The Tesoro Excalibur SE Spectrum Review: A Mechanical Keyboard with Gateron Optical Switches
by E. Fylladitakis on March 20, 2017 9:00 AM ESTConclusion
The Tesoro Excalibur SE Spectrum is a very interesting keyboard and the first product that we have seen making use of optical technology to generate actuation/reset signaling. The concept is interesting and our testing proved it to be a viable alternative to typical mechanical switches that rely on electrical contacts. This does eliminate issues that can be caused by the deterioration of the metallic contact leaves of the mechanical switch, such as misclicking and corrosion. There is a metallic leaf inside the Gateron Optical switches as well anyway, but it is there only to emulate the movement and feedback of the mechanical switch.
Even though the Gateron Blue Optical switch does copy the regular mechanical switch in terms of force, the infrared sensor actuates and resets the switch at a specific travel point, ignoring the state of the metallic parts. This specific behavior can be very useful to gamers, as the switch does not have to reach the actual reset point of the classic mechanical switch variant that is almost 1 mm above the actuation point, making rapid and continuous keystrokes easier and more reliable.
Aside from its switches, the Excalibur SE Spectrum actually does not have any other features that really stand out. It is a well-made, robust mechanical keyboard with a subtle design, but it lacks advanced features that many other keyboards around its price range currently offer. The concept of making it plug & play, allowing the user to program lighting modes and macros without relying on software, is interesting and may be useful to some. At the same time however it is very limiting, coercing the user to be content with simplistic keystroke macros and basic lighting effects. The RGB lighting is very basic and limited to just a handful of colors as well. It is unlikely that advanced gamers will be satisfied by the capabilities of the Excalibur SE Spectrum, unless if they are playing games that never rely on macros and other advanced commands.
The Gateron Blue Optical switches are very interesting but it seems that their cost is currently too high for them to form a truly competitive product. Tesoro’s effort with the Excalibur SE Spectrum did form a solid, reliable mechanical keyboard that will not disappoint in terms of quality and performance. Its currently retail price of $100 however is a bit on the high side for its features and capabilities, as fully programmable keyboards capable of much more complex functions and using original Cherry MX switches can be found selling around this price point. We do however hope that Tesoro will be designing and presenting more keyboards making use of the optical switches in the near future, especially top-tier models with advanced features and improved software support.
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DanNeely - Monday, March 20, 2017 - link
I suspect part of it is that any ergo layout beyond the most basic (just a split in the center and bending the top inward) will require non-standard key caps. The reason why everyone and his dog is selling a basic mechanical keyboard is that essentially all of the hardware is off the shelf. All you need to do is to write an LED/macro programming app if you want to move into the mid/high tier of the market; at the low end not even that.And even for the most basic design I suspect the thinking goes something like: "1% of users buy mechanical keyboards. 1% buy ergo keyboards. That means the market for an ergo mechanical layout is probably closer to 0.01% of the total keyboard market than 1%, we probably can't sell enough to recoup our investment if we do this."
twtech - Monday, March 20, 2017 - link
I understand that line of thinking, and obviously as neither of us are actually in the business of manufacturing keyboards we can only speculate beyond a certain point.However my counterpoint to that argument would be that most of the people who use split keyboards are people who are at their desks typing for many hours of the day, are often more affluent, and obviously care about the ergonomics of their input devices enough to not be using the stock $2 keyboard that came with the machine - and mechanical keys are also an ergonomic upgrade for frequent typists.
So in my view, it's probably not a simple 1% of 1% type calculation. A programmer who makes 6+ figures and already has to spend $40-100+ for a non-mechanical ergo keyboard seems much more likely to be willing to pay $150-250 for a mechanical model than the average person who uses their computer 1-2 hours a day for gaming only and could buy a better graphics card with that money instead.
Further, when you consider the number of mechanical keyboards already on the market as you mentioned - what percentage of that market share can the average manufacturer hope to capture? Does that even end up being much more than 1% of 1% anyway?
Mickatroid - Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - link
A lot of assumptions there twtech, not a lot of evidence. Sure, if people prefer split keyboards there are good reasons to make one for them though. FWIW I have never seen the point of a 'natural' keyboard and I spend huge amounts of time typing. I have always thought they were for people who were either injured or who had learned the poor technique of holding their fingers up off the keys rather than letting their hands float over the keyboard and pressing down to type (at which point the relationship between the alignment of keys and the arms stops mattering). It is possibly true that people who are into keyboard ergonomics are past the need for a natural keyboard.twtech - Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - link
It's about the positioning of your wrists. A natural/split keyboard allows your wrists to remain straight while typing, which is not otherwise possible (at least unless you have a very narrow chest/waist).Even if you don't have an RSI injury yet - why not reduce stress on your joints and the likelihood that it will become a problem in the future?
Obviously I'm making some assumptions here - and adding in some anecdotal evidence as well based on personal experience - but then, you're not going to be able to do much better in regard to the potential sales of a product that doesn't exist unless you've completed a survey to judge interest.
We do know that Microsoft has been making variants of their natural keyboard design since 1994, and that at launch in 2005 for example the Natural Keyboard 4000 cost $65, which is about $80 in today's money. A mechanical variant would cost more than that obviously, but it does illustrate that natural keyboard users are willing to pay an above-average price for their input device.
mr_tawan - Wednesday, March 22, 2017 - link
https://ergodox-ez.com/ does this one count ?twtech - Wednesday, March 22, 2017 - link
Still different than the MS natural obviously, but still interesting. Thanks for the link.I wonder how easy or difficult it is to get used to non-staggered keys. Some of the symbols, etc., are also in non-standard locations - eg. quotation marks below the Z key.
Still, I'll keep that one in consideration if I end up needing to replace one of my Matias Ergo Pros - I have one that I use at home, and one at work. I already had to replace one of them once because of a coffee accident.
ddriver - Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - link
As usual, the obligatory FUGLY font some idiot somewhere decided has a "gamer" ring to it.And there follows the obligatory "bbbut... it makes it readable". To which I can only say this - if you need to look at what key captions say, you are a looong way from gamer, or even an adequate PC user for that matter.
Zim - Thursday, March 23, 2017 - link
I've got a fever and the only prescription is more keyboard reviews.MamiyaOtaru - Friday, March 24, 2017 - link
been waiting for this. Wonder why they regressed from millions of colors to 8 when going to the IR switchesolive_oil - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
Tesoro is a bad company. My Tesoro keyboard failed and I tried to get warranty service and I just got ignored.Later I found out they run their US business OUT OF A RENTED UPS MAILBOX.
LOL No wonder I wasn't able to get warranty service!