As keyboard enthusiasts, it is interesting to watch keyboards evolve into the mainstream as more and more people get into the hobby and become obsessed with everything from the feel of the switches to the acoustics of the board. Because of this, everyone has a holy grail product, in other words, a keyboard that is the ultimate desktop companion for the money. What we present here is a keyboard that is likely to become the holy grail for many, the all-new Drop Sense75.

This keyboard has been a long time coming for me personally, months after its announcement. I tested the $399 pre-assembled option, which comes in an attractive color scheme called Polar.

Looking at the feature set, it has all the makings of a good enthusiast-level keyboard: a sturdy aluminum frame, Drop's Holy Panda X switches, hot-swappable PCB, and RGB lighting on the underside of the keyboard. The reality, however, is a little different.

So why buy the Sense75?

First of all, it is remarkably well made. Even by custom keyboard standards, the Sense75 is ridiculously heavy, weighing nearly a kilo. With mainstream keyboards becoming as thin and light as possible, it is great to have a keyboard that can be used as a weapon.

The Sense75 not only has a sturdy frame, but also double-shot ABS keycaps with Drop's proprietary DCX profile. The caps on my sample are bright white with a particularly legible black legend, which contrasts nicely with the ice blue of the Sense75's chassis, but the slightly rounded typeface used on the keycaps does cheapen the overall feel of the Sense75 a bit

Sense75 is a very nice design.

I personally really like the 75% layout that the Sense75 uses. It doesn't lose much compared to a standard TKL keyboard, and the 75% layout is clean looking. Like competing models, the Sense75 has a volume knob for improved tactility and functionality.

The real reason the Sense75 is worth choosing from my perspective is its switches. While it is hot-swappable and can use 3-pin or 5-pin MX-style switches, the Holy Panda X switches used by default are very good.

For some background, these switches come from a community mod that put the stem of a Halo Clear switch into the housing of a Panda switch, creating the Holy Panda. Since then, they have been reproduced on a variety of keyboards, from Glorious to Drop, and the Holy Panda Xs presented here is the latest in the series: a soft tactile switch comparable to Cherry MX Clears, weighing in at a hefty 60g and featuring a crisp tactile feel. As someone who is used to the quietness of the Cherry MX Brown, Clears, and most recently the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S (open in new tab), I think I have a fair idea of what a good soft-tactile switch feels like. The Holy Panda X is the best tactile switch I have ever used and I don't think I will be replacing it anytime soon.

Being a heavy switch means it is designed for typing, not gaming, and for this purpose it is one of the best switches money can buy. Of course, if you don't like this switch, you can replace it with any MX-style switch, whether made by Cherry or one of the many clones that exist in 2023.

These switches make the Sense75 one of the best feeling keyboards money can buy, but there are a few minor complaints. The enthusiast in me doesn't really like the pinched aluminum case. However, for such an expensive keyboard, one might have expected a little better acoustics from the case. With this in mind, however, the drop's use of south-facing LEDs is convenient for those who want to replace the switches, and, as is common with keyboards of this type, the gasket mounting helps to provide a slightly more resilient typing feel.

Of particular interest on the Sense75 is the underglow RGB lighting. In contrast to the key-by-key lighting on other keyboards, the Sense75's keys have a vibrant lighting that exists as ambient lighting on the desk rather than making them easier to see in the dark. This is not the case here.

Normally, I would tell you to buy the Sense75, but the price tag prevents me from doing so; at $399, it's too expensive for a keyboard for many people. Don't get me wrong, the Sense75 is a gorgeous, class-leading keyboard that offers the best typing experience money can buy.