Summary and Conclusion

Prices

• The Akko MOD 003 aluminium gasket mount keyboard kit comes in multiple color options and sells for $170–$190 from the likes of Epomaker and Akko directly, as this is written.
• The Epomaker Sonic PBT doubleshot set of 166 Cherry profile keycaps sells for $69.99 from the Epomaker web shop as this is written.
• The all new BOX V2 switches are available in Red (linear), Brown (tactile), and White (tactile + clicky) versions, in packs of 10–110 switches, and cost $8–$46.20 from the Kailh Aliexpress store.

No matter what you do with your keyboard build, make sure every single switch is working. This is especially important with hot-swappable switches since the metal contacts may be bent if not perfectly inserted into the socket. Simple tools, including those I use for my reviews, will help you test for key rollover and key chatter in addition to key actuation and recognition. For example, while this 98-key kit does not leave much to chance, you still need to figure out which keys in the top-right corner are used by default. It was Insert, Delete, Page Up, and Page Down as hypothesized based on my experience with the Akko 3098B pre-built keyboard covered earlier this year. The keyboard, once assembled, also displayed full N-key rollover with USB.


I mentioned before how a hunch based on the similar PCB and identical microcontrollers as on the Akko 3098B made me try out the Akko Cloud Driver covered in more detail here. Indeed, in a move that clearly transpired after the release of the Akko MOD 003 kit, the new software drivers are fully compatible with the MOD 003 and 004 kits, which makes for far more possibilities with what is already an impressive package, including software profiles, full key mapping and layer support, lighting customization, and even macro recording and assignment. You can change the typing layout if QWERTY is not to your liking, and add some layers or custom multimedia functions, with the extra keycaps coming in handy as we saw. I did make sure the drivers and keyboard firmware were up to date, so do try out the software if you thought the MOD 003 is a one-trick pony. The kit otherwise retains Akko's suite of onboard functions, including pre-programmed shortcuts and key combinations for lighting effects as described in the user manual.


If the PCB supports lighting, as it does here, it is a great and fast way to visually see whether all the contacts are working. It's also fun to see the individual switches light up, at least unless the keycaps support no backlighting at all. Seen above are a couple of photos and a video of the setup that has the three switches and some of the keycaps arranged in exactly the configuration used in the title image on the first page of this article. It also shows the built-in light diffusion of these RGB switches and how the opaque PBT keycaps turn the RGB lighting into just accent lighting once installed. The only visible lighting is through the gap to the top underneath the keycap, aka not anything worth talking about in detail.

My goal with this article was to commemorate the 10th edition of the building a keyboard article series used to cover many unique combinations of keyboard kits, switches, and keycap sets. These options make the keyboard one of the more customizable peripherals, one that can be made to suit your specific tastes both aesthetically and functionality. I had been sitting on Akko's entry to the premium DIY keyboard space, with the gasket mount MOD 003 clearly more popular than even I originally thought it would become. At $170, the kit in five color options and software support is an excellent buy for those who see it as their end game without wanting to spend considerably more to participate in group buys, or even more if purchasing from scalpers on the second-hand market. What China did to the audio hobby is what I inevitably see happening to the keyboard market, with the mass-production of more premium keyboard components inevitably flooding the market enough to wreck the out of control group buy and scalper system.

I paired the kit in its Jade Green color with a nicely matching Epomaker Sonic keycap set, but the star of the show was no doubt one of the world's first examinations of Kailh's new BOX V2 switches. Currently available in three versions covering all three feedback mechanisms, these newer versions have an updated housing that makes for less wobbly stem travel combined with the new 5-pin design. There is also a longer, gold-plated spring for additional corrosion resistance, quicker rebound after bottoming out, and potentially more uniform feedback. Overall, it makes for steadier, smoother-feeling switches that also sound quite nice on the Akko MOD 003 paired with the Epomaker PBT keycaps. A good combination of actuation force and clicky feedback, the White BOX V2 is my favorite of the lot, almost making the last-generation BOX White and BOX Jade switches redundant. That having been said, all the products covered in this article have some shortcoming I have also covered on their respective pages of this article.

This is not a review as much as a retelling of my own experiences of building a keyboard, or keyboards, more custom than the typical keyboard purchased from a retailer. There are far more customization options once you get on this slippery slope, and more articles are planned in this series, which I hope to be ongoing to cover multiple different product combinations.