The Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum Mechanical Keyboard Review
by E. Fylladitakis on October 6, 2016 8:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Logitech
- Mechanical Keyboards
- RGB
- Omron
Logitech hardly needs an introduction as a company. For decades, the company is omnipresent in the peripherals market. From low-cost office keyboards to advanced gaming mice and from headsets to console gamepads, the company offers numerous products for nearly every kind of system.
Successful as the company may be, Logitech’s first endeavor to release top-tier mechanical keyboards was not quite up to the company’s well-earned reputation. The first few models that the company released had certain drawbacks and failed to convince reviewers and customers alike that they were deserving of their very high retail price. Logitech however did not sit on their laurels. After the company had amassed enough feedback, they released new keyboards, some based on older models with certain corrections, and a few others based on new designs.
Today we will be having a look at Logitech’s new flagship mechanical keyboard, the G910 Orion Spectrum. It is largely based on the infamous G910 Orion Spark, essentially correcting the issues that kept the previous model from gaining traction. This review also marks our first look at a product with Logitech’s Romer-G switches, which are made by Omron and are exclusive to Logitech.
Packaging and Bundle
Logitech supplies the G910 Orion Spectrum in a wide, yet very thin cardboard box with narrow walls. The company probably tried to minimize the shipping costs of the keyboards, but the level of shipping protection is only borderline acceptable. The artwork on the box is very simple and serious, based on a good picture of the keyboard itself. Logitech bundles nothing other than a basic quick start guide alongside with the G910 Orion Spectrum.
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BrokenCrayons - Thursday, October 6, 2016 - link
I'd argue that no one is being ripped off. What you're seeing is a price the company believes the market is willing to endure. A lot of people believe they're reaping a benefit worth the cost when they pay $50-200 USD for a keyboard. What they get back is only emotional satisfaction as there's no evidence that a "gamer" keyboard makes your character run forward better when the W key is mashed over a membrane keyboard, but because the buyer believes they've reaped some sort of a reward, the purchase is made anyway. If you want to blame anyone for stupid keyboard prices, blame the ones who are buying these things. They created the market for them in the first place.cmdrdredd - Thursday, October 6, 2016 - link
I would also add that the gaming specific market has driven prices up with products bearing a team name or the name of the guy who won the last tournament. Putting fancy colors on the product, standout packaging, and an endorsement from a "pro" gamer and you drive the price up. Like you said there are people buying these when the same functionality can be had elsewhere. Companies like Razer really take advantage of this consumer segment.It's really a combination of the two IMO. The companies marketing gear specific to gaming to "give you the winning edge", as well as the people buying it. All manner of parts and peripherals are like this. It's not just keyboards.
Murloc - Thursday, October 6, 2016 - link
but it's not like the das keyboard which aims at being essential is cheap either.shabby - Thursday, October 6, 2016 - link
Lets just hope these companies don't figure out that putting "tactical" will also increase sales and desirability.BurntMyBacon - Friday, October 7, 2016 - link
Shoot me now.Stuka87 - Thursday, October 6, 2016 - link
Back in the day, those keyboards were cheap because they were mass produced, and they had no special features. These days, they are not mass produced in the quantities that they were back then. As production numbers go down, the price to produce goes up.But, I do think $180 is kind of steep. I paid $120 each for my Razer Black Widow Ultimates (both stealths), but I don't think I could justify $180.
DanNeely - Thursday, October 6, 2016 - link
...except they weren't. At its cheapest the IBM Model M's list price only approached $100 from the high side after launching for more than double that. And remember than inflation means that prices from 30 years ago are something like twice as expensive as the raw number suggests.https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=9629.0
hansmuff - Saturday, October 8, 2016 - link
I think the cost got passed down to customers, but expensive PCs are just no longer a reality. Dell used to ship awesome keyboards until the early 2000's, they had ALPS switches (like the AT-101 series.) But it was all cost of the parcel, and once PCs were a commodity the price had to come down, so here are your $10 rubber domes.I very well remember buying a 'Cherry Gold' keyboard for good money back in the 90's. It was about $80 then.
theduckofdeath - Sunday, October 9, 2016 - link
Back in the days, a spare keyboard felt cheap because you'd just paid 5,000 bucks for a mid range PC. I can remember paying around $150 for a keyboard back in the days. Add inflation to that and you'll realise these keyboards today really aren't that expensive.Yes, there are a lot of $10 budget keyboards today but, you get what you pay for when buying those.
Beaver M. - Tuesday, October 18, 2016 - link
I remember very well paying 50 German Marks for different HP and Cherry mechanical keyboards (that I still have here). That would be about 25 Euro. So dont talk crap about them being expensive. Generally a set of mouse and keyboard with good quality would have been around 100 German Marks. Now its 100 Euro. Of course back then there was overpriced stuff too, but you were able to get high quality mechanical keyboards for MUCH MUCH less than today.I paid 80 Euro for my keyboard, and its still worse than the old mechanical ones from the ergonomics standpoint. It only has lighting and useless macros, which the old ones didnt have.