The Cybrix 16 is an excellent macro pad. Its premium and durable design and satisfying acoustic profile makes it an excellent complement to my desk when I am using a 75% keyboard. Given its utility thanks to its 16 customizable keys, multiple input layers, and three knobs, the Cybrix 16 is my personal recommendation for anyone needing a macro- or number pad to go with their custom mechanical keyboard.
In a market dominated by 75% keyboards, sometimes it’s nice to have a number pad for fancy Excel calculations or specific macros bound to a single button. Some of us don’t have space on our desk for a massive 98%/full-sized keyboard, but you miss the number pad all the same. That’s why a number pad/macro pad is an excellent addition for your desk.
KiiBOOM’s Cybrix 16 is their newest macro pad since their Phantom 21 (a crystal-clear macro pad that perfectly complements KiiBOOM’s Phantom 81 or Phantom 63). Like some of KiiBOOM’s newest keyboards announced this year, the Cybrix 16 adopts a refined and minimalist aesthetic thanks to its 6063 CNC Aluminum body, three lightly-textured knobs, and blank keycaps. For $80, it’s a well-priced macro pad compared to some of the other limited-edition macro pads from competitors who use the same materials.
Click here to check out the Cybrix 16 on KiiBOOM’s website! (Non-affiliated URL)
If you haven’t heard of KiiBOOM and their prebuilt mechanical keyboards prior to today, here’s a brief overview. KiiBOOM specializes in pre-built mechanical keyboards blending unique aesthetics and premium materials. I’ve been testing and using their keyboards for the past year and am continuously surprised by how well KiiBOOM’s prebuilt mechanical keyboards and custom switches hold up as gaming keyboards, let alone office keyboards for day-to-day word processing and coding.
The Cybrix 16 reminds me of KiiBOOM’s Moonshadow V2 – a sturdy yet affordable aluminum keyboard – but with a far more lightweight form factor. The Cybrix 16 comes in three colors: silver, pink, and black. Regardless of the color you choose, the Cybrix 16 comes with a matching set of gradient keycaps (that look fantastic) and KiiBOOM’s custom “Flick” switches.
I was sent the silver Cybrix 16 for this review, and boy – it’s quite the well-designed macro pad.
Three knobs might sound like overkill, but KiiBOOM has ensured that each knob can serve thoughtful functions, thus boosting the utility of the Cybrix 16. On the default first layer, the largest knob controls the volume (in increments of 2 on my Windows PC – excellent!) while the smaller knobs up top act as page scrolling and media controls. The knobs can be pressed, too! If you want the knobs to serve other purposes, pressing the largest knob will shift the profile to one of the other 5 custom profiles on-board the macro-pad.
The Cybrix 16’s dye-sub PBT cherry-profile keycaps feel durable and look great, but there’s one small catch: they’re entirely blank and smooth. The keycaps are easily hot-swapped with another set of keycaps using the keycap puller that comes with the macro pad, but it would be nice if at least some of the blank keycaps came as position keys or a simple symbol/label for easy reference. Heck, making the “5” key a position key with a little bump would be an excellent way for me to center my right hand on the pad when attempting to use it to input numbers into Excel. On the design front, the keycaps’ gradient colors add a nice shade of color to the macro pad.
The first custom layer makes the Cybrix 16 a number pad (on the right-hand side) with the left-hand column used to access My Computer, Copy, Paste, Cut, and Home. That default layout is easy to learn and remember despite the blank keycaps. The other layers can be customized using VIA (which involves downloading a .json file and then uploading it into the VIA suite). Many prebuilt manufacturers claim that their keyboards are compatible with VIA, but sideloading with a .json file adds another set of convoluted steps and isn’t innately linked with the VIA community. Hopefully, future macro pads and prebuilts from KiiBOOM don’t require a .json file in the future.
The Cybrix 16 features south-facing LEDs, but they’re not the brightest. It’s easy to change the Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and Style of the LEDs using the fifth custom input layer, but even at max brightness I could hardly see the keycaps shine around, let alone through, the keycaps. I don’t expect customers to make a decision about a macro pad on the basis of bright LEDs, but if you need to have bright LEDs, you may need to look elsewhere or invest in a secondary set of keycaps so your Cybrix can light up.
That said, the Cybrix 16’s switches sound and feel divine. They produce a satisfying acoustic profile that sounds like a deep clackiness or a light thockiness – I’m still unsure how to best describe the sound. The metal construction is partly to blame for this, as aluminum amplifies keypress sounds well. The Flick switches (unique to the Cybrix 16) feel like linear switches with a decent midrange pre-travel. KiiBOOM’s website doesn’t have more information about the Flick switches (and they’re only available on the Cybrix 16 at this time), but we have been informed that they have a 2.0mm pre-travel and around 45f of actuation force – the sweet spot of linear switches. I will update this review with the correct details when I receive additional information from KiiBOOM.
My biggest issue with the Cybrix 16 is that it is a wired numberpad only – it has no wireless mode at all because it lacks a battery. I don’t consider this a major dealbreaker, but I know that some folks would prefer a desk void of cables. I personally use wired modes on my keyboards because I prefer a greater polling rate, response time, and no worries about battery life. If there was a V2 version of the Cybrix, I would hope that it could support a wireless mode in some capacity just so users don’t have to worry about another cord on their desks.
The Cybrix 16 is an excellent macro pad. Its premium and durable design and satisfying acoustic profile makes it an excellent complement to my desk when I am using a 75% keyboard. Given its utility thanks to its 16 customizable keys, multiple input layers, and three knobs, the Cybrix 16 is my personal recommendation for anyone needing a macro- or number pad to go with their custom mechanical keyboard.
