Introduction

If you look at all the MOONDROP coverage on TechPowerUp to date, then you would find a lot of wired and wireless in-ear monitors (IEMs), given the Chinese audio brand is quite famous for them. But 2022 has been a real stepping out of the comfort zone for MOONDROP with the launch of a few portable DAC/amps and dongles to power said wired IEMs, as well as the announcement of three over-ear headphones, of which we should be seeing some launch imminently, if not already by the time this review goes public. The company has also put out accessories including acrylic IEM stands, but has gone beyond audio in China with MOONDROP-branded snacks and food/beverage kits too. While those are beyond the scope of this website, what did surprise me was the launch of MOONDROP keyboard switches in partnership with G-Square, a keyboard design and manufacturing studio. The linear Lunalight and tactile Tessence switches are sold exclusively through Drop.com, and this was to be a herald of things to come as MOONDROP entered the keyboard space too.


The MOONDROP DASH, which will also be referred to as DASH75, suggesting this is the first of many MOONDROP keyboards planned, was first teased in June as being a HiFi keyboard, which immediately led to questions and speculation as to what this meant. Photos and information eventually came along to reveal this would be a mechanical keyboard with an integrated DAC and amplifier to allow headphones and earphones to be connected directly from the keyboard. There have been several keyboards in the past which simply used a 3.5 mm audio pass-through from your motherboard to the keyboard itself via an ungainly thick cable or worse, and this is different in that the keyboard takes a single USB input from your PC and gives you not only a working keyboard as expected but also two spare USB ports and a USB DAC/amp too! This ends up appealing to me not only in the keyboard category but the audio one too, and I was eagerly anticipating to see how it pans out in practice. Thanks to MOONDROP for providing a final engineering sample to TechPowerUp as we begin this long, detailed review with a look at the product specifications in the table below. Please also note that the finished retail units will have minor optimizations done which I will point out over the course of this review, and also add further photos/comments when the updated parts arrive.

[Update: December 15. 2022—MOONDROP has sent over the finalized accessories and the PCBs, so this review has been updated and marked accordingly.]

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Don't get confused, this is an actual MOONDROP product box! There is no fancy banderole over the cardboard and, perhaps shocking to those who are familiar with the brand, no box art either. This is as practical a packaging as it gets with layers of corrugated cardboard used that don't feel great to hold on to, but certainly do the job—especially when you realize the keyboard box will come inside a larger shipping box with bubble wrap all around as was the case here. On the front is the product name and a simplified render of the keyboard with the salient features called out where they are located. Some of the product specifications are found on the back along with another, smaller render and a reminder that the DASH keyboard is designed, developed, and manufactured by MOONDROP. A look from the side reveals the layered cardboard approach employed here and there is a tear-out strip to allow access to the insides, effectively making this a box set for the recycling bin thereafter.


I will say that the unboxing experience may still end up disappointing some people given this is not the fanciest for what is a premium product, and also not as practical when it comes to actually retrieving the products out. The accessories came placed haphazardly in the gaps between the cardboard and the keyboard and they ended up moving around quite a bit as evident by the plastic bags getting scratched/torn out. It's also not the easiest thing to get the keyboard out from within those cardboard end pieces either, so perhaps MOONDROP could have used foam here instead. Thankfully this is the first of the updates being made wherein the cardboard inserts will have foam lining for further protection while also minimizing the potential of scratches and making it easier to get the keyboard out. There is no paperwork included here, at least on this unit, although we do get a nice metal wire keycap puller and a separate metal switch remover tool. The latter can be somewhat hard to use with switches on the edges since the metal is thicker than the usual thinner sheet metal switch removers and may not allow enough space to be fit under the switches, but it's the easiest such tool to extract switches everywhere else.


MOONDROP also threw in a nice coiled cable as part of the accessories for the keyboard and it even has fancier plug housings than usual. This is the second update being made wherein the new cable will be white and split with an aviator-style connector in the middle. The plug housings will also be MOONDROP-branded and, based on the photos I've seen, it will suit the DASH far better. Given the complex nature of USB inputs and outputs on the DASH, I do recommend sticking with the tested stock cable itself that goes from Type-A to Type-C connectivity as seen above. Rounding off the unboxing is a set of ten spare switches that are the exact same as used on the keyboard. This allows you to tinker with them for modifications or replace any switches potentially wearing out over time. The final version will also have five extra keycaps thrown in to further sweeten the deal.


Update: Seen above is the finalized cable that will ship with the DASH keyboard. It's now in white, sleeved in paracord, split in a premium Aviator-style coupling, and even has upgraded USB terminals on either end. This is a premium cable that most keyboard brands would sell separately for ~$50-75 so I am more than pleased to see it be included as a stock cable. Also included here are the five spare keycaps aforementioned.