AZIO Retro Classic USB Backlit Mechanical Keyboard (Elwood)

8 reviews for AZIO Retro Classic USB Backlit Mechanical Keyboard (Elwood)

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Maud Goodwin (verified owner) – January 19, 2023

   Thanks for making sure I got his before Christmas. It was a present for my daughter and you were out of stock, but you came through!

2. Rated 3 out of 5

   Melody Altenwerth (verified owner) – November 1, 2022

   If you want a keyboard that looks like an old typewriter, then you have to get this one: I don’t know of another like it. But be mindful of the following cautions: (1) The keys make a lot of noise; so DON’T get this for use in a shared space unless you want to drive the person with whom you share it nuts. (2) The keys have a fairly deep stroke, which for some reason makes it easier to make errors. This is something that you will need to get used to. (3) The rechargeable battery, which is built in and therefore cannot be replaced with dry cells, is good for only two or three days of extensive use. (4) The charge will run out with no warning whatever, and when you have recharged the keyboard, if you don’t switch it off and then on again, it will not reengage with your computer.

3. Rated 3 out of 5

   Helga Abshire (verified owner) – October 27, 2022

   Out of the box, my keyboard had a defect: the NCSW indicator lights got brighter when I dimmed the keyboard backlighting (and vice versa). Instant grounds for a warranty repair, apparently, however return postage cost would be high, so I opted to cover the faulty too bright lights with a translucent strip. Initial Bluetooth pairing was very unreliable. Every time I restarted the PC, the keyboard had to be paired from scratch; sometimes it would pair, other times it couldn’t be found at all. So I had to restart Windows and try again. In desperation I opted for a cabled connection, but I could not get USB mode working at all: my Windows 10 PC simply did not recognize that the keyboard was connected. I had to use a different USB-C cable to get my PC to recognize the keyboard and establish a USB connection for the first time. After that, the supplied cable was able to maintain USB connectivity. Strange but true. An issue with the USB-C port on the keyboard maybe, or a defect in the cable? But in USB mode, I frequently had dropped keystrokes when typing. Bluetooth mode seems better able to keep up with my typing speed. With the USB cable continuously connected to maintain battery power, I finally got reliable Bluetooth pairing. It suggests some obscure issue where even slight discharge of battery power causes the Bluetooth transponder to fail? Mechanically, it’s more impressive than expected for a keyboard with round keys; by modern standards, it’s not ergonomic: no contouring or shaping. But it works. The keyswitch action is delightful and the countersunk keytops have a positive feel. Physically, it’s a heavy, solid product that feels invincible, and the natural wood surface and metal frame give a classy tactile sensation. As much as the centered LED in each key is touted as a good feature, you have to lean forward and look directly down at the keys, even at the highest available keyboard tilt, otherwise every key is noticeably dimmer at the top. Nobody types like that, your head would be much too close to the monitor. I think that’s a fundamental design flaw. Can I recommend it? At the price, it’s a risky choice. A major concern I have is that the manufacturer warranty only covers ONE return for repair. My experience of the dodgy electronics suggests that might not be enough. I encourage AZIO to find a better quality electronics contractor, because the physical performance is superb.

4. Rated 5 out of 5

   Wade Marquardt (verified owner) – June 30, 2022

   This is a fantastic keyboard, very well built, keys work great, and the wood looks beautiful. A minor complaint would be that the keys are plastic instead of metal, like the trim work, and the keyboard sometimes takes a while to work when the computer hibernates. I would like to add: a matching trackball mouse would be fantastic.

5. Rated 5 out of 5

   Josiah Torphy (verified owner) – June 23, 2022

   I love this mechanical keyboard. Heavy enough not to slide on the desk. Comfortable for 12 hour days at work.

6. Rated 5 out of 5

   Leila Torphy (verified owner) – June 4, 2022

   I bought this keyboard purely for the style and I am not at all disappointed. The packaging was high quality, and the keyboard is just perfectly lovely. I only just got it, so I can’t speak to the performance over the long term, but I am impressed with the look and feel of it, it’s exactly what I expected.

7. Rated 5 out of 5

   Vernice Oberbrunner (verified owner) – June 2, 2022

   It is a truly lovely keyboard. The brass and black keys lends an elegance to my paper strewn office. It even looks better since I have an under desk keyboard holder and I face the corner of my office. Its a good thing its in the corner since I learned to type on a manual keyboard and have yet to learn how to type quieter. I do love how I can hit the keys and it makes a lovely click. The location of the middle keys (insert/home, page up, etc.) are a bit odd and its taking me longer to recognize the location of these keys just by feel. Overall, I love this guy.

8. Rated 1 out of 5

   Tyrell Emmerich (verified owner) – May 20, 2022

   Well a search on youtube would reveal that this is a common problem with this keyboard but my left command key isn’t working. Who knows if this review will actually get posted, seems like negative ones are filtered out. Anyways, I reached out to the company and after a long back and forth they decided they can’t fix it and no warranty would be valid as it was from an unauthorized seller (not B&H). It also drops connection despite me being 2 feet from my computer and trying everything they told me to try. I really wish I listened to the negative reviews earlier. I would personally not buy this keyboard if I were you, even if you get a working one I can’t see it working much longer past any warranty assuming they even honor it which I doubt they will. Just super disappointed and my search for a keyboard continues as I’m now down $220.