Wait a minute, five keyboard accessories?! What the heck? This Pentuple Feature is packed full of switches and a keycap set thanks to the amazing folks at Meletrix. Strap yourselves in – this is a long review.
Meletrix has released a new set of four linear switches in their WS Arowana Switch line. They’re all made by HMX, a mechanical keyboard switch manufacturer whose switches are often sought after for their uniquely loud yet clacky sound profiles, creamy colors, and a wide variety of dimensions to meet the needs of every type of typist. In my experience, these switches have excellent lubing and often sold as a premium, but some of the HMX switches made in early 2024 had leaf ticking issues – the Arowanas had no issues during my testing.
Regardless of HMX’s history and price point, Meletrix’s decision to release the four Arowana switches seems to be to emphasize the unique sounds of your Zoom75 TIGA (or any of their keyboards, really). If you recall in my review of the Zoom75 TIGA, there are a myriad of ways you can build the keyboard to your liking and get that perfect sound and feeling combination. A decently loud switch will make that acoustic experience even more sublime.
If you don’t have a Zoom75 TIGA, don’t worry. Much of what I discuss in this review of the Arowana switches can be cross-applied to any keyboard, really. You just need to be mindful of the keyboard’s construction to get the most out of your switch. If acoustics aren’t your jam, but the “feeling” of a keyboard is, let this review help guide you in choosing which of the four Arowana switches are best for you!
As a part of this review, I put together a quick sound test (it’s less than 30 seconds long, folks) of the switches and keycaps that were sent over from Meletrix. For this sound test, I kept the Akko Creamy Yellow Pros in the Function Row to act as the baseline to showcase the differences between the Arowanas and another notably thocky switch (that I used in my original review of the Zoom75 TIGA). Before reading further, listen to the sweet, sweet sounds of the switches on my Zoom75 TIGA with Aluminum plate with Poron foam!
Red Arowana Switches
First up is the Red Arowana Switches. In my sound test, I put these switches in the number row. These switches’ housing is made up of a mixture of softer nylon – PA12 for the top and P1 for the bottom. The stem is made up of a harder material (LY). The resultant sound profile skews poppy thanks to the softer housing meshed with the harder stem material. It’s a pleasant sound profile that is slightly loud when paired with a metal plate.
These switches require a decent amount of force to operate (40gf) and activated at an excellent midrange of 2.0mm. While it isn’t technically a “mid” because of the switches’ total travel being 3.5mm, I generally prefer a pre-travel of 2.0mm. Anything under that tends to feel too sensitive save for a switch with a higher operating force of 50+gf.
My first impression of these switches is that they are good “all-around” switches. They’re decent for gaming given their sensitivity (er, lack thereof), excellent for typing thanks to their smoothness, and not too jarring thanks to their poppy sound profile. They sounded and felt eerily similar to HMX’s Jammy switches but with far less operating force and less of a thock. If you’re familiar with the Jammys, you’ll find these to feel easier to use and better for gaming. On the gaming side of things, I would recommend the Arowana Reds for medium- and low-intensity gaming. Their operating force is sensitive enough to get you through mild platformers and casual RPGs, but not sensitive enough for an FPS that requires twitchy movements.
My only real complaint about the Reds is that of its color. Yes, this is absurdly nitpicky, but I would have preferred the Reds to utilize a starker red color similar to the crimson red that Meletrix uses for its Zoom75 TIGA. The resultant red on the switch looks more like a reddish orange rather than a deep red.
Yellow Arowana Switches
Second up is the Yellow Arowana Switches. In my sound test, I put these switches in the Q row. These switches’ housing is made up of PC (polycarbonate) – a decent medium hardness. The stem is made up of a harder material (POM). These switches produce an interesting hybrid of sound that blends clacky yet thocky. It’s a deep clackiness that is easy on the ears while not being too loud.
These switches are sensitive because of their 32gf actuation force. Nothing against switches with sub-35gf actuation force, but anything less than 35gf feels increasingly airy the lower gf you go. The Yellow’s 32gf operating force makes for an incredibly light, airy, and almost cloud-like typing experience. The slightest touch on the switch pushes the stem down with very little pushback from the spring. While these switches had the same 2.0mm “mid-range” pre-travel as the Red Arowanas, the Yellow’s sensitivity made the switches quite easy to push and activate.
Again, I have nothing against sensitive switches – they’re clearly there for folks who want to type with as little fatigue as possible and/or a desire for twitchy inputs. The Yellow Arowanas were not for me because of the sensitivity, but I appreciated how smooth and airy they were in testing out RPGs and first-person shooters. I made way too many false inputs to count because of how I forcefully type, but there’s little doubt that the Yellow’s sensitivity will be greatly appreciated by those wanting to play high-intensity games.
The switches aren’t truly yellow, by the way. They’re closer to a cream color. I placed the switch onto a pad of yellow post-its, and it looked almost white compared to the bright yellow color of the notepad. Interestingly, the Gold Arowanas (which I’ll discuss in a moment) were a brighter yellow than the actual Yellow Arowanas, leading to some confusion when I first opened the bags containing the Arowana Switches. Color quibbles aside, the Yellow Arowanas sound great and are a great option for those wanting a lighter and sensitive switch for high intensity gaming and/or typing without feeling fatigued.
Black Arowana Switches
Next is the Black Arowana Switches. They were slotted into the A row when I was conducting the sound test. The switches construction is made from harder materials (i.e., a PC top, P2 bottom, and POK stem). For HMX switches, the harder the stem and housing, the louder and clackier the switch. This rings true for the Black Arowanas.
These switches are delightfully strong thanks to their stronger springs that require a good 57gf of actuation force. This actuation force makes the switches an excellent candidate for Cerakey keycaps, by the way. If you’re in the market for a strong switch that pairs well with a heavy keycap, the Black Arowanas are a perfect fit for you! The switches’ 2.0mm pre-travel and 4.0mm total travel resulted in the perfect sweet spot for using in typing and gaming. Interestingly, the bottom-out feeling was the least harsh out of all of the Arowana switches – imagine pressing down all the way and not “feeling” the hard bottom of the switch but releasing the switch results in a decent rebound. That’s what it’s like to use the Black Arowanas.
If you’re already familiar with HMX’s switches, the Black Arowanas have a similar sound profile to the HMX Blue Topaz switches. They’re high-pitched and loud while maintaining a clackiness that can be interpreted as thocky when paired with PC plate and/or additional layers of foam. Of course, the Blue Topaz switches have a PC top housing just like the Black Arowanas but with a slightly harder stem (POM), so it makes sense for the sound profiles to be similar.
When I first took these switches out of the bag and slotted them into my Zoom75 TIGA, I thought that these switches were modified Gateron Oil Kings. I know, I know, not all single-color switches are the same, but the Oil Kings (specifically) and the Black Arowanas are similar in their actuation force, pre-travel, and color, so it makes sense to come to that confusion. The only downside of these switches is that the black color results in very little shinethrough (despite the LED slot), so expect your keyboard to have darker colors.
Gold Arowana Switches
Finally, we have the Gold Arowanas, which were placed in the Z row of the Zoom75 TIGA for the purposes of the sound test. These switches were constructed of softer materials (i.e., PA66 top, P4 bottom, and a T5 stem). In my experience, softer materials produce a deeper and thockier sound profile. You know – the “thocky white whale” of every keeb enthusiast. This rings especially true today – the Gold Arowanas are ever so thocky. They’re delightful! On my Zoom75 TIGA, the Golds were thocky even with the aluminum plate. Usually, aluminum plates end up making switches louder and higher-pitched, but the Golds maintained a proper deepness that persisted through use.
Using the Gold Arowanas was an absolute joy thanks to the medium-high actuation force (45gf) and “mid” pre-travel. There was very little bounce-back, but there was more than the Yellows and Reds in the Arowana line (but nowhere near the bounce-back force from the Black switches). If you haven’t noticed already, but all of the Arowana switches have a 2.0mm of pre-travel. The Gold Arowanas, though, felt the most natural to use for both gaming and typing.
I preferred the Gold Arowanas over all of the other Arowana switches for gaming and typing thanks to their pre-travel and actuation force. They were sensitive enough for playing games of all kinds, even though they weren’t sensitive for twitchy movements. I’ll admit that many gamers don’t “just” play FPS titles, but when they do, they need a decent amount of sensitivity and pre-travel. Not you’re probably thinking, “Will, why did you prefer the Gold over the Red Arowanas?” It’s simple – their thock. Sound profiles are important to me, so having a decently sensitive switch that also produces a deep thock is valuable.
This is all to say that the sound profile of the Gold Arowanas was sublime while their fit for gaming and typing was near-perfect. They were my favorite switch of the bunch, with the Black Arowanas coming in a close second because of their stronger spring.
Final Thoughts – Arowana Switches
If you haven’t yet listened to the Sound Test at the top of this review, I want you to go so before making a decision in selecting one of these switches for your Zoom75 TIGA. Heck, take it up a notch and check out some additional sound tests on YouTube from other content creators whose sole purpose is to test out various sound combinations on their endless supply of keebs. Let the sound tests be the final say in you deciding which switch to prefer.
Personally, the Arowana Gold and the Arowana Black switches were my favorite switches but for entirely different reasons. The Gold switches’ thocky sound profile won me over, but the Black switches’ “feeling” was unreal because of their strength and bottom-out. That said, here’s what you should consider as you weigh these switches:
- The Red Arowana switches are decent all-round switches, albeit poppy. They’re smooth, easy-to-press, and produce a soft poppy sound profile.
- The Yellow Arowana switches are fit for those wanting an ultra-sensitive switch, especially if you’re as FPS player. They’re clacky, too.
- The Black Arowana switches are best for those wanting a strong switch, albeit a switch that is loud while having a unique bottom-out that isn’t harsh on the fingertips. Just be mindful of the lack of light passthrough thanks to the switches’ color.
- The Gold Arowana switches are excellent thocky switches, albeit slightly stronger than the Red Arowanas. They’re just as smooth as the Reds, too, but lighter than the Black Arowana
You can’t go wrong with the WS Arowana Switch lineup while you’re patiently waiting for your Zoom75 TIGA to make its way to your doorstep this holiday season. It’s clear that Meletrix’s decision to select HMX as their switch manufacturer was intentional to ensure that the Zoom75 TIGA produces a unique sound profile that is enhanced by HMX’s history of excellent switches.
WS PBT Gray Skies Keycaps
If you recall in my original Zoom75 TIGA review, I noted that the keycaps in the keyboard renders were not available for purchase. Sadly, they’re still not available. I have some good news for you, though: Meletrix has an excellent range of keycaps that complement the Zoom 75 TIGA well. I was sent a set of the WS PBT Gray Skies to review along with my Zoom75 TIGA! Before I continue, take a look at how the keycaps look on my Milky Green Zoom75 TIGA.
Now ain’t that a beaut? The three gray colors add a nice touch to the matcha green of the Zoom75 TIGA. I love it!
The WS PBT Gray Skies Keycaps are made up of PBT, a premium material known for durability and ability to maintain a matte color palette. Unlike ABS keycaps that can develop a shininess over time, PBT keycaps maintain their colors, legends, and form factor without needing to be replaced. This makes PBT keycaps an excellent choice when building a keyboard to last.
There are so many keys in this set of keycaps – 223 in total. The keycaps came packaged in a large box with two separate trays, the first being the typical alphanumeric keys while the second tray was full of additional spacebars (for those with split spacebar keyboards!), shifts, function keys, and other accent keys that properly compliment the keycaps’ grey and white color scheme. It’s a massive box and contains so many keycaps to support just about every keyboard layout there is. I love it.
The keycaps’ legends are left-aligned and utilize a rounded font that looks like a cross between Arial Bold and Neue Haas Grotesk Text Pro. Everything is easily readable, the letters are uniform, and they are appropriately positioned to ensure clarity and aesthetic appeal. On my Zoom75 TIGA, the colors of the Gray Skies perfectly fit the keyboard’s modern aesthetic.
If you’re in the market for a new set of keycaps that look great and bring out the best aesthetics of your Zoom75 TIGA (or any keyboard, really), the WS PBT line of keycaps are an excellent addition to your keyboard to give it the premium feel that you deserve.