Luminkey, a sister brand to Create Keebs, has made a name for itself over the last couple of years with the popular and affordable LK series. We’ve reviewed the LK65 and LK80 here and enjoyed both, but the brand got its start with the LK75. It’s back with another stab at the 75% layout, this time with a heaping helping of personality. If you’ve considered a custom keyboard or a premade like a Keychron in the past, don’t pull the trigger yet. For $215, the Lumino75 offers tri-mode wireless, a compact form factor, excellent build quality with its colorful aluminum case, and a great typing and gaming experience.
Specifications
- Current Price: $215 (Luminkey)
- Number of keys: 80 keys
- Typing Angle: 7°
- Layout : 75% ANSI
- Mounting: Gasket Mount
- Programming Support: VIA
- Cable type: Type-C Data Cable
- Switches: LUMINKEY Astral Switches
- Stabilizer: Stabilizers (Plate mount Stabilizers)
- Connectivity: Wireless/2.4G/Wired
- Compatible System: Windows/MacOS
- PCB: 1.6mm Tri-mode Hot-swap (with 4400mAh battery)
- Plate: 1.5mm PC Plate
- Latency data
- Wired: 8 millisecond
- 2.4G: 9 millisecond
- BT: 13 millisecond
- Low Latency Data
- Wired: 2 millisecond
- 2.4G: 3 millisecond
- BT: 7 millisecond
- Polling rate
- Wired: 1000Hz
- 2.4G: 1000Hz
- BT: 125Hz
- Size: 325.7mm x 138mm x 17.7mm
- What’s in the Box
- 1 x top case
- 1 x bottom case
- 1 x aluminum weight
- 1 x aluminum screen frame
- 1 x tri-mode hot-swappable PCB
- 1 x type-c daughter board
- 1 x plate
- 1 x foam kit
- 1 x switch puller&keycaps puller
- 1 x screwdriver
- 1 x USB cable
- Stabilizers
- Astral switches
- Keycaps
Luminkey Lumino75 - Design and Highlights
The Lumino75 is a compact mechanical keyboard designed to bring enthusiast features and custom keyboard quality to an affordable price point and save you the hassle of building it yourself. Unlike DIY PC building, you really wouldn’t be able to build a keyboard like this for yourself at this price. Luminkeys is able to leverage economies of scale to offer a colorful, fully aluminum case with plenty of unique touches, high-quality switches.
It comes in five different colorways: pink, blue-green, red, grey, and panda. Each features color-matched keycaps and top and rear accents to tie it all together. Large Lumino branding appears on the back of all but the Panda version, which I was sent for this review. I know some people don’t like bold lettering on the back of their keyboards but I think it matches the personality of the keyboard well. There’s definitely a cutesy element here with the pastel versions, but it’s subjective. I personally really liked the Panda color, which I wound up being sent to evaluate.
The keyboard uses a compact layout known as 75% or Compact TKL. It includes a full function row and arrow keys, as well as a column of navigation and editing buttons. The dedicated section for navigation is gone and so is the number pad to leave extra space for your mouse hand. Though the keyboard trims off physical keys, most are included as secondary functions you can access by holding the Fn button. It’s also completely remappable using VIA, which is a powerful open-source software you can access over the web.
It doesn’t take long to recognize the build quality and craftsmanship applied to this keyboard. Each keyboard is coated instead of anodized and the finish is consistent and smooth. The tolerances are tight for its different parts so it comes together very well. My version also has a cute little panda on the back that’s well-implemented and adds an extra notch of personality. I’m tempted to get some fake bamboo shoots for my desk!
The keycaps are made of thick PBT plastic. It’s resistant to finger oils and is denser than ABS, so won’t shine over time. In practical terms, they’re not going to look oily and used in a week or even a year unless you’re literally typing with greasy fingers. Their thickness also gives a solidity to the tactile feedback your fingers experience while typing and gaming.
It uses Luminkey’s in-house designed Astral switches, though the company shares next to nothing about them. They’re a pre-lubed linear switch that I suspect is a long-pole due to its bottom-out sound. They have a light actuation force but not too light. They aren’t speed switches and feel closer to Cherry MX Reds in actuation force. They have a light, clacky sound signature.
Beneath the switches, we really begin to see Luminkey’s custom keyboard heritage shine through. It uses multiple layers of sound-dampening material and a gasket mounting structure to ensure a consistent, high-quality typing experience. The switches are mounted in a 1.5mm polycarbonate plate for added softness beneath the fingers.
Though foam is moving out of the meta for custom keyboard enthusiasts, it’s still a welcome feature on premade keyboards like this and something that I consider good to include as an option no matter what. Even if the user removes every piece of foam, having the option allows you to customize the typing experience so you can enjoy the sound and feel you like most.
Moving from the top down, beneath the plate the Lumino75 features a 3.5mm sheet of PORON plate foam to isolate the sound of the switches. Beneath that is a layer of IXPE foam that’s only half a millimeter thick and sits below the switches and adds a creamy poppiness to the sound. Next, we have the PCB itself, which isn’t flex cut (a benefit for its sound). Finally, we have a layer of PORON PCB foam for the underside of the circuit and a thin layer of case foam, both of which work to isolate typing sounds that travel through the keyboard.
The switches are hot-swappable if you ever care to change them. Simply lock the included tool onto the switch you’re planning to change and pull up. Next, press the new switch into place, lining up the pins as you go. Push once and boom, you’re good, The stock switches do a good job of directing of showcasing the keyboard’s performance. They also allow the RGB backlighting to shine well and without interference with the north-facing mailer.
For wireless connectivity, it offers three Bluetooth connections, 2.4GHz, and USB. The latency figures Luminkey quotes are round-trip and are more accurate than the 1ms typically quoted by gaming keyboards and are good overall.
Luminkey Lumino75 - Impressions and Performance
Luminkey has shown that it knows how to craft a high-quality keyboard and the Lumino75 is no exception. While it’s a board that’s certainly about looks, there’s substance beyond the surface.
For starters, I’m really impressed by its build quality and construction. The Panda version looks very nice and doesn’t have any visible imperfections. I’m a big fan of the small details, like the pattern to the right of the screen and the little Panda bear on the back. There’s also some nice contouring around the sides to give the board more visual interest.
Internally, its construction is pretty unique. There really isn’t a top case at all. Instead, the colored portion in the upper quarter snaps on and off using a ball catch system. The PCB assembly rests within the bottom case on its gaskets. This design means that you don’t need tools to access the keyboard’s internals.
Which you might want to do, because it comes with all the foams pre-installed. The two case foams can simply be pulled right out. The plate foam requires removing the switches and keycaps, so that takes a bit more time and effort to remove. The keyboard tends to sound a little thin without this layer, however, so I recommend leaving it in.
I also appreciated that the PCB and screen both attach with pins. The PCB is magnetic while the screen uses long POGO pins that I haven’t seen used elsewhere before now. It doesn’t go all-in on the quick release system, though, as the board for the screen still requires one ribbon cable. I’m not a fan of ribbon cables due to their fragility but a single cable is manageable, if not ideal.
Typing impressions are positive overall. The PC plate and silicone dumbbell gaskets allow the keyboard to provide a dampened sound signature without any sharpness. There is very little noticeable flex when typing normally without removing foams but it’s far from harsh.
The Astral switches are good, as are the keycaps. They’re very smooth and responsive, even over 2.4GHz wireless. The sound is similar to previous Luminkey keyboards, which are on the clacky side. It’s not a keyboard to choose if you prefer a deeper, thockier sound signature — at least if you stick with the stock switches. Since it’s hot-swappable, you can easily swap them out for another option.
Typing Demos (be sure to give these creators a like and subscribe if you enjoy their content):
Video Credit: Daihuku Keyboard
Video Credit: Samuel Tan
Final Thoughts
The Luminkey Lumino75 is a solid wireless mechanical keyboard that drips with personality and offers good typing and gaming experiences. As with anything themed like this, whether or not it’s for you will depend on your subjective taste. But if you’re looking for a custom keyboard experience without the need to build it for yourself, it’s a high-quality option.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
