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Drop, a company known for manufacturing and selling enthusiast keyboards and audiophile products, is adding another mechanical keyboard to its The Lord of the Rings-licensed peripheral line. Today the brand drops the new and aptly named Black Speech keyboard, which, as the name suggests, is based on the Dark Lord himself, Sauron.
This pretty cool looking keyboard has keys with 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 plain English letters are also on keycaps.
Famous iconography from the series is also present on the device, such as the Eye of Sauron on the Escape key, the Shards of Narsil pressed on the Enter key, and the One Ring inscription scattered across the space bar. To complete the look, there’s another image of the Eye of Sauron on top of the tower (custom drawn by artist OSHETART) right above the arrow keys.
Customization is a bit limited on the Black Speech keyboard, as it’s not hot-swappable. But like the rest of the Drop + LOTR lineup, you can at least mod the keycaps, and Drop has several different LOTR keycap sets (opens in new tab). One kit has no English lettering, just the Black Speech, perfect for hardcore LOTR fans, while another has a fiery Magma Orange colorway for that infernal look. Please note that each set is a separate purchase.
Consistent quality
Prior to this, Drop released two other mechanical keyboards representing dwarfs and elves of Tolkien’s world. TechRadar very recently reviewed the Drop + LOTR Elvish keyboard and, spoiler alert, we really liked it.
Looks like the Black Speech version will be similar in quality. It has a similar ENTR anodized aluminum body to withstand a lot of wear and tear, except it’s black (obviously). In addition, the keyboard will feature the same Holy Panda X switches combined with Drop Phantom Stabilizers, just like the Elvish model. So you can expect the same great performance. Even something as mundane as typing will feel very nice thanks to these components.
The only real negative aspect of the Black Speech keyboard is that the overall package is quite expensive. It is currently available for pre-order on the Drop website for $199 in addition to the keycap sets for $130 (opens in new tab)so together you are looking at about $330.
You’ll have to wait a bit before getting the Black Speech keyboard as it won’t ship until the end of March. We recommend acting fast if you’re thinking of picking this up, as Drop has a huge following. The BMR1 Nearfield Monitor loudspeakers (opens in new tab)which we will review shortly are completely sold out until July.
And while we’re at it, be sure to check out TechRadar’s recently updated list of the best PC speakers.