Meletrix Boog75 Mechanical Keyboard Review: A Supercharged Gaming Enthusiast's Dream

9.0/ 10
SCORE

Meletrix Boog75 magnetic mechanical gaming keyboard

$230 at Meletrix

Pros

• Cherry profile keycaps
• Manually lubricated stabilizers
• Easily adjustable sensitivity levels
• No rattly keys

Cons

• Needs more hardware customization options like the Zoom75 knob, PCB or colors

Meletrix's Boog75 is a premium prebuilt gaming keyboard that is flawless right out of the box (or out of the case inside the box). Its features and $230 price tag definitely push it into "enthusiast" territory. It might not be for everyone, but there's almost nothing I don't like about it. 

The Shockwave version of the Boog75 I reviewed reminds me of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, but there's also an induction coil version that's white with peach accents. Inside the box, you get a carrying case that contains the keyboard, a set of small hex wrenches, a coiled USB-A-to-USB-C cord, a service card and a quick start guide. You can tell the company gives each Boog75 keyboard its own attention by the small details. It manually lubricates its stabilizers, for example, and makes sure each key has a uniform sound and feel that other companies can't do when mass-producing keyboards.

Build and feel

The Boog75 is the company's popular Zoom75 but with magnetic key switches. It comes equipped with Gateron's magnetic Hall effect KS37B switches that don't require too much force to press but don't feel completely loose. Each keystroke feels more cushioned -- like the feel of a memory foam pillow -- and lubricated to perfection. In fact, each keyboard's stabilizers are lubed manually "to a degree that is better than factory-lubed," Meletrix says.

This could be what makes the Boog75 sound so nice and poppy, aside from the case foam inside. There's also no noticeable key rattle, the space bar and other large keys are uniform in sound, and to top it all off, the Boog75 comes with Cherry profile keycaps. I prefer Cherry profile keycaps because of their moderate height and minimal sculpting that allows my hands to naturally glide between rows instead of being pushed toward the center. Plus, they look great when paired with a majority of keyboards.

But, if there was one thing to nitpick, I wish Meletrix would have allowed this keyboard to be customized as much as its Zoom75 keyboard. The bodies are so similar that it would have been great to be able to get a faceplate or PCB that lets you swap out a few keys for the company's knob, at least. Aside from that, this enthusiast gaming keyboard is flawless in its build, feel and sound. 

Rapid trigger and software

One of the benefits of magnetic key switches is their adjustability, letting you set the actuation point for each key -- from 0.1 to 4 mm with an accuracy of 0.1 mm. Using key commands to adjust the rapid trigger sensitivity is the simplest and quickest way to adjust each key. Or, at least, it's my preferred method after using the Boog75 for a few weeks. 

But if you want to really take advantage and adjust your activation and reset points down to the precise millimeter, you can with Meletrix's online driver, which reminds me of the open-source VIA configuration app. When configuring this keyboard to play first-person shooters like Call of Duty, Apex Legends and even Helldivers 2, I boosted the sensitivity of all of the movement keys and action keys so they would be set across the board. Since this keyboard is ideally only being used for gaming, I didn't have to worry about resetting the sensitivity for productivity use. 

Later on, I realized that instead of adjusting all of the actions keys I could assign certain sensitivities to specific keys and assign them to three different profiles via the online driver. This helped give a small boost to my performance, since things were even more fine-tuned.

Gaming performance

If you've never used magnetic switches, it does take some time to adjust to the sensitivity when you crank it all the way up. Think of when you first hop onto an electric scooter, and it immediately takes off. There's a brief adjustment period where you learn that all you need is a very slight press of the key to achieve whatever action you want. Basically, it'll take some time -- and many frustrating deaths -- to try out different sensitivity levels and dial in the activation points to find your preferred configuration. 

When the time came to hop into a Call of Duty lobby with friends, they noticed the difference in how quickly I was able to get places and loot everything. After ruling out energy drinks, one of my friends was eventually able to guess I was using a new keyboard. He also noticed I was showing off and hopping over everything the game allowed me to. (Why wouldn't I?) 

At $230, the Boog75 isn't necessarily a great value, but the combination of Meletrix's premium quality and the latest trend in switches makes it feel like a steal. I mean, a barebones Zoom75 kit from the company is $200 without switches or keycaps. A decent set of mechanical switches can cost you over $30 alone, which would be a downgrade for this keyboard.

The hardware feels and sounds high-quality, too. From the aluminum case and engraved design of the Shockwave variant to the thocky sound profile and the included carrying case, the Boog75 could have easily been priced at $300.