AZIO MGK L80 RGB Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

I love it when competition heats up the market. And there is no doubt the mechanical key board market is on fire.  Competition drives prices down and encourages innovation. AZIO is driving this revolution with an expanded line of mechanical keyboards from their MGK line.  Today we will be looking at their latest full featured mechanical keyboard the Azio MGK L80 RGB Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard.

The MGK series follows the AZIO slogan “Elegantly Fierce” and the look reinforces that feeling well. Built around a black professional grade brushed aluminum face plate the raised keys and machined chamfers around the LED indicators just look great.  The L80 is offered in the black RGB design you see here with Kailh Brown switches, a red accented design with Kailh Brown or Blue switches and a blue accented design offered with either Kailh brown or blue switches.

As with all the MGK keyboards we have seen, there is no software for the L80 series.  All of the functionality is controlled through the keyboard function keys. Lighting, macros and hot keys can be setup and carried with you in the keyboard.

Model: Mgk-L80-01
Interface: USB
Switch Type: Kailh Brown
Backlight: RGB
N-Key Rollover: Full Nkro (Win)
Cable: 6 Ft. Braided
Os Support: Windows Xp, Vista, 7, 8, 10
Dimensions:
- Keyboard / 5.8 X 17.5 X 1.4 In
- Palm Rest / 2.5 X 17.5 X 0.5 In
Weight: 2.3 Lbs / 1060 G
Box Content: L80 Keyboard / Key Puller / Thank You Card / User Guide

Azio bucks the current trend by using Kailh Switches instead of the Cherry MX switches we have grown to expect.  Kailhua Electronics Co, LTD (originally LongHua) was formed in 1990 and manufactures a variety of Kailh switch types widely used in brands like Logitech, Razor, ThermalTake and Lenovo. Although Kailh switches are widely viewed as a low cost Chinese clone of the Cherry MX switches they have a reputation for being slightly heavier in their actuation.  According to the Kailh website there are currently several major types of keyboard switches available: Kailh Red switches have a smooth 50g linear actuation.  The Kailh Blacks have stiffer linear actuation with a 60g rating. Kailh Browns have a pressure point ergonomic actuation at 60g.  And the Blues have a pressure point clicky actuation design at 50g.  All four can be pretty closely compared to their color coded Cherry MX counterparts.  With reports of Cherry MX shortages creating production delays up to a year I expect to see a lot more competition in the mechanical switch arena.

The name may be new to most but Azio is an industry leader in large font specialty keyboards. Founded in 2005, Azio is an acronym for "A to Z, Input-Output". Azio’s Elegantly Fierce vision is to provide cutting edge products that are intuitively easy to use, provide maximum comfort and leave a minimal environmental footprint.