I just received a Strix Scope II 96, and I feel this might be the sweet spot in terms of value.
I’ve hit the wall of diminishing returns with other hobbies ( IEMs in particular), where I know I’m getting 95% of the experience spending 5% of what is labeled as top-of-the-line.
What am I missing with this keyboard, that I could have with an unlimited budget?
And to have a broader discussion, what do you consider end-game?
To me, as I’ve come to realize, is finding the right keycap set. Especially as my favorite profile is XDA and all the cool ones are either Cherry or SA.
What are you missing? Difficult to quantify as different people want different things, and something you may miss, I may not care about. There are things such as build quality though, that cannot be ignored. No gaming board is every going to be as well built as a high end custom board, as they are always designed to meet a price point, and value for money is something that gamers demand, which is why more newcomers to the hobby are attracted by a boards features/price ratio more than they are quality. That’s not a negative comment on gamers, or beginners either, it’s just true, as it’s what they have, up to this point used a metric to judge a keyboard. If one board has features another doesn’t, and they are of a similar price, they will probably pick the one with the most features, especially if they are from a well known brand they feel they can trust. Custom keyboard enthusiasts though, are less concerned with features, just as someone who prefers very high end Hi-Fi gear will not be bothered about flashing lights, built in EQ or stuff like that.
So, in short… build quality is what you will be missing. There’s then also the elements of design. This can either be ergonomic design for split boards etc, or just aesthetic design that lends itself to an excellent typing experience.
There’s no such thing really. It depends on you and your circumstances. If you’re a 14 year old kid living in India, then end game will be very different to a 50 year old man earning 150K a year living in the US or the EU. If you want to generalise though, the most common understanding is something rare and superb in every aspect, and therefore, inevitably expensive. I really wouldn’t worry about what is end game though, or whether others consider your board end game. This is where a lot of bitterness and antagonism comes from. People get upset if their pride and joy isn’t considered endgame by others. Does it matter? If you like the board, and it’s as good as you can get under your present circumstances, then what others think about it is unimportant. Too many people get into this hobby just as a means to have another outlet to flex on socials for a dopamine hit. Don’t start down that road, as it just never ends well unless you are wealthy enough to just keep up with such an arms race.
Build the board that you are happiest typing on, because that’s all that matters really. The chances are, that will not be a cheap board off AliExpress, but it really doesn’t need to be a TGR or a Geon either. Like you said, you have found the sweet spot for headphones… so find it for keyboards, but only you can find that sweet spot as it may be different for me, or someone else reading this.
If you find yourself in a position to blow a wad of cash on something really high end one day, cool… but as you already know… it’s diminishing returns territory. It doesn’t mean they are any less nice to own, or rewarding to obtain… just don’t expect a paradigm shift in your typing or anything.