By Chosfox
Jan 18, 2024
Chosfox has done a lot. They make switches, keycaps, and have no shortage of custom keyboards. But the board we take a look at today has some characteristics I haven’t seen them tackle before. This is the Leo80, a budget TKL with a pretty unique look, and a sound profile that I really wasn’t expecting.
Let’s just get into the unboxing. The Leo80 comes in a pretty standard carrying case with Chosfox branding. We don’t get a whole lot inside. There’s a pretty nice coiled aviator cable with metal connectors, some basic tools, and our USB dongle. In the bottom section is the board itself, with all the other components including foams and stabilizers pre-installed.
The Leo80 is a plate gasket-mounted TKL. It comes with a 1.6mm non-flex cut hotswap PCB, with the only real layout option being an interchangeable F13 or badge. However, there are spots for hotswap sockets for ISO and split left shift, and also the option to get a winkey or winkeyless top case. This PCB has full RGB and supports Bluetooth and wireless via a dongle. For plates, a polycarbonate plate is included, and there are 3 color options: e-white, anodized black, and anodized blue. Lastly, the Leo80 will run for $68 for the anodized versions and $72 for e-white.
So this board comes ready to go, with the plate, PCB, stabilizers, and foam already installed. But we’re not going to use stock stabilizers, so I’m going to take this apart to tune them first. Inside, we can see we have two connectors on the PCB that go to the battery and daughterboard separately. We also have two pieces of bottom case foam, which I’m going to remove for now. With the inner assembly out, there are still some standoffs to remove before I can access the stabilizers. Now, I can remove the stabilizers and reinstall them after I’ve retuned them. I’m going to install the plate, which already has the gaskets stuck on, And install stock SOTC switches. These are a pretty high-pitched linear. Now that the inner assembly is done, we can get to the case. I’ll reinstall the bottom layer of case foam, Connect the PCB to the daughterboard and battery, And install the inner assembly. The interior is done, so I can reinstall the top case, And screw the board together. Lastly, I’m going to top this board off with GMK Olivia.
So, the sound profile really punches way above its price point. The volume is decent, just a tad quiet, and the overall sound is very high-pitched with a good amount of character. In terms of hollowness, there’s an integrated force break mod, which you might have seen earlier during the build. You’d think this would take care of the hollowness, but the case still sounds very hollow when tapping on the top and bottom. Ultimately, my build doesn’t really have any audible hollowness, but just be wary if you’re going to use a switch that has a much lower pitch. I would also suggest using the bottom case foam like I did, as it doesn’t intrude too much on the sound profile. The polycarbonate plate has a lot of small flex cuts, which I think contributes to the lower volume. SOTCs are known for being quite loud, so unless you’re going for a quieter build, I would lean toward switches that are on the louder end, especially since this board doesn’t have any other plate options. I’m very happy with the final sound profile, but I just wish there was more customizability in terms of the plate material.
As for the feel, there’s not really any flex, but the bounce is pretty significant. This is because this board uses both a PCB with no flex cuts and also very soft and large gaskets, so the gaskets account for most of this downward motion. There’s also just a ton of room in the bottom case, which I think is another reason you should use the bottom case foam.
The design is actually pretty interesting. There’s quite a bit of vintage flair, including the cherry lip at the bottom and the accentuated seam between the top and bottom cases. There are also some more modern features like the top right engraved badge, matching weight, and small RGB strips on the sides of the bottom. The engraved portions of the weight are inlaid with black PVD, which makes it look much more premium up close. The bottom case screws are also gold, which is a nice touch. On the side, you can see how the bottom section slightly curves inward, adding just a tiny bit of dimension to the side profile. Otherwise, it’s pretty clean, and you can see the angling of the cherry lip better from here. The back has the USBC port and a switch to toggle between Bluetooth, wired mode, and dongle mode. I wish this were either labeled or came with an instruction sheet because I’m not sure which side is which. I’m also not sure how I feel about the way this board does winkeyless because winkeyless TKLs are usually always done in tandem with a 7U spacebar. This makes it so that there are two nav keys on either side. In contrast, the Leo80 doesn’t support a 7U spacebar, so Winkeyless looks really asymmetrical and off-balance, which I think is one of the most glaring giveaways of its price point. But in terms of material quality, everything is great. The E coating is consistent and high quality, and again, the weight looks great with the black PVD inlay.
So the board reflects the usual Chosfox offering, with a low price and really good value. The sound profile is great, given the right switches, and decent stabilizers are even included, so there’s not really much to comment on there. My gripes then are really just with the lack of customizability. You’re locked to one plate option and essentially one layout option, and if you want WKL, you have to put up with this kinda strange implementation. But of course, you’re also getting really good RGB, and a wireless TKL for under $200. So customizability aside, the Leo80 really offers something quite different, combining a tasteful vintage flair with useful modern features.