Epomaker HE108 Mechanical Hall Effect Keyboard Review – Creamy Jade Design
EpoMaker HE108 is a $96 USD mechanical keyboard with Hall Effect switches at the core, Creamy Jade to be more specific, Tri-Mode, and Gasked Mounted feel. Today we will review the new HE108 and explore briefly how it compares to other keyboards that I reviewed recently and which I use on a daily basis.
Introduction
Epomaker is an engine that powers the keyboard industry, they make a huge part of what other companies brand and sell. Epomaker has their own brand now, their own switches, keycaps, and barebone designs. You can always rely on Epomaker keyboards to be reliable, affordable, and I personally like how they look and how they work in general. You can purchase Epomaker keyboards on their website, Amazon, aliexpress as well as other keyboard nice shops.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4dvqyFw
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4C3nsOH
Build Quality – Design
We did explore the Epomkaer 108 Mechanical version already, so the new HE or Hall Effect version is a breath of fresh air, with Rapid Triggering and 128K Scan Rate. This means a much higher precision, near-instant input and a super 8K Polling rate. We see both wired and wireless gaming supported by the same 1000mAh battery. This means up to 500 hours of battery life with the RGB effects turned off. With the RGB effects turned on , the battery life is much shorter at 32 hours, showcasing just how efficient the system is and how much power the LEDs inside each key actually draw.
Technically, Epomaker HE108 is a keyboard with a weight of 1.2 KG, 4.1cm height and 44.5cm length, with a 14.1cm width. This means enough space for the 108 keys 100% layout, which will be useful for programming and accounting users, as well as anyone who is simply used to having the numpad. It is engineered to both Mac and Windows, and it has shine-through double-shot PBT Keycaps.
As HE108 is based on the Creamy Jade switches, it has an extremely precise 0.005mm adjustable actuation with the possibility of adjusting the dead zone from 0 to 0.3mm, and the Creamy Jade keys have a 30gf min initial force with a 55gf max bottom-out force. Trigger travel is adjustable and total travel is a pretty nice 3.3mm. For the Audiophile in you, Epomaker HE108 comes with a 5-Layer Sound optimized, and Gasket Mount for a special sound.
Subjective Usage – Quality
Stability – HE108 is super stable on my desk, at times even more stable than my daily KeyChron Q6 MAX, thanks to extremely sticky feet on the bottom of the keyboard. It has only the smallest amount of flex, regardless how hard you try to wrap it and push on it, although you can push on the center a bit if you use a lot of force since the feet keep the whole base in the air. None of this really matters, and it feels super solid and nicely built, but it is made of plastic instead of metal, which comes with many pros, for the sound it produces.
Ergonomics – I absolutely love the fact that Epomaker makes their keyboards with little feet at the back which can raise those to sit in the most ergonomically comfortable position for my hands. It is a blessing for sure, and since you can use it wirelessly, HE108 feels super nice and can be taken anywhere. It is more comfortable to type on it if it is placed on your desk than if you holt it on your lap, like a laptop, but it still is plenty comfy.
It generally follows a natural size, natural shape, and there are no extra buttons on the sides or top which would make it uncomfortable. It does come with line notches on the J and F keys so you can locate the entire keyboard without looking, and typing for long periods of time is ok, with the force needed to press each key being a bit high, so some fatigue can appear, but the feeling of each key being incredibly smooth. The only feature I would say I am missing from my daily KeyChron Q6 is the volume wheel, but that’s not something most people use or should use, as using windows volume control lowers the quality of your music, and you do have volume control on the Epomaker HE108, using the buttons on the right upper corner, including volume increase, decrease and muting the sound.
KeyCaps – One of the most important aspects in this price range is the keycap quality – as around this price you’re not likely to purchase replacement keycaps for your keyboard. In this sense, HE108 is extra noice, comes with shine-through keycaps where each symbol is lit up, and each symbol sits in the upper left corner of each keycap. Those keycaps are slightly soft to the touch, not jelly-like, but it is not a very hard plastic, which helps create that super poppy sound that people love with mechanical keyboards.
The texture is matte with a semi noticeable grain, my finger feels solid on each keycap, and I have extremely high precision, much higher than with my daily MOA Keycaps, while the ENTER and ESCAPE keys are both translucent, yet both have matte top sides, making them super nice to the touch despite being transparent. Each key allows for light to shine both through it and around it, creating a nice effect for the entire keyboard, while the keyboard itself has 2 light stripes, one on each lateral side, which are in sync with the light on the keyboard itself. While I don’t do a daily Cherry Profile but a MOA, Cherry is the most universal keycap profile and considered one of the best around for most users.
Switches – Switch quality is excellent, as those Hall Effect Mangetic Switches named EpoMaker Creamy Jade feel incredibly smooth. They seem to be extremely heavy switches to me, even more so than Gateron’s Oil King, and so far they are in line with KeyChron’s Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Switches in both feeling, sound and also precision. I personally find them incredibly heavy to press when typing, but I do type with bottom-out, so for me I have to press the entire switch to work. They sound sublime, literally the thocc of dreams that people desire from watching youtube videos of custom keyboards, but those switches feel a bit like pressing on butter, just like any other magnetic switch I tried, they are so smooth, yet so hard to press that I believe they were made for someone who does not bottom-out.
Each switch has a slightly slower rebound and while they make switches like standard RED and Browns even Jupiter Banana or Aqua King feel scratchy and grainy, I did find one switch that feels exactly the same, which is the Exoticore MMD Princess V4. Overall, the magnetic effect makes the HE108 snappier, faster and far more responsive than any other mechanical keyboard, and in line with the most flagship magnetic keyboards that I reviewed to date.
Gaming – It feels like this entire keyboard was made more for gaming than it was made for typing as it is really responsive, fast and feels snappy, but as each key is somewhat hard to press, it works much better for games. Total travel is also quite a bit lower than I am used to, as I like a full 4mm travel for my switches, while Epomaker HE108 comes with a 3.3mm travel for their switches. For gaming all of this means top control, excellent stability and each key feels refined. You will be accurate and fast.
Overall – In general, the wifi reception of the HE108 is excellent, I have the little adapter plugged in my computer, 3 meters away from the keyboard and it did not lose signal once. Light strength is top, it looks beautiful, especially in white, and it sounds like a dream. It is a top keyboard for gaming, but the keypress feeling is heavy, and for heavy typing, like this review, I get a bit of hand fatigue, with other Epomaker keyboards like their TH108 being better for a heavy typist, until a magnetic hall effect switch that has a longer travel and a lighter force will come out.
In fact, because the initial force is so darn high, at 30gf minimum, the typing experience is more comparable with the heaviest brown tactile switches you can imagine rather than linear switches, and the switch recovery is slow which lowers my words per minute with HE108, but increases my precision to almost 98%, from around 95% that is my usual with mechanical keyboards, or around 92% with a laptop chiclet keyboard. I have used the keyboard with light on for my entire time, and the battery life is just insane at 32 hours full on, as the lights turn off really fast and it also shuts down really fast, so for the most part you will have a really long battery life with HE108. It works on Android, Windows and Mac, and it works on Bluetooth too. Because it is made of Plastic, reception for bluetooth and Wifi is FAR stronger than with KeyChron’s Q6 series which is made of metal, and the sound is much nicer. The only downsides that you will notice daily are that the keys are buttery, which will come down to a personal preference for sure.
Value – Conclusion
Since you can have the HE 108 for around 100 USD, or 96 USD to be more precise, I have to mention that the value is incredibly high. This is the keyboard with the highest accuracy, best wireless performance, battery life and sound that I reviewed to date. Being hall effect magnetic or not will influence just how response it is, but it does have that characteristic hall effect buttery key press feeling to it, which makes using the HE108 a unique keb with a really thoccy sound. It has a higher value than all alternatives if you’re looking for its experience.
For me, as a heavy typist, it is a bit heavy, but for a gamer, and someone who enjoys the smoothest keys possible, for someone who wants an absolutely beautiful, responsive, long-battery and neat keyboard, the Epomaker He108 is one of the best you can grab, it costs very little, and in fact just buying exotic switches will cost more than the entire HE108 keyboard, while this is a full one, 108 keys, comes with high quality keycaps and high quality switches, as well as reliable electronics, being a fully recommended purchase.
PROs
- One of the most reliable keyboards on the market
- Adjustment feet that allow you to sit it more upwards for a better ergonomic
- Hall Effect Magnetic switches with almost instant response
- Reliable Wireless and Bluetooth performance, a bit better than keyboards with a metallic case
- High quality switches that resist well to wear and tear
- Lightweight but very stable on my desk
- Extreme gaming performance
- 5-Layer gasket for a thoccy sound, creamy and without clicks or clacks
- Huge battery, 10.000 mAh in size, I actually only charged it once in a month, while I charged my Q6 MAX 3 times in the same amount of time
- Can work wired, Wireless via 2.4 GHz adapter or Bluetooth
- Nice stripes on the sides for RGB effects
- It gave me almost the highest precision for typing
- Space bar is consistent regardless where you press on it, so premium stabilisers
- Value is far higher than the market average for keyboards
- One of the most beautiful keyboards I reviewed recently
Cons
- Buttery typing experience means that the keys don’t rebound as fast as I am used to
- Short travel distance for switches, just 3.3mm feels short for my usual 4.0mm
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4dvqyFw
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4C3nsOH
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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
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