Last spring, Epomaker launched its Theory line of mechanical keyboards: mechs designed to bring enthusiast features to affordable price points. We looked at the TH66 and TH96 and were impressed at how much they offered — the TH66 was especially impressive with one of the best typing experiences and stylish looks of the entire year. The one keyboard we missed from the series was the TH80.
That changes today with the TH80-X, an updated version of that keyboard that now features a programmable OLED display, a multifunction knob, a massive 8,000 mAh battery, and a suite of other improvements, like sound tuning foam and doubleshot keycaps. If you can get on with its aesthetic, it’s an outstanding value at $99 and delivers a typing experience that will leave you wondering why the big-brand keyboards are so much more expensive.
Specifications
- Current Price: $99.99 (Amazon)
- Model: Epomaker TH80-X
- Number of keys: 79 keys+1 knob
- Layout: 75% layout
- Connectivity: wireless and wired
- Battery: 8000mAh
- Plate material: iron
- Keycaps: double shot ABS material, NAE profile (custom profile)
- Case material: ABS
- Hot-swappable: yes
- Bottom layer: silicone
- Sandwich layer: silicone
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Cable length: about 1.5m
- Connector: Type-C
- NKRO: yes
- Compatible system: Win/macOS/Linux/Android/iOS
- Keyboard dimension: 340*138*38mm
- Keyboard weight: about 1117g
The Epomaker TH80-X is a 75% keyboard with tricks up its sleeve. Like the original version, it includes a full function row and arrow keys, splitting the difference between compact gaming and productivity. The keyset is remappable and can support three different layers of keymaps for individual apps and games. The layout on the TH80-X isn’t exactly the same, however, as the Delete key has been shifted into the F13 position, leaving Page Up and Page Down on their own.
That space above those keys is now occupied by an OLED screen, which is both visually neat and genuinely useful. By default, it displays an information screen that shows the date, time, charge level, connection type and status, layer, and OS. By holding FN and pressing the knob, you can cycle through menus for lighting type, speed, brightness, operating system, layer, and even set it to display custom graphics and animated GIFs.
The other major change is the knob itself. It’s very similar to the knob on the TH96, which is going to be a love-it-or-hate-it design choice for aesthetics. Functionally, it works very well with plenty of grip space and an aluminum exterior that feels very nice. It’s also very tactile, so you can feel each bump of its movement.
As a keyboard, the TH80-X checks just about every box. It types like a dream, offers tri-mode connectivity with three Bluetooth devices and 2.4GHz for ultra-fast wireless gaming. It has absolutely ridiculous battery life (with the lights off). The keycaps are stylized and high quality. The switches are pre-lubed, super smooth, and both sound and feel great. A lot of thought has gone into its design and it pays off with a typing experience that will leave you wondering why the big-name brands aren’t nearly as good for sometimes more than double the price.
Its typing and gaming experience is the sum of its parts, so let’s break it down. The keyboard uses a gasket mount structure, so instead of having the plate and PCB screw into the case with hard fastening points, it uses layers of foam and silicone to create a dampened, softer-sounding typing experience. There isn’t much flex here, but the mounting structure does a good job of rounding out the sound profile so there’s no sharpness to its sound.
The keycaps are doubleshot ABS. I tend to prefer PBT, since it’s a more durable and oil-resistant plastic, but ABS has the benefit of having a lighter, poppier sound signature. Since the keyboard really leverages solid acoustics, I think this is a fair choice here. Since the legends are doubleshot (formed from a separate piece of bonded plastic), they’ll never chip or fade. Time will tell how quickly they will begin to shine, but it’s nice to see that these are good-quality ABS instead of the thin, UV-coated sort often found on gaming keyboards.
They also have a unique look to them. Epomaker was going for a sci-fi aesthetic with this keyboard it seems. The legends definitely give off Star Trek vibes and the big, aluminum-ringed volume knob only adds to the aesthetic. They’re tri-tone, off-white, grey, and lime and look good overall. The keyboard is also available in a Blue Pink variant if pastels are more your thing.
Underneath those keycaps are the switches. My sample came with Flamingo switches, which are a pre-lubed linear, but you can also pick it up with Gateron Pro Black and Pro Yellow switches, both of which are also pre-lubed linears in different weights. They’re frankly excellent, and I would take the Flamingos over either of the Gaterons in sound and feel, but if you’re a fan of tactile or clicky switches, you’ll need to source your own. Swapping them in is easy enough thanks to its hot-swappable switch sockets, but it would have been nice to see a couple of other switch options to pick from.
Inside the keyboard are an array of enthusiast design choices that heighten the typing experience. There are two layers of silicone dampening: one between the plate and the circuit board and the other inside the case itself. There’s also a layer of IXPE switch foam beneath the switches. Together, these layers isolate the switches from the rest of the case and draw out their sound (which is why the Flamingos sound so good here). The PE foam adds some extra pop to their sound profile without totally dominating the sound.
The keyboard supports per-key RGB lighting with 18 different presets to choose from and a handful of static colors to customize the animations. As mentioned earlier, the knob and OLED both give you control of the speed and brightness of the LEDs. Since the keycaps aren’t backlit, they’re not as bright as keyboards that do feature translucent legends, so it’s underglow, “bed” lighting only. The LEDs and sockets are south-facing, however, so if you decide to add custom keycaps at any point, you shouldn’t run into compatibility issues.
The stabilizers are plate-mounted, which is the only real “omission” on a board so clearly inspired by the custom keyboard scene. It’s not a major drawback, however, as they’re generously pre-lubed and were rattle-free on my sample. Often, there’s a stabilizer or two that still rattles on production keyboards (consistency issues are incredibly common with pre-lubed parts) but Epomaker did a very good job here.
The battery, or should I say two batteries, are gigantic. The TH80-X uses two 4,000 mAh batteries to deliver one of the absolute biggest batteries you’ll find in a keyboard period, let alone at this price. Epomaker doesn’t quote exact battery life, but with the lights turn off, you can expect it to run for months and months between recharges. With the lights on, as I ran it, I didn’t even use half the battery in a full week of use (around 20 hours during the review window). With its capacity, you can expect it to be one of the longer running RGB keyboards out there. In my experience, only the Angry Miao Cyberboard R2 is higher at 10,000 mAh and is more than six times the price.
The keyboard is also fully programmable using the Epomaker Driver software. It’s still in beta and it shows, but the software offers some surprising features. Getting the bad out of the way first, it takes a long time to load and as it does, the keyboard intermittently lags and misses keystrokes. Once it’s up and running, the UI feels unpolished, and you won’t find advanced programming options for the lighting like Corsair iCUE and Razer Synapse. Instead, you can essentially choose from the same options the knob and OLED provide using drop-down menus and sliders.
Onto the plus side, it does allow you do to most of the programming you would want and there are some neat community aspects too. Recording and mapping macros is easy, and it also lets you program the Fn layer on any key that’s not already mapped to a default command. I made Page Up and Page Down turn into Home and End when holding the Fn button for example. Once you’re done, you can save your layouts and share them with the Epomaker community, as well as download other people’s layouts.
This same functionality applies to customizing the OLED screen. The Sketchpad tab allows you literally sketch your own design. Or, more interestingly, upload your own GIF or image to be displayed. Rather than search around, however, you can navigate to the Share Pictures tab and choose from a wide range of GIFs that can be “downloaded” (added to the My Work tab — don’t bother searching your PC like I did), and then uploaded to the keyboard. It’s fast and fun.
It’s just not very straightforward. You can figure it out easily enough: I did in about 10 minutes. But, it’s clear that there’s some refinement to be done here. Telling people where to find the downloaded GIFs would be helpful, so you don’t scour your PC and come up empty handed. Being able to search community uploads rather than click through endless tabs would also be nice. I also wasn’t able to find any way to upload the main screen’s date and time, so I’m locked to 07/03/2000 and a time zone that isn’t my own.
But for its rough edges, the software gets the job done and manages to offer more features than most other software suites I’ve seen around this price from up-and-coming brands. And once your changes are stored, you don’t need to keep the software running, so it can be utilitarian until the final version is released.
Final Thoughts
The Epomaker TH80-X is a very good keyboard. If you don’t want to worry about building anything yourself and don’t want to spend more than $100, it offers a very good typing experience that incorporates a lot of features that are usually reserved for more expensive keyboards. I’d love to see a version of this keyboard that’s a little more down to earth with its aesthetics (pun definitely intended) and at least a tactile switch option, but if you can get on with linears — the best kind of switch — a spacey look, and software that’s functional but still being developed, this is a very good option that’s definitely worth considering.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes. Some articles may contain affiliate links and purchases made through this will result in a small commission for the site. Commissions are not directed to the author or related to compensation in any way.
