Azio Retro Compact Keyboard (Artisan) - Bluetooth Wireless/USB Wired Vintage Backlit Leather Mechanical Keyboard with Arm Rest for Mac and PC (MK-RCK-L-03-US)

I bought this keyboard as used but in excellent condition, and it is beautiful. I can't see that it was used. There was a problem with the space bar right out of the box, but it turned out that someone must have taken it off before I got it and put it back incorrectly. I did call the AZIO customer support number and was treated very well by a great guy named David, but I was eventually able to figure the problem myself and fix it. That done, the keyboard is totally awesome.First, I have to say it came beautifully packaged - great care was given in creating attractive, sturdy packaging. Out of the box it was stunning, and I was surprised to find it on the hefty side. It has enough weight to it that I am not moving or pushing either the keyboard or the wrist pad as I type.The sound is clicky and the feel is nice, but it's not overwhelmingly loud and the keys feel nice as I type. Years ago I bought an AZIO gaming keyboard with brown keys, and it is louder, which I found I liked, but the sound of this one is absolutely fine and it is still not a quiet keyboard. I'd say it's a slightly mellower sound than the AZIO brown keys I have.The look is stunning - prettier than the photos showed and the round keys are very easy to adapt to. The lighting is bright, without a lot of reflecting on the leather base beneath the keys, and I can turn them off, dim, or brighten them as I like. I first bought another gaming keyboard to replace my original AZIO, and I was very discouraged to discover that with the polished, chrome-edged keys, the light under them reflected so much off the surrounding keys that I couldn't see anything but glare. That may not be a problem for someone with young, good eyes, but for me it was impossible. So I returned it and shelled out the extra money for this one and there is no problem. The letters and symbols light brightly and the copper bezel around the keys has only a warm glow. There is no bouncing, glaring light on this keyboard. The light is only white, but it wouldn't look right as RGB. This is an elegant look. And while I would personally consider this an expensive keyboard, it looks like a million bucks.Mine arrived set up for Mac, and it was an easy thing to switch out the keys for Windows. The keys are plastic, but they feel solid and that isn't a problem. My other AZIO is over 8 years old and its keys are still like new, so I expect these to last as well. I wanted a compact keyboard as I use my computer and the space on my table for creating art and design projects, and the smaller size is perfect. It may look small, but it looks tough. And sometimes, looks count as much as performance. I am totally happy that I bought this keyboard and I would recommend it on every account from looks to handling to performance. I guess my only thing to fuss about is that now I feel the need to dress up my monitor and work area to go with it. I work on a huge Wacom Cintiq, and I am thinking a copper and wood frame around it ought to give that cool steampunk retro look that this little keyboard is demanding. How fun will that be - and besides, sometimes you just want cool tools to make cool things with!

I usually don't write reviews but this keyboard deserves one. Writing this review on my iphone before going to bed, wish i was writing it on the keyboard though.1. Packaging - when buying something around this price range you expect good packaging but they went above and beyond my imagination. The packaging comes in rock solid case and loved opening it. It’s actually better than apple’s macbook pro packaging.2. Initial reaction - i got the elwood and man does it live up to the standard. Beautifully crafted and detailed to perfection. The only complain i had was the fn and cmd keys were swapped so i was having trouble connecting via bluetooth. But after solving that issue i was good to go.3. Typing - my requirements were a mechanical keyboard thats wireless, backlit, can connect to different devices and mac compatible. I only found one other company that can do that and i tested both this keyboard and the other company’s. Both felt good typing and had the same layout, but i choose this one because it felt better when typing. The keys click with a good sound, they are no cherry mx brown click sound but really i didn't get this keyboard for the click sound. The click sound is great in my opinion and keys feel solid. I’ve been working on this computer for work and personal throughout the weekend and love every minute of it. Type of work is coding, emails, research papers, etc. Didn’t buy this keyboard for gaming and i wouldn’t suggest brown switches for gaming anyways.4. Build - rock solid yes the keys are plastic but they feel well made. They are very easy to take out and switch if need to. I did notice that the j had a little dot and instead of f having the dot it was the key d. I’ll contact the company and ask them why...hopefully they will send out a replacement.Not only is the build solid but the backlight works great. Many keyboards have different light settings but i just wanted something sophisticated and this did that flawlessly.5. Connectivity - wired no issues of course. For bluetooth it was a bit tricky to set up however after having to figure it out it works fine. I swit h from my work mac to my personal mac without any issues. When the computer is asleep and they keyboard goes to sleep it takes a second to reconnect and get online but not more than that. I plan on connecting my windows pc too.If any of the above change i will be sure to update the review.My advice is for you to try it yourself along with other keyboards and other switches. You wont regret this keyboard. I love it and can’t wait to keep on working on it.