Introduction

This is not our first foray with 1STPLAYER (also referred to as 1ST PLAYER on their website), with their Bullet Hunter MK6 keyboard having had a detailed review earlier this year that left a fairly positive impression. The company has been marketing aggressively outside of Asia this year, with the US in particular being a target of interest, which means their marketing budget prioritizes websites such as TechPowerUp more than ever before, and we thank them for sending us a review sample of the Black Sir Lite K7 keyboard.


1STPLAYER remains first and foremost a company based in Asia that tends towards a product portfolio that offers good value for money. This is an advantage in competing against other brands that have products priced higher, but expansion to a global market also means working with a limited brand presence and, as is the case here, product naming schemes that do not necessarily translate well everywhere. This was the case with the Bullet Hunter MK6 keyboard as well, but let's get past that and see if the rest of the keyboard is worth checking out. Please note that there appears to also be an RGB backlit version of this keyboard with a very similar name, as with analogous versions in a full-size form factor in contrast to the TKL (tenkeyless) form factor here. We begin the review with a look at the specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Packaging for the 1STPLAYER Black Sir Lite K7 keyboard is on the simpler side of things with a predominantly black-wrapped cardboard box that comes inside a plastic cover for dust protection during transit. On the front is the company and product name (and not even the whole name) in English and Mandarin, along with some salient features, all in small print. On the back is an interesting take on product illustration, treating the box as the keyboard surface and showing off the various keys and buttons (and volume wheel) as they would be on the actual keyboard inside. The sides have more writing and the same spider logo that has been used with other 1STPLAYER products before.


Side flaps reveal that the company has adopted a two-piece packaging with an outer sleeve over an inner cardboard box. The inner box is mostly bare, but still retains the majority of the printing the outer sleeve had on the front. There are two double flaps on the side to keep the contents inside in place. Opening the box, we see the keyboard itself front and center, with the accessories found underneath and off to the side instead.


There is a simple user guide under the keyboard, which just talks about connectivity using the 2.4 GHz USB dongle and how to turn the keyboard on/off. The other accessories are inside the cardboard compartment above the keyboard, including a plastic pouch that contains a plastic ring-style keycap puller, a metal switch puller, and four replacement switches. 1STPLAYER advertises the CIY switch design in use on the Bullet Hunter MK6 keyboard, which allows for easier switch replacement, and these spare switches are useful for not only showing off the switches used on the keyboard but replacing switches that may be going bad, or even just as cool souvenirs.


There is only one switch option here, and it is the same as with the 1STPLAYER Bullet Hunter MK6 we saw before. No doubt Outemu Blue switches are less expensive to purchase relative to Cherry, or even Kailh switches, and this helps keep the product price low, or so we hope anyway, more on that in due time. These are RGB switches with a clear housing, and while this particular version has no backlighting, these come in handy with the RGB-backlit versions of the Black Sir K7 series of keyboards from 1STPLAYER.