REVIEW – Mechanical keyboards come in a variety of sizes. I tend to go for 75% size keyboards because I don’t need a dedicated keypad, but I like a dedicated row of function keys. When I accepted the offer to review the Varmilo Muse 65 mechanical keyboard, I was going to pass it on to the rest of the Gadgeteer team to fight over, but I decided that maybe I was missing out and should try a smaller size. So I did, and now I can tell you what I think.
What is it?
The Varmilo Muse 65 mechanical keyboard is a 65% sized mechanical keyboard that features magnetic switches and an aluminum alloy case.
What’s included?
- Varmilo Muse 65 mechanical keyboard
- Magnetic Gateron white switches
- USB cable
- Keycap and switch removal tool
- User guide
Design and features
The Varmilo Muse 65 mechanical keyboard is available in five color/keycap styles. I was sent the Summit version which has a mountain climbing theme.
Notice the compass arrow keycaps and Windows key, knife backspace key, fire ESC key, and the mountain/topographical mapping graphics on the spacebar, enter key, and home/PgUp/PgDn, Delete key row.
The Varmilo Muse 65 mechanical keyboard has an aluminum alloy base that gives it a nice weight. The bottom of the case has a mountain-themed graphic on a mirrored glass back panel.
This keyboard has rubber feet to keep it in place on your desk, but it does not offer angle adjustment with flip out feet.
The left back edge has a USB-C port to charge the keyboard and use it wired instead of
Here’s a side view of the keyboard shows the Cherry profile. The back is lifted for better ergonomics.
The Varmilo Muse 65 mechanical keyboard comes with Gateron magnetic linear white switches.
What’s the big deal about magnetic switches? Magnetic switches provide exact actuation points, which enhances typing accuracy and responsiveness. Mechanical keyboards that use magnetic switches are particularly beneficial for gamers, but anyone can use them.
An average human’s reaction time is 300-500ms, while a pro gamer can reach 200ms through training. The total trip time for a key press to register after the finge-cap contact can however easily reach >100 ms, much of it spent on the key descending to the actuation point. A magnetic switch cuts this trip by half by separating the process of actuation, accomplished at the speed of light through the Hall effect…
I’m not a gamer, so all of my testing with this keyboard was doing regular typing for reviews, emails, etc. So in all honesty, the benefit of this keyboard may be lost on me because I don’t care much about the ability to customize certain settings like:
- Supports custom range, minimum accuracy 0.02mm
- Supports RT and DKS
- Supports dead zone adjustment, minimum 0 dead zone
I didn’t even know what DKS was until I looked it up. DKS stands for dynamic keystroke. You can create bindings that switch between the parts of a single key press. For example, you could press a certain key partially to walk, and then if you press it all the way, it will switch to running.
See and hear it in action
Using this keyboard with a Mac
I did all of my testing of the Varmilo Muse 65 with my MacBook. The manual has information about switching between the Windows and Mac modes, but I found issues when switching to the Mac mode. For one thing, doing so caused the number row to become the function key row. For example, pressing the three keys brought up all the running apps Expose view, pressing four launched the Launch Pad view, pressing zero toggled mute, the minus key lowered volume, and the equals key increased volume.
I’m also a pretty fast touch typist, and I noticed that sometimes spaces and letters that I didn’t press would be injected into my typing without me even pressing them. I figured out that this keyboard is quite touchy by default. This can be adjusted with the driver software. But there’s not a Mac version of the software yet. According to their product page, Varmilo will have a web version available in October.
What I like about the Varmilo Muse 65 keyboard
- Compact form factor
- DKS key customization options for gamers
What needs to be improved?
- Better macOS compatibility out of the box
- A wireless version would be nice
- macOS driver and web driver not yet available
Final thoughts
I like the look of the Varmilo Muse 65 keyboard, and the sound of the keys. But the lack of the function row key left me wanting more. Pair that with the less than stellar macOS compatibility and I realized quickly that this keyboard wasn’t meant for me. I think gamers will love it. Windows gamers, that is. This experience has left me wanting to try other Varmilo keyboards in the future.
Price: $169.00
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Varmilo. Varmilo did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
