Those lovely, lovely people at Redragon have sent me one of their shiny, new, see-through IRELIA K658 PRO SE keyboards to try out. Now, I’ve reviewed a couple of transparent keyboards previously – the MC66 from Epomaker, and the Kiiboom Phantom 81 – so I’m no stranger to the world of translucent type testing. As I’ve said before, I’m old enough to remember the transparent tech craze of the 1990s, so these kinds of boards always have a bit of a nostalgic retro vibe for me.
The K658 is a 94 key / 90% keyboard. You get all your F-keys with all their multimedia Alt functions, plus a Num pad, in a nice compact format. So, where is my Del key? This is something I always ask myself when trying out a new board. I can (just about) do without a Del, but I always favour a keyboard which has one. The K658 does have one, but it’s at the very bottom right of the board, on the Num pad. And Num Lock needs to be switched off in order to use it. That’s proven a little difficult to get used to for me, as a person using the K658 for everyday typing. That’s a personal thing though, I’m sure.
The K658 has a compact ANSI layout, is fully compatible with Windows and Android, and will also work with Mac with some slightly reduced functionality (Redragon’s free-to-use software is currently not available for Mac). Connection options are wired via USB-C, 2.4 GHz wireless (dongle stashed on the underside of the board), or Bluetooth 3.0/5.0.
The K658 comes in a choice of black or white (although “clear or tinted” might be a more accurate description). I got white because, if we’re doing see-through tech, I feel like that’s the way to go. Keycaps are also transparent, obviously.
The K658 also comes equipped with Redragon’s own transparent Linear switches. These are hot-swappable, meaning that they can be easily swapped out for other 3 or 5-pin switches with no need for soldering or unnecessary messing about. They are not clicky switches by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re not “soft” like some Linears can be. I really like them now that I’m used to them.
The K658 has a noise-dampening silicone pad sandwiched between the keys and the PCB, and a layer of EVA sound-absorbing foam between the PCB and the backplate. It’s a very, very quiet board and genuinely pretty calming and relaxing sounding when you’re typing away at speed.
The K658 weighs 0.65 kg, so it’s pretty lightweight for a 94-key board (especially considering its 1600 mAh in-built battery), and easily light enough to carry around with you for use with a laptop or similar. A couple of sturdy, flip-down Silicone-tipped feet allow you to adjust the angle of your K658.
The backlights on the K658 are bright. Very bright. You can, of course, adjust the brightness, but what I’m saying is these lights really shine through because of the fully transparent nature of the K658. This isn’t just a keyboard with backlights; they feel much more integrated into the overall design and aesthetic of the K658 than on any other board I’ve ever tried out, transparent or otherwise. These are Redragon’s own “vibrant groovy RGBs” and come with 20 pre-set patterns/modes, plus all the usual options to select solid colours, adjust speed, brightness, etc. I half expected the K658 to have a second set of lights in its base, like the HS84, but I genuinely think that would have been overkill. Further customisation, including Macros, is available via the free-to-use Redragon software.
At the end of the day the K658 is a really good-looking, portable, functional, and solid multi-purpose board. Not only that, but it’s very, very affordable.
The K658 is available directly from Redragon for just £55 GBP / $ 69.99 USD.