KTT x 80 Retros 1989 Orange: Review by Vere
Joonhyun Choe
Opening Words:
Happy Father's Day, today's switch is actually an interesting release from KTT! An unexpected linear that I was quite impressed with, so impressed that I wanted to make a review on this switch before going back to some of the mainstream manufacturers.
KTT is one of my personal favorite switch manufacturers ever since joining the hobby so I am happy that they are still in the game and making new releases.
Switch Introduction:
The KTT 1989 Orange is a long-pole linear with a PC top housing, PA66 bottom housing, and a proprietary UPE stem called KT2.
They come with a 21mm single-stage stainless steel spring with an operating force of 40g and bottoming out at 45g. There is a variance of 3g among them.
They have a travel distance of 4.0mm, but bottom-out on the pole.
They come factory lubed.
(Unfortunately, I've only ever used the Game Boy Advance)
Short Summary
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Volume |
Decent volume for a long pole, slightly quieter than the average. |
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Pitch |
Medium Pitch, a bit hard to judge the exact pitch since these are surprisingly poppy whilst having an overall lower tone. |
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Sound Profile |
The sound profile is the most notable trait of this switch, there is some audible scratch as well as a busy sound profile overall. The top-out is a bit brighter than the bottom-out and the stem material generates a very dry but marble-y sound profile. The dryness of the sound and the slight scratch actually makes these switches sound very similar to Cherry MX switches when placed into a foam build. |
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Stock |
The stock smoothness is great but can actually become smoother with a slight addition of lubricant, but this does remove most of the audible scratch. There doesn't seem to be much audible ticking but I could be mistaken as there are so many sounds coming from this switch. The stem has slight vertical wobble but it isn't major. These switches actually can take in films, and the sound profile becomes slightly more compressed as a result. |
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Design |
4.0mm bottom-out with the pole, very similar to the earlier releases from KTT. |
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Other |
80 Retros Game 1989 collaborates with KTT this time instead of HMX. |
Stock Experience:
The 1989 Oranges have a very light coating of lubricant over the bottom housing railings, stem legs, and leaf. The springs also seem to be lightly lubricated.
(Coating from the bottom-housing getting spread onto the stem)
(Minor amount on the leaf)
(Most of the lubricant is on the bottom railings)
Now, when adding some lubricant to the switch, it did remove most of the audible scratch that I could hear, and the smoothness was improved very marginally.
I also experimented with adding films because I found that some housings were slightly loose, but the films ended up tightening the sound profile a bit too much and it sounded like a normal long-pole linear afterwards.
The stock springs are slightly too light for me, but I think it does help with bottom-outs since these do have a 4.0mm travel. If the springs were much heavier, it would probably be difficult to have a solid bottom-out feel with these switches.
Would I modify them?
Personally no, BUT these switches actually change drastically if you choose to modify them yourself. Adding a little lubricant can remove most of the audible scratch if you prefer clean sounding switches, changing the spring weight can deepen these switches a lot and can make them feel more like RBO switches since they don't have a firm bottom-out. Lastly, filming these switches tightens up the slightly poppy and marble-y sound and makes these switches more sharp, akin to other long-pole linears.
KT2 Blend Stem:
According to DY, KT2 is a blend that uses UPE as the main material. This makes plenty of sense when you take into account the dry, marble-y sound, and the audible scratch. Though you would expect something made out of UPE to not have any scratch to it, ironically this material ends up generating more audible scratch when paired with certain other materials.
For example, LY is also another material that occasionally generates audible scratch when it uses UPE in its composition. Some examples would be the BSUN X, Huano Iced Coffee, Grain Gold White Warrior v2, and also the recent HMX Cosmic Purple.
UPE has a lot of variance in terms of sound but often times it can sound a bit dry or muted, recent releases seem to try to use a modified version that is more solid and that prevents it from sounding too mushy or muddied. If we look at Keygeek's U4 blend for example, it sounds very solid and glassy.
I would say that KTT's blend of KT2 isn't soft, but it isn't especially solid like U4. As a result we have a somewhat solid and dry sound profile that has a hint of foamy-ness because of whatever they mixed in with the UPE. This sound is oddly similar to lubed long-pole Cherry MX Blacks in a build with foam.
Overall Design:
Though I do not know the full details regarding the newest linear mold from KTT, I can tell that these are a large improvement from the recent releases that I've tested. The housing inconsistencies have been minimized but there are still sometimes a few loose switches. The stem wobble is a bit tighter and the overall sound is more full, the base smoothness is also better than before despite having low amounts of lubricant.
Regarding the switch composition, I am happy that they went with a very classic combination of PC top and PA66 bottom which shows up in many of their old releases. With their KT2 blend, we get a full sound profile on the bottom-out and top-out, and the switch itself has a lot of character. I also appreciate the fact that they went with 4.0mm travel which makes it match the old-school theme of the switch itself.
(Actually 4.0mm travel!)
I haven't been able to test the other 1989 Retros switches from KTT, the Red or Silent, but I would assume that those two also have a high level of quality that would also surprise me like these switches did.
There's not much else to say, they released a full travel long-pole linear with the purpose of creating a deeper and "thocky" sounding switch. I would say that they definitely succeeded, and with the added bonus of some tasty scratch too.
Smoothness and typing experience:
These switches are quite smooth, but aren't on the highest level of smoothness that I've experienced. I wouldn't bother adding more lubricant though because I want to preserve some of the natural scratch in the switch.
These switches also have a type-feel that is not too far off from the standard rail-bottom-out type-feel. I mentioned above that the stem material isn't especially firm and that the 4.0mm travel helps keep these switches from sounding sharp. I think KTT is quite good at releasing pole-bottom-out switches that can disguise themselves as rail-bottom-out switches. (See old KTT releases: Roses, Peaches, Sea Salts, etc.)
These switches are very comfortable to use when typing, though the springs are a bit light, perhaps that will add to the ease of use depending on the person. There is some minor wobble however, if you are extremely sensitive to wobble then perhaps these are not for you.
Sound Profile:
The 1989 Oranges have a very busy sound profile, there's a lot to unpack and it's interesting how these switches are able to sound like this.
First off, the core sound of the switch is a bit dry and poppy on the bottom-out, this bottom-out is on the lower end of the sound spectrum which makes it sound like the critically acclaimed "marble-y sound". It isn't a muted type of deepness either, it's definitely far from stuff like the sound of Ink material or certain other UPE switches.
Second, the type of sounds that are generated from the 1989 Orange are quite varied, with audible scratch, a brighter top-out sound, and a bit of lower pitched pop on the bottom-out grants this switch a lot of character.
This is a unique release from KTT that carries a lot of traits you wouldn't expect to see together. Most deep switch releases don't have such busy sound profiles and are often one-note or simple in terms of sound as the desirable traits of a "thocky" switch is sounding muted or mellow and pairing well with foam.
The 1989 Orange is a 4.0mm, pole-bottom-out linear that has a full and deep bottom-out with plenty of other sources of sound as well. The sound profile is busy and noisy, with audible scratch and a noticeable brightness from the PC top-housing. The KT2 stem definitely makes a lot of the magic happen here with a good synergy with the classic PA66 bottom-housing which leads to a naturally marble-y sound.
Full refers to a sound profile that doesn't sound shallow to our ears, or isn't dull and empty. (To be more specific, it has all kinds of frequencies in the sound, lows, mids, and highs.)
Scratch refers to the scraping sound that is audible during the switch travel when the stem is moving inside the housing. This sound is somewhat similar to using chalk on a blackboard, or perhaps scraping some paper with your nails.
Noisy refers to having multiple facets of sound in the profile, not in a bad way, but the switch can have an audible top-out, scratch, or something else which adds character to the sound.
Marble-y sounds refer to when switches have mostly mid tones that are similar to the sound effect of PE foam.
Comparative Notes:
I will break down the comparative strength of this switch when compared to other manufacturers and their average switch releases. Keep in mind that this is not a guaranteed guide, this serves to assist those who don't have a general idea of what to expect from this switch or other manufacturers.
Compared to HMX switches on average:
1. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be more full than most HMX.
2. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be lower pitched than most HMX.
3. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be similar or quieter than most HMX.
4. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to have a similar or lighter weight to most HMX.
5. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to have a slightly worse stock experience.
6. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be slightly less smooth than most HMX.
Compared to Keygeek switches on average:
1. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be of similar fullness to most Keygeek.
2. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be slightly lower pitched than most Keygeek.
3. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be slightly quieter than most Keygeek.
4. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be lighter than most Keygeek.
5. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to have a similar or better stock experience.
6. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be slightly less smooth than most Keygeek.
Compared to BSUN switches on average:
1. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be of similar fullness to most BSUN.
2. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be slightly lower pitched or similar to most BSUN.
3. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be slightly quieter than most BSUN.
4. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to have a similar or lighter weight to most BSUN.
5. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to have a similar or better stock experience.
6. The KTT 1989 Orange is likely to be slightly less smooth than most BSUN.
Flaws and things I didn't like:
There weren't many notable flaws when using these switches in reality.
The only two things I can think of are related to the imperfection in KTT's new mold as there is some slight housing inconsistency and wobble.
The generation of switches from the KTT Hyacinth were very tight and had almost no wobble, but those molds are from a long time ago. Times change and they needed to remake new molds to match their new material usage since KTT seems to be moving away from the basic POM/PC/PA66 composition.
Besides that, I love everything else about these switches, 4.0mm travel, scratch, and a naturally deep and full sound. (Though I wish they could be just slightly louder, but I guess it's more in line with RBO)
PERSONAL BUILD RECOMMENDATIONS: (PREFERENCE/OPINION BASED)
I tested these switches on various plates and ended up using them on Aluminum because they remind me of a different version of Cherry MX switches.
Their dry sound and audible scratch pair well with aluminum's solid sound profile and sound excellent on gasket mount. Even without any foam, these switches naturally sound marble-y on this configuration and they sound extremely pleasant.
I would avoid using foam because there's no point in adding any, you can achieve a slightly foamy sound profile without any foam just by using these switches. You also wouldn't want to reduce the volume of these switches any further.
Closing Summary:
KTT brings it back with a new collaboration and feeds us a tasteful release with a lot of character.
Although it uses a mostly normal composition, KTT has been using PC tops and Nylon bottoms for the longest time, I've been a fan of KTT ever since I first entered the hobby and used KTT Peaches for my first build.
Though KTT usually releases brighter and higher-pitched switches, these 1989 Oranges are deep and full of surprises with their audible scratch and naturally marble-y sound.
It's been a long time since we've had any substantial releases from KTT, these switches were the first to genuinely impress me since the KTT Hyacinth. After trying all other releases from KTT in the past two years, I've been disappointed that nothing has stood out from the crowd.
This is no longer the case, if you're in the market for a full travel long-pole switch, perhaps a deep and full switch, maybe a switch with audible scratch, or you're just a die-hard KTT fan like me, these switches shall not disappoint you.
FINAL SCORING: 8.6/10 [Scratchy and Marble-y]
Design: 7/10
[A fairly straightforward design, they wanted to create a switch with a deep but full sound, relying on the tried and true PC top and PA66 bottom, they created a UPE blend stem to finalize their goal of powerful deepness. ]
Sound Profile: 10/10
[A varied and tasteful sound profile, deep and poppy on the bottom-out, bright on the top-out return, audible scratch and a naturally marble-y tone. This switch sets itself apart with its base sound profile on its own. It checks several options off the list and you can even alter the sound to match your preferences.]
Stock Experience: 9/10
[Very excellent stock experience, with barely any transient noise besides the scratch, it's hard to hear any ticking in between typing. The stem wobble could use some work but its not far off from today's standard. No need to put in any additional effort into the switch unless you particularly want to. These switches can accept films, but its optional.]
Uniqueness: 8/10
[I want to say that this switch has one of the most unique sound profiles I've tried. After a while, its true that many switches can end up sounding the same, but switches that have minor differences can go a long way. This switch comes in with a little bit of everything, and most often you won't find these traits together. The proprietary KT2 stem plays a large part in creating this uniqueness.]
Flaws: 1/10
[Slight housing inconsistency but doesn't affect the switch in reality, the wobble is also not perfect but it doesn't play a massive part thankfully.]