Akko SPR75 – Review

AKKO SPR75
AKKO SPR75

Akko SPR75

| DIY Barebone Kit | 75% | Hot-Swappable |

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The Akko SPR75 is the newest premium model from the SPR series, following the popular Akko SPR67.

The SPR series are spring-mounted barebone DIY kits.

On paper, the Akko SPR75 promises to offers a complete premium package with a surprisingly lower asking price than similarly spec’d kits.

We will see in detail and analyze the results of our tests during this review of the Akko SPR75 to verify if this barebones kit is able to keep up with the premium promise at a bang for buck price.

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Akko SPR75 Review

Tests & Scores

Scores Scores

Akko SPR75 Scores

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A

ACCESSORIES & PACKAGING
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The Akko SPR75 comes inside a good solid package. Inside you get the kit with all the building pieces and accessories, including:

• Coiled USB-C cable
• Keycap puller
• Switch puller
• Stabilizers
• 3 springs sets
• Dampening layers
• FR4 ENIG Flex-cut plate
• Silicone feet and gaskets
• Allen key
• Screws

D

DESIGN
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The Akko SPR75 has a minimalistic, smooth design with a main case in black color and a golden accent all-around the edge that connects the top and bottom case sections – right next to the Up Arrow key you will find a rectangular gold detail as a protruding piece (in case that you are wondering, theoretically you can unscrew this piece but there is no corresponding place for a switch on the board)

On the bottom, the kit has a large plate in golden color with the brand and model name engraved on it.

Having a clean black main case, this kit can be combined with any kind of keycaps and it will always look aesthetically balanced. In our case, we decided to conserve the clean and elegant look with a Akko BOW Black on White keycaps set. As a final result, the keyboard showcases it’s premium, minimalistic nature with a business flavour.

It is worth mentioning, that the board and the kit do not have any kind of lighting; therefore do not expect RGB backlighting nor LED indicators.

While assembling the kit you will notice that you also have to install the 4 large silicone feet for the bottom case. Being made of good silicone quality, these provide the efficient grippiness and slippery-free experience that you can expect from silicone.


E

ERGONOMICS
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The Akko SPR75 kit has a 75% layout with a good optimization of the case space without wasting areas nor enlarging the foot print with empty spaces.

With a size of 333 x 146 x 32mm this kit respects the size of a true 75% keyboard while the angled casing design offers an efficient building playground to be matched with keycaps that can enhance the ergonomics of the kit (like MDA profile sets)

As a common practice with many barebone DIY kits, the case does not have adjustable feet.

CB

CONSTRUCTION & BUILD
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The Akko SPR75 is entirely made with an aluminum oxidized case with a 3-piece body that includes a black top case, a black bottom case and a golden mid case.

This Akko barebones kit is certainly not a flimsy one and the metal construction can be clearly felt on the overall weight and feel of the unit – as a point of comparison, the MonsGeek M6 is substantially heavier.

Inside, the kit inherits the same level of build that you see from the outside, including components such as a per-key Flex-cut PCBA, metal springs and Poron and silicone dampening materials.

 

CON

CONNECTIVITY
gramophone-256603.75/5

This kit is exclusively wired with no wireless Bluetooth nor 2.4Ghz dongles, so you should consider this if you were specifically looking after a premium kit with a multi-connection wireless system.

Despite this, the kit offers a reliable and hassle-free USB-C wired connection with a detachable cable design.

The USB-C connector on the kit has a recessed shape to provide a tighter and more secure connection and reduce the risk of breaking the connector. Also, the USB-C connector section is fully serviceable and easily replaced by removing only 2 screws – to be more precise, this piece does not come pre-assembled so you will have to assembly it by yourself.

C&R

CUSTOMIZATION & REPROGRAMMING
gramophone-256604.25/5

When it comes to customization, it hardly gets any better than what you get with the Akko SPR75 (at this price point); this kit will be a true gem discovery for keyboard enthusiasts that look for high levels of customization and options to custom build their mechanical keyboards.

Of course, as any DIY Kit, the SPR75 has a hot-swappable board compatible with both 3-pin and 5-pin switches (south-facing board) but what sets this kit apart from kits in the sub-$200 price range are options available to custom-tune the sound profile and adjust the flexibility of the kit.

Flexibility feel and adjustment is achievable thanks to the spring mounted design and the generous variety of bundled springs, to adapt to each users taste (you get 3 springs sets: 120g, 170g, 230g). Moreover, by deciding on the placement or not of the FR4 ENIG Flex-Cut plate you will be able to prioritize flexibility or a specific sound flavor of the plate.

These springs system has an assembly design that makes it extremely easy to switch in case that you decide to change the flexibility feel after you have finished assembling the kit – in less than 5 minutes you will have the new springs set in place and the keyboard re-assembled.

With the SPR75 you get a multi-layer dampening system that includes:

• Silicone O-rings
• Silicone support for the springs
• FR4 ENIG Flex-Cut plate
• 2x Poron foam layers
• Silicone switch pad
• Bottom conductive foam

On the other hand, until now there is no software update making it compatible with Akko Cloud, thus no access to software reprogramming, macros, etc. If Akko Cloud had a more recent update making the Akko SPR75 compatible with all software reprogramming and customization; then it had scored 10/10 in this section as the hardware-related customization is unique.

 

P&E

PERFORMANCE & USE

TYPING
5/5

The flex, cushiony feel added by the spring design makes the typing experience particularly remarkable with a sensation that cannot be offered by a non-spring mounted or gasket-mounted keyboard.

This flexibility also provides a much better control of fatigue after long time, with a gentler and responsive movement to the pressure applied on each keypress.

GAMING
4.25/5

The SPR75 was not designed to be a gamers-exclusive keyboard and, in fact, you do not even get listed the polling rate or other gamer-orientated specs.

On the other hand, the 75% form factor, rugged construction and outstanding keypress experience can make this Akko barebones kit a capable gaming keyboard for users who want a premium keyboard too.

PRODUCTIVITY
4.5/5

Being a true 75% keyboard that includes the F number row plus 5 additional keys that can be used for specific macros (if/when software compatibility is released), the Akko SPR75 is a complete keyboard that can be used as a productivity companion and as a main keyboard.

OFFICE
4.5/5

For office users on long endless hours of work, the flexible spring design will be a highly appreciated feature to ease up your burnout.

Also having a keyboard that feels and sounds exceptionally well can be a strong factor to reduce weariness and boredom.

PROGRAMMING
4.5/5

Programmers with a fixed working station can have an exceptional premium companion with the SPR75, that can fulfill all the main requirements of this type of users as long as you do not need wireless connectivity, backlighting and the numpad integrated on your keyboard.

 

S

SOUND
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The dampening design to control the acoustic performance of the Akko SPR75 offers a whopping variety with a 7-layer system which allows users to decide to either fully apply all of them or expressly decide not use some of them to tailor-make and achieve an unique sound profile.

To give the Akko SPR75 a full test of it’s capabilities in the sound department we decided to assemble it with 10 different switches. Our custom switch assembly is as follows:

1. Main: Akko V3 Lavender Purple Pro – tactile with a more refined sound and tactility than Cheery Brown
2. 2nd main: Akko V3 Cream Black Pro – linear with a smooth travel but firm force
3. Cherry Red – linear
4. Epomaker Wisteria – linear
5. Gateron Red – linear
6. Epomaker Jade Blossom – linear
7. Gateron Pro Yellow – linear
8. Epomaker Pink – linear
9. Epomaker Flamingo – linear
10. Epomaker Budgerigar – tactile

The Akko SPR75 showed a consistent sound result on every switch used, which was an additional enhancement of deepness and fullness over the sound profile of each switch while also preserving the characteristic sound nature of each one – it could be said that the SPR75 made thockier those which were thocky and even thocky those switches that were not particularly so when used on other keyboards.

The quality and type of keycaps that you combine with your switches will also have a significant effect and consequence on the sound; to offer a fair test we combined the SPR75 with premium double-shot PBT keycaps from Akko (the Akko BOW Black on White)

The premium quality of the sound achievable with the Akko SPR75 is far better than most DIY barebone kits in this price range – even considering to compare it against a pre-assembled keyboard would be foolish; a pre-assembled keyboard cannot even dream about reaching and offering the refined sound of the SPR75.

Throughout our tests, this Akko kit exhibited impeccable control of pinging issues and no traces of any bouncy back clicky problems while also providing a resonance and echo-free sound.

It is worth noting that this Akko kit comes with plate mount stabilizers that, as a standard with DIY kits, do not arrive pre-lubed; therefore, to get rattle-free stabs and optimal performance you need to lubricate them with a quality lube (like Krytox 205)

After lubing them, the stabs performed flawlessly, offering fluid movement, no rattling at all and excellent stabilization (even for the space bar)

After testing both sound and performance with and without some layers, our final build decision for the SPR75 left the ENIG plate out as we preferred to maximize the flexibility and springs feel.

 

SW

SOFTWARE

Apparently, till the day of our review, the Akko SPR75 does not seem to have a compatible software (or Akko Cloud software update to be recognized and customized through the software). Therefore, until a software update makes it compatible we cannot score nor test it’s software-related capabilities.

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Specifications

Akko SPR75 Technical Specifications

Brand
AKKO
Type
DIY Kit Barebone Keyboard
Model
SPR 75
Number Of Keys
75% 83-Key
Product Details

Structure
Spring mounted
Interface
USB Type C
Software
Akko Cloud Driver
N-Key Rollover
Supported
Disable Winlock
Supported
Backlit
N/A
Hot-Swappable
Yes
Case Material
Aluminum
Plate
Poron
Battery Information

Dimensions and Weight

Stabilizer
N/A
Product weight
Approximately 1 KG
Package weight
Approximately 1.1
Package size (L x W x H)
33.3 x 14.6 x 3.2cm / 13.11 x 5.75x 1.26 inches

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Akko SPR75

AKKO SPR75
9.2

SCORE

 9.2/10
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