Keygeek Y1X Update: Mini-Review by Vere

Opening Words:

Hello! This time's review will actually just be more of an update on the previous MZ Y1 linear in their newer form the Keygeek Y1X. 

This review will not be as in-depth as the original review so I highly recommend you read that first to find out the main qualities of the original and see how much has been improved since.

Without further ado, let's get started.

 

Switch Re-introduction:

The Keygeek Y1X is a long-pole linear switch with a standard PA66 top housing, PBT bottom housing with 30% fiberglass, and a proprietary stem called Y1.

These switches carry a 20mm KOS single-stage extended spring with an operating force of 48g and bottoming out at 53g. There is a variance of 5g among them.

They have a travel of 3.6mm.

These are designed by MZ Studio, who has been producing amazing budget products with high quality molds.

(No picture this time)

Short Summary

 

Stock experience:

 The Keygeek Y1X uses a thicker grease which resembles Krytox 205g0 on the stem legs and leaf, as well as a thin oil over the main contact points of the stem. The spring also seems to have been coated.

(Grease on legs)

(Remnants of grease from the spring)

Previously, there were reports of minor leaf tick and possible spring ping in the original, and the stem wobble was slightly worse than what we've recently been used to.

(Leaf tick begone)

(Spring ping begone)

(Spring ping begone x2)

With these adjustments, the leaf tick has been removed with some changes to the leaf shape, and the spring has been coated with slightly more oil. As for the stem, the original only had lubricant on the stem legs and slightly oiled on the stem pole.

This wasn't an issue regarding smoothness, but the sound profile was slightly plasticky as a result. (Though it helps that such precise lubing prevents any over-lube from happening, and you as the buyer are always free to add more lube.)

The Y1X utilizes slightly more grease over the legs, and the oil strictly covers the contact points of the sliders on the bottom housing railings.

 

(Oil streaks on contact points)

With the adjustments to the top housing as well, they have reduced the wobble so that it is more in line with the current market. I can place the stem wobble control within the tier of BSUN, Huano, and LY based HMX stems.

There is a minimal amount of north/south wobble.

When you take into consideration the Y1 stem itself is also a soft material, this type of tightness shouldn't be taken lightly.

Would I re-lube them? Personally I won't, as the stock sound is now to my liking, but for those who want to tone the volume down or alter the pitch to a slightly deeper note would only need to add more lubricant to the stem sliders and avoid touching other areas.

 

Compilation of changes and my thoughts:

First we'll check out the only change in composition, the bottom housing now uses a PBT base with 30% fiberglass added. This is actually not uncommon for PBT blends as the fiberglass helps strengthen it for industrial purposes.

This helps the sound become slightly more solid and higher pitched than before, but overall it still hovers around medium-high to high pitch.

Next, the top housing mold has been adjusted so that the stem wobble is reduced and much tighter than before. 

The bottom of the housing has also been adjusted to prevent the previous issue of the Y1 not being able to fit in some plates. I myself struggled to fit them into some softer plates, but I never had the issue of the switch not being usable in specific plates.

The pre-lube has been adjusted so that it covers more contact points in total but remains minimalistic and precise.

The leaf has been adjusted to clean up the pre-existing leaf tick that seemed to appear in some batches of the Y1.

The stem pole has been slightly adjusted for a more consistent bottom-out as the pole is now more flat, the original stem apparently had inconsistent tips with some of them being uneven rather than flat.

Honestly speaking, Keygeek and MZ understood the assignment here, they received the feedback and responded by fixing and correcting the flaws that were pointed out to them. Even though they could have just moved on, they still went back to recreate their product into something greater. From the perspective of a consumer, I could not be more appreciative of the effort.

 

Smoothness: Phenomenal

The original Y1 switches were already fantastically smooth despite having almost no pre-lube. Now that they've been supplied with a newer and more precise pre-lube, these switches have absolutely nothing stopping their high-quality performance.

Their push-feel when typing is much more solid thanks to the mold improvements and the reduction of stem wobble resulting in great feedback in use.

 

Sound Profile:

This new and improved version has a more consistent sound profile compared to the original.

Though the sound profile was already full and resonant, there may have been small inconsistencies due to the low amount of lubricant and wobble, which would lead to either a slightly plasticky tone, or sounding slightly different when bottoming out off-center.

I previously recommended lubing over the original strictly for improving the sound, but now these switches sound marvelous when stock.

They are bright and crisp, with a clean, full, and resonant tone that is hard to compete with thanks to the PBT fiberglass bottom housing. The Y1 stem does a wonderful job by synergizing together with the sharpness of the PBT bottom and keeps the tone more balanced without being overly shrill and irritating.

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.)

Clean refers to a sound profile that is mostly one-note or consolidated, lacking excess noise from factors like scratch or having a top-out that is much quieter than the bottom-out.

Crisp refers to having a solid bottom out that is clear and is easy to hear, doesn't necessarily mean loud and bright.

Resonant refers to having a sound that almost reverberates outwards while typing, the type of sound that can be heard when the bottom-out's impact is too strong to be kept within the confines of your board. (SWK Neons for example)

I don't think I've ever used a linear switch that has hit this hard in feel + sound combined, some of HMX's heavy hitters are close in volume, but don't provide the same type of feeling at all.

 

Flaws:

The original switch had a flaw with the housing clips being slightly too thick which would could cause some issues when inserting into specific plates.

Keygeek and MZ have worked together to adjust the housing clips and this problem no longer exists.

Apparently there also used to be cases of leaf ticking, but with the new adjustments and slightly increased lubricant, that doesn't seem to be an issue either.

Besides that, there were no more flaws to be found.

It gets the flawless pass.

 

Personal Build Recommendations: (This is purely opinion/preference based)

My go-to for this switch is actually the FR4 plate, as I feel like Aluminum or Carbon Fiber would be going too far, as these switches could easily go beyond ordinary volume levels.

FR4 has a poppy sound profile but the overall volume is dampened a bit due to the epoxy-resin. 

PC or POM would also be great if you want to slightly alter the pitch towards the midrange and enjoy the hard hitting sound without the ear piercing pitch.

Polypropylene is hard to recommend for the same reasons as Aluminum and Carbon Fiber as it might just pop too hard, but if you want to go that far, feel free to do so.

I would stick to any mount besides Top Mount with these switches.

Any type of foam configuration would also sound great due to the raw volume and medium-high pitch of these switches.

 

Closing Summary:

Keygeek has returned with a major improvement over an arguably decent switch, but now that switch has become a monstrous competitor.

For only $0.25 per switch, this budget option that contains the uncommon PBT material as well as a proprietary stem and a brand new mold which improves upon the original.

With all kinds of manufacturers releasing more competitive budget switches but falling short, Keygeek has created an unbelievably strong option for those who want a loud, crisp, and heavy-hitting long-pole linear.

The stock experience that defeats HMX in precision and cleanliness, with competitive smoothness that doesn't lose out to any manufacturer, all at an extremely reasonable price.

Keygeek and MZ Studio return with a force multiplier on the quality of the Y1 switch, the new Y1X is a ridiculous improvement over a switch that was already at a high level, but now it has ascended even further. I cannot recommend the new Keygeek releases enough, if you're a clack-fiend then you won't be disappointed at all.

 

FINAL SCORING: 9.8/10 (Updated Scoring)

Design: 10/10 (Updated)

[From an already incredible design choice in mold, stem, and leaf, to the usage of PBT and Y1 to create a a solid and crisp sound. They heard the feedback and took matters in their own hands. They were able to correct each flaw and unsatisfactory detail to drastically improve their switch.]

Sound Profile: 10/10 (Updated)

[Full, bright, resonant tone with a volume that no linear on the market can defeat at the moment. With minimal crap sounds, no inconsistencies, a killer release that will hit your ears and the ears of everyone in a 10 meter radius.]

Stock Experience: 10/10 (Updated)

[Excellent stock experience, no crap sounds or major issues in smoothness. Update: With a much more consistent pre-lube, solid wobble control, no ticks or other odd sounds to be found, this is truly a perfect out-of-the-box experience.]

Uniqueness: 9/10

[Considering there are only a handful of switches that even use PBT in the first place, this switch is one of few in that regard. Plus the imported proprietary stem with a special pole design, it helped produce a sound that I hadn't expected. Then there's the unique thin leaf used in this switch to reduce contact sound.]

Flaws: 0/10 (Updated)

[Update: With the new molds, there are no longer issues with inserting the switches into plates as the housing legs have been thinned down. Otherwise there are now no flaws with this switch.]