE, which was not present on Q6 MAX, was that when using the Q6 HE wirelessly, to wake it up after it went to sleep, I had to press on the volume wheel, as it would not wake up on the other keys, but this seems to have been solved after the latest firmware update too, so as long as you upgrade it, you will be fine.
Comparisons
KeyChron Q6 HE vs KeyChron Q6 MAX (249 USD vs 219 USD) – You have to know the Q6 MAX by now, as even if you read Audiophile-Heaven just for audio, you will know I own Q6 from the first keyboard ever released in the series, and I own a couple of them already, most modded. In fact, the one I want to talk about right now is the latest one I got, which is a vanilla Q6 MAX with Brown Switches, in black color, but with the side printed keycaps, and Q6 HE compares interestingly to that one. The sound of the MAX is more thoccy, it is lower pitched, but far louder, while HE has a sharper, brighter sound that is more high-pitched, but far quieter. While both sound great, I prefer having less noise as I type a lot during the night and I like the quietest keyboard I can get. All photos in tis comparison section represent the KeyChron Q6 MAX Black Version with side printed keycaps and Gateron Brwon Swithces, as it comes from the Keychron factory.
The texture of the normal keycaps is smoother, while the side printed ones are grainy and have a harder plastic, with a better grip. Battery life is equal, but I love having the ability to set the actuation distance and using a rapid trigger on the HE, while those are not available on the MAX. As I have multiple MAX keyboards, with silent, and now with brown switches, I kind of miss being able to replace the switches, so HE feels a bit limitative here, but it still offers a smoother feel out of the box than any of the aftermarket switches I bought for the MAX. Basically, He is the smoothest, most pleasing, best made keyboard I have to date, with the two minor disadvantages that right now there is no Hall Effect switch that is silent, and none that has a low force variant, to make them easier to press and easier to type long reviews on.
KeyChron Q6 HE vs KiiBoom Moonshadow 81 (249 USD vs 199 USD) – Although both keyboards are very solid with metal casings, Q6 HE has a full 100% layout, while KiiBoom only makes the Moonshadow in the more limited 82-Key 75% format. I like how you can fully open and service the Moonshadow without any tools, but beyond replacing the switches, you should not need to do this ever, and most people anyways use those keyboards vanilla, as they came from the factory. Replacing the stabs and even keycaps sometimes results in improper fitting, which results in a nasty metallic ping (this is true for all keyboards in general).
Although I kept complaining about how hard the keys are to press, KiiBoom makes much heavier switches than Keychron, and the feeling is much smoother on the Q6 HE, which feels pure smoothness. Basically, as there is no mechanism that has a physical contact inside like we do with mechanical switches, nothing can create the scratchy feeling in the Q6 HE.
Firmware is more reliable on the Q6 HE, but both are fairly solid, and KiiBoom strives to improve their keyboards, with the only drawback being that they are rather pricey for a 75% format, and I should likely review some of the KeyChron keyboards that are not 100% to make the comparison more fair.
Value and Conclusion
KeyChron has created one of the best keyboards on the market once again, and this time they did make the smoothest one that I ever experienced. In fact, nothing, not even the Q6 MAX can beat the Q6 HE and I keep using it even though it is much heavier in feel than q6 MAX. I just wish that KeyChron would make a version with a much lighter typing feel, like 20 or 30 g of force with a 40g max for bottom out, to match the TTC Frozen V2 that I am using. After having experienced keyboards from every single price point, I can guarantee that you cannot achieve the same quality, satisfaction and user experience with a cheaper keyboard, if you need a 100% layout. If you need a smaller layout, there are many options that are half the price of the Q6 MAX, but also half the size, yet none that have the same implementation of the Hall Effect switches, so the value is the highest for someone like me who uses the 100% profile as a daily user.
At the end of the day, I came from a Q6 MAX which was already great, and I have three of them now, having purchased a couple (for me and my wife), but Q6 HE is a large step up in smoothness, quietness and overall feel, but it has much heavier keys, and it is a different product, for which at least now you cannot upgrade the switches. It is a fully recommended keyboard in our review, and I do use it daily, but I switch between it and Q6 MAX with the TTC Frozen V2 Silent Switches or Gateron Brown for typing, while Q6 HE is my choice 100% of the time for gaming. In fact, for gaming, I prefer those heavier switches, they are more snappy and give me an advantage, although I do not use rapid trigger, and I recommend checking whether you are allowed to use those in your favorite games.
PROs
- Sturdy, reliable design
- Smoothest typing experience in the whole world
- Beautiful design
- Reliable Wireless dongle receiver
- Quick switch between Wireless and Bluetooth and cable connections
- Long and reliable battery life
- Excellent package
- Price performance ratio is one of the highest in the entire world
Cons
- Heavy typing experience
- Not quite as universal and easy to upgrade as KeyChron Q6 Max, as HE or Hall Effect switches are right now not easy to replace
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3Rec00V
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_onit6ZL
Official Link – https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q6-he-qmk-wireless-custom-keyboard
--- Please remember to stay safe, and always have fun while listening to music!---
- If you have a dime to spare, please donate, and help us! It would make the day brighter for me and my wife-
Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
--- Contact Us ---
