Akko 5075B Plus Mechanical Keyboard - 75% Percent RGB, Hot-swappable with Knob, Black & Cyan Theme, Creamy Lubed PBT Double Shot ASA Profile Keycaps V3

It's that time of year again - my previous keyboard, a wired refurbished Keychron I loved to death, began to act up a bit (the usb-c port had taken a beating at one point or another), so the hunt for a replacement began. I was looking for a 75% keyboard with a volume knob, swappable switches, and decent build quality, among other nitpicks. After looking through various offerings, I stumbled upon this Akko 5075B Plus and was instantly won over by the aesthetics, as well as the smart layout. tldr; this is a solid board with a great layout and no notable issues. I think it's worth the price, but read on for the specifics.Let's start at the top - the keycaps. These feel great, with a slight texture to them, along with a perceivable weight. They do NOT feel cheap. Additionally, mine don't have any visible flaws to the lettering or molds, and the font is a clean, classic style (versus some of the hideous "gamer" fonts out there). They are ASA profile keycaps, which are (from what I understand) an in-house take on the more common SA profile, which happens to be my favorite form factor. These are somewhere in between a smooth, typewriter-y SA and a taller OEM style keycap. The face of each keycap is actually wider than it is tall! This was odd at first glance, but after typing with them, hasn't posed a problem, and the spacing between them is adequate for my typing style. For what it's worth, I don't have notably small or large hands. Aesthetically, I like them quite a bit, being dark, neutral, and highly legible. YMMV, of course.Moving on to the switches, I chose the "V3 Creamy Blue Pro" switches (made by Akko themselves). These are tactile switches with a quick activation and a rather pronounced tactile bump that occupies almost the entire length of the key press, giving them what I'd call a playful, snappy feel. While testing these, I never had to question whether a key had been pressed, and on this board, they produced a nice, semi-muted 'thock', with no click or graininess to be found. Initially, I actually didn't plan on using these switches, but after trying them, I've worked them into my layout, alongside some Gamakay Silent Griffins (which are much quieter - not to say that these are especially loud). I'd consider buying Akko switches in the future, in fact. A good start here!The board itself feels solid, with nicely granular RGB lighting strips on each side, and per-key RGB lighting that seems to be quite responsive. Akko has clearly used some nice, heavy plastics here, and the RGB itself is vivid and, again, very responsive per keypress. After some further keycap and switch examination, I installed the Akko Cloud Driver software and was able to customize the board to my liking. Kudos to the team for making actually usable keyboard customization software! This was easy to use and offered plenty of ways to tweak various elements. Also of note - while the product page doesn't actually state it, this keyboard DOES include a 2.4ghz receiver, which worked flawlessly (pressing fn+Y paired the board near-instantly). I also tested the bluetooth connection - no complaints here.One odd quirk - when switching from 2.4ghz to BT on the same device, I was unable to pair the keyboard (it didn't even show up in the BT device list!). After looking through some documentation, it seems like you're supposed to remove the device entirely from your system, THEN initiate pairing by holding fn+T until the light flashes quickly. If you don't remove the device first, it won't pair using BT. Odd, but workable.As a final note, extra keycaps ARE included (in both black and white colorways), along with a key puller, a switch removal tool, and a little baggie of extra switches.I really have no complaints here, and I suspect your enjoyment of this keyboard really comes down to what layout you prefer, and what switches you choose. As I've stated in the headline, this board seems solid, and if for whatever reason it fails me over the next year or so, I'll return to update this review.

I own two mechanical keyboards. This Akko is slightly smaller than the 75% Ducky. The Akko comes in at 50$ less than the Ducky and sports additional features. Overall the Akko is better, cheaper and more interesting.The stock switches with the Akko are arguably smoother. The wine red switches are very satisfying and I would call them easier to use than the Cherry MX blacks that I got with the Ducky. I will end up switching out the switches eventually, but stock, they sound and feel great on both boards. The win red are clompy, soft, round, and super smooth. I like the fact that Akko switches are factory lubed. They are shine through and you get plenty of RGB under the key. The RGB can be further heightened by getting some shine-through keycaps. The Ducky's RGB looks slightly brighter by default but this advantage is eliminated as soon as you switch out the keycaps. Put shine-through keycaps or better yet, pudding keycaps, and you will be in RGB heaven no matter which board you get.I particularly like the high key profile of the Akko. It is not the traditional Cherry profile of the Ducky but it is satisfying, a bit more round than the cherry profile. Of course you can swap the keycaps for cherry profile if you prefer. The Akko came with even more custom keycaps than the Ducky. Enough for 8 of the function keys an extra space bar and arrow keys and extra shifts, backspace etc. Which means you can get more color onto the board. I was surprised by the number of extra keys. I have already collected more keycap sets than I know what to do with. And I think it is best to go with a black-cased board or a white case, since both look great with most colors.I have to say that I notice almost no rattle on the spacebar. None at all. It feels perfectly smooth. The enter and shift keys are also extremely smooth. The only key which has the slightest bit of tackiness is the backspace. But it’s still less than you will find on the Ducky. The stabilizers are simply better on this Akko. The feel of the stabilizers are out of this world. Maybe I am not a big enough snob to lube the stabilizers, but I am going to leave them exactly as they are. I think the type of switch you put in drastically changes the feel of the keyboard. You will definitely need new switches if you go with the Ducky, but the Akko, I don't know. It just seems to work so well just the way it is. I think you would have to be a psycho to mod this board. It already has gaskets and silicone filler. It is super dampened and very thocky. Seriously, why would anyone mod it? I messed around with my Ducky and didn't accomplish much thockiness compared to the stock thock of this akko. They should call the company Thokko instead.I hope you like sidebar lights, because that is yet another advantage of the Akko. Just like the rgb beneath the keys these are fully customizable. The Akko Cloud Driver App which you will want to immediately download onto your computer is super easy to use. It allows you to reassign all the keys and add macros. This feature is buried in the Ducky manual, which you will only find online, and Ducky’s way of reprogramming the keyboard is a lot more cumbersome, and though I have not explored it fully, it does not appear to have as many programmable options as the Akko. Akko is just lightyears ahead of Ducky when it comes to customizing the keys.You can go wireless, and connect with bluetooth on the Akko, which you cannot do on the Ducky. I am starting to think I made a big mistake buying the Ducky. But then again, owning a few keyboards isn't going to kill me. Right? Or will it?You will not want to open up the Akko for modding. It’s possible, but not necessary in my opinion. It already has gasket mounts and added silicone sound dampeners which you can hear working right out of the box.This is entirely lacking in the Ducky. What were they thinking when they made the Ducky? I will tell you what they were thinking. They were not thinking THOCK.Overall, the typing feel of this board is super smooth and soft.Then there is the knob. At first I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not, but I have come to like it. It is also programmable, and it is like having a few extra keys on the board in a compact space. I need a knob now. You don't know you need it till you have it.If you're not convinced by this review, suit yourself. Go waste your money on some other board. The perfect board is waiting for you right here. Look no further.