Drop, a company best known for making and selling audiophile keyboards and audiophile products, has added another mechanical keyboard to its line of Lord of the Rings-licensed peripherals.Today, the brand drop The new and aptly named Black Speech keyboard is, as the name suggests, based on the Dark Lord Sauron himself.
This really cool-looking keyboard features keys featuring characters from the fictional Black Speech language, and a color scheme that reflects the darkness and fire of Mordor. Don’t worry if you can’t read Black Speech, because the keycaps also have normal English letters on them.
Famous icons from the series also appear on the device, such as the Eye of Sauron on the Escape key, the shard of Nasir embossed on the Enter key, and the One Ring’s inscription scattered across the space bar. To complete the look, there’s another depiction of the Eye of Sauron on top of the tower (custom painted by artist OSHETART), just above the arrow keys.
Customization of the Black Speech keyboard is a bit limited, as it’s not hot-swappable.However, like the rest of the Drop + LOTR series, you can at least modify the keycaps, and Drop has several sets of LOTR keycaps (opens in a new tab). One kit has no letters, just Black Speech, perfect for hardcore LOTR fans, while the other comes in a fiery Magma Orange colorway for a hellish look. Remember, each set is purchased separately.
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Before that, Drop released two other mechanical keyboards representing dwarves and elves from Tolkien’s world. TechRadar recently reviewed the Drop + LOTR Elvish keyboard, spoiler alert, and we really like it.
Visually, the Black Speech versions are of similar quality. It features a similar ENTR anodized aluminum case to take a lot of wear and tear, except it’s black (obviously). Additionally, the keyboard will feature the same Holy Panda X switches and Drop Phantom stabilizers just like the Elvish model. So you can expect the same great performance. Even something as mundane as typing feels really good thanks to these components.
The only real downside to the Black Speech keyboard is that the overall package is quite expensive.It’s currently available to pre-order on the Drop site for $199 along with the keycap set for $130 (opens in a new tab)so together you get about $330.
You’ll have to wait a while to get your hands on the Black Speech keyboard, as it won’t ship until late March. Considering Drop has a huge following, we recommend that you act as soon as possible if you are considering it. BMR1 Near Field Monitor Loudspeaker (opens in a new tab)we’ll be reviewing it soon, and it’s not completely sold out until July.
While we’re on the topic, be sure to check out TechRadar’s recently updated list of the best PC speakers.
