Das Keyboard 6 Professional review: for the typists
Das Keyboard 6 Professional Mechanical Keyboard
MSRP $200.00
“The Das Keyboard Professional 6 is expensive, but makes up for it with excellent typing features.”
Pros
Superb typing performance
Sturdy, compact aluminum design
USB-C passthrough
Cherry MX brown or blue switches
N-key rollover
Cons
Too expensive
No choice for linear switches
We review many keyboards, with a good bit of them being gaming keyboards. What if you’re not a gamer and primarily use your keyboard for work and productivity? Sometimes a well-made keyboard that excels at the basics is best.
The Das Keyboard 6 Professional is one of the best keyboards I’ve used and adds a few quality of life features that make it an outstanding choice. However, the $200 price tag might be a bit much to swallow when there are other outstanding mechanical keyboards available for a lower price.
Design and features
The Das Keyboard 6 Professional is an aluminum, full-sized, wired, 104-key mechanical keyboard and comes in at a hefty 2.89 pounds. However, that heft underscores just how well-built this keyboard is. During my testing, I had no concerns about durability and I’m certain this keyboard will stand the test of time.
Despite being a full-sized keyboard, it actually has a relatively small footprint and only has what you need without any extraneous macro or function keys taking up more space. That may be a negative depending on your needs, but the 6 Professional is geared toward those who simply want a great keyboard for mostly typing.
The keys themselves have double-shot ABS keycaps and are backlit with just a white light, but the light is even and has multiple levels of adjustment. There’s a sleep mode button to turn the keyboard off to save energy, although a dedicated sleep button makes more sense on a wireless keyboard to conserve battery power.
It would have been nice to see a bit of RGB customization considering the price. The white light itself is fine, but there are probably many people who’d love to switch it up every now and then.
In the top right-hand corner, there are media function buttons, as well as one for adjusting the brightness of the backlight and the aforementioned sleep button. Finally, there’s an oversized volume knob that makes it super easy to adjust the volume.
The Das Keyboard 6 Professional also functions as a USB hub thanks to two USB-C ports on the top. This was very helpful as I have an external microphone and wired mouse that I use frequently.
The 6 Pro comes with screw-on feet that allow you to prop it up on a slight incline for those who prefer it. I could see people preferring this over the adjustable feet on other keyboards because it avoids the risk of accidentally breaking them off.
This is strictly a wired keyboard, but comes with a long USB-C cable that also comes with a USB-C to USB-A adapter for those who need it.
Performance
My review unit came with Cherry MX Brown tactile switches, though you can opt for clicky Blue switches if you so choose. Unfortunately, there is no linear option (my personal favorite), but at least there are choices, unlike the last keyboard I reviewed.
The typing experience was superb and made typing effortless and relatively quiet.
The good news is that typing performance of these brown switches is impeccable. It’s hands down one of the most effortless typing experiences I’ve ever tried. The 4mm of travel didn’t feel too hard to press and made me want to type even more.
I think what makes it so easy to type on is the quick actuation with a relatively lack of input lag. I’m generally more accurate when I type on the 6 Pro and I can type for a long time without feeling fatigued.
While it’s not marketed as a gaming keyboard, it does have full N-key rollover, meaning that you can press multiple keys at the same time and have them all register. This means that if you want to use this for both work and play, you shouldn’t have any issues.
I tested gaming performance on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and didn’t find have any problems with movement despite my preference for linear key switches for gaming.
When I reviewed the Corsair K100 Air Wireless, I mentioned that a few keys were noticeably louder than others. The keys on the Das Keyboard Professional 6 were delightfully subdued and provided a consistent sound that didn’t bother me while I was typing.
The Das Keyboard 6 Pro is rated for 100 million actuations for the brown switches and 50 million for the blue switches. I’d go for the brown switches if you want a long-lasting keyboard that will also be used in office spaces.
One negative I have to point out is the lack of replaceable keycaps or switches. While this isn’t a gaming keyboard, other keyboards such as the Keychron K5 or K8 offer replaceable keycaps and switches while being $100 cheaper. Logitech’s G Pro X offers much more customization in software and also has removable keycaps and switches while being $50 cheaper than the Das Keyboard 6 Pro.
Should you buy it?
Admittedly, the $200 price tag may be a bit steep for some people. However, for people who are willing to pay, this is an easy recommendation based on the pure performance and build quality.
Admittedly, the value proposition of a $200 mechanical keyboard that doesn’t offer more customization and features can be a hard sell. The Logitech K845 is a well-reviewed wired mechanical keyboard that’s only $60. Someone who is on a budget and needs a decent mechanical keyboard would probably pick the Logitech over the Das Keyboard 6 Professional.
In fact, one of the picks for our best mechanical keyboard is Das Keyboard’s own 4 Professional keyboard. It essentially has all of the perks of the Das Keyboard 6 Professional (N-key rollover, volume knob, media/sleep keys, build quality, etc) while still being $30 cheaper.
The 6 Pro isn’t a keyboard for someone who occasionally checks email or checks social media. There are cheaper mechanical keyboards for those uses. This is a keyboard for those whose livelihoods depend on their ability to type and use a computer.
The Das Keyboard 6 Professional isn’t the flashiest keyboard, nor does it have a ton of features. There isn’t software to customize RGB lights or macro keys to bind an insane number of keypress combinations. It doesn’t have a bevy of wireless options (though Bluetooth would have been welcome).
Sometimes being a great keyboard is as simple as being a well-built, reliable device with a solid typing experience and a few practical quality of life features. For many professionals, I’d wager that’s enough and this will be $200 well-spent.
Editors’ Recommendations
