Redragon K556 RGB LED Backlit Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, 104 Keys Hot-Swap Mechanical Keyboard w/Aluminum Base, Upgraded Socket and Noise Absorbing Foams, Quiet Linear Red Switch

I have only been using the Red Dragon K556 going on three days now but the seller is asking for an honest review. So far, I am very happy with the entire process. I had originally been looking for an office keyboard that had some sort of back lighting and I had gone through a couple of much cheaper options before upgrading to this one from Red Dragon. When I first opened the packaging it was shipped in, I was a little concerned due to the minimal packing materials but upon inspecting the keyboard itself, it was in perfect condition, not a dent or scratch to be found. This is the first keyboard I have used that has an aluminum casing, It is very sturdy and I like the heft of it when moving it around. It just feels like a well made piece of equipment. The keyboard stays in place on the desk and doesnt slide around. I read one reviewer who said that by sliding the keyboard on the desk, the plastic tilting tabs on the bottom tended to flip closed on one side or the other making the keyboard wobble. This, so far, has not been my experience. I am able to slide it around a bit without affecting the tilting tabs. When first plugging it in, I noticed the nice length of the USB cable. It is plenty long enough to reach my tower that sits about two feet over and one foot down and I still have a nice excess to move the keyboard around a bit. I knew before purchasing that there were many more lighting functions one the K556 but I dont think I appreciated just how many options you have with back lighting colors and patterns. There are 9 different solid color options and I have not even explored how many light pattern options there are. I can tell you that there seem to be many multi-colored options to choose from. I primarily like one solid color but it can be fun to explore all the different options when you just dont feel the work happening. All colors can be completely turned off or they can be set to any of five levels of brightness. This K556 came with brown switches which have proved to be exactly what I had been looking for previously. I didnt really know much about switch brands, such as outemu or cherry but this brown switch is much quieter than the previous blue I used. Mind you it is not silent but it doesnt make much more noise than a soft clicking. The keys are very responsive, being what I suppose is a tactile keyboard. I notice that when typing faster, I dont have to mash the keys. Its almost as if they are two stage keys where you can feel the halfway mark which is as far as I need to push to get a response. The keys spring back instantly and smoothly. I had read another review where the reviewer experiences some sort or ringing or vibrating sound (I dont remember exactly) but they thought it may have been related to the aluminum casing or something. (Again, I think I am remembering this correctly) I do not experience any other sound other that the keys making their normal soft clicking. I have not used this for gaming, hence the three stars for the gaming feature but I cant imagine it being a poor gaming keyboard. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase but again, I have only been using it for three days now. Customer service instantly emailed me to ask for a review and to assure me that they were available within 24 hours should I have any problems. Hopefully it wont come to that. All of this was to say that so far, I am very happy with this purchase am am hoping for long usage.

EDIT - 4/21/20: I have owned this keyboard for about a month and a half. My overall impressions are extremely favorable, and I GREATLY prefer this keyboard to my other Redragon board with Outemu blues. However, I have noticed that the Up arrow key developed a springy noise that the other keys didnt. The keys are hot-swappable, so I exchanged the switch for one of the the extra brown switches included in the box. The up arrow key no longer has the noise, but one of the extra brown switches in the box did, so I am now out of usable brown replacement switches. Im not going to change my review, but be aware that the longevity of these Redragon-branded switches may not be up to par with name-brand switches. I will update this review if I experience any more of this. TL;DR: If you hate glossy keycaps and/or metallic pinging sounds while typing, the great features of this board wont be worth it to you. This keyboard has a lot of excellent qualities. It excels in a few categories, but it falls short in others, and the shortcomings are non-trivial. All of the positive things Ive read in reviews about this keyboard are true, but unfortunately, so are all the negatives. Pros: 1. Extremely heavy and well-built. I also own the K551 Vara from Redragon, and this seems even more solid than that beast. No flex or rattle to be found. 2. Very flexible RGB implementation. Im not all that concerned about RGB, but its here if you need it. There are on-board and software controls available. 3. Switches feel nice and there is a tactile bump with little noise. There is less tactility than I expected, but I am coming from blues and Im also a bit heavy-handed when it comes to typing, so this may be an irrelevant complaint for many. 4. Redragon offers an 18-month warranty, which is quite long for a Chinese brand that uses many of the same components as the competition. 5. Redragon includes 8 spare switches in the box, along with a switch-puller and keycap-puller. There are 2 browns, 2 blues, 2 reds, and 2 blacks. Cons: 1. The keycaps are nice and matte on the top, but the sides are glossy and appear quite cheap. The included keycap puller seems to use harder plastic than the keys, and IT WILL SCRATCH THE SIDES. If I end up keeping this keyboard, I will probably switch out the caps down the line. They are noticeably worse than the keycaps on my K551 Vara, which had a very nice matte texture on the sides as well as the top. 2. The metallic ping rumors are true. I feel like this is a result of the shape and metal construction of the keyboard case. It doesnt happen upon pressing down the key, but if you release a key and let it rebound with no pressure on it, you will hear it quite loudly. This will be especially obvious when typing quickly, as you will hear many pings together. Its slightly annoying and I could get used to it, but I dont feel I should have to. This is my main issue with the keyboard. As previously mentioned, I own another Redragon mechanical keyboard with blue Outemu switches, and the ping is present but MUCH less obvious. I think its an issue thats inherent with mechanical keyboards in general, but the switch choice and case design can exacerbate the problem. 3. The switches are NOT Outemu branded. Many reviews and Q&A responses on this listing mention Outemu switches. Because of previous positive experiences with Outemu switches, I was happy to hear that this keyboard uses them. It does not. The switches used, including the spares, are Redragon branded. They must have used Outemu in the past and recently started using their own. With that said, the switches look identical to actual Outemu browns Ive seen in video reviews of this and other keyboards, so its entirely possible that Redragon sources the switches from Outemu/Gaote and rebrands them. They do feel good, and though I have limited experience typing on browns, Im enjoying it so far. Im also changing the keycaps, so that may enhance the feel further. Overall Comments: With all things considered, the keyboard is excellent value, but has some flaws. The build, RGB, and overall feel are very impressive, as is the warranty, but the whole package feels less premium due to the cheap keycaps and the metallic ping. For 10-15 dollars less, there are options like the E-Element Z-88 that use similar brown Outemu switches and seem to have an identical layout and even probably use the same PCB judging by the RGB options. The Redragon K556 Devarajas seems to offer the best experience that can be had with brown switches at this price range, so for many buyers it will be worth the compromise. To get a significant upgrade in features or quality, Id expect to spend twice as much.

I love the keyboard. Nowhere in the description did it mention that the used condition would mean the key-puller and extra caps would be missing. A small detail, all things considered.

I bought the K556 RGB back in Dec2020. Ive been very happy, and no software was required to use it. Im still using this keyboard today and was thinking of adding another for use with different system I built. I see more models have been added, which have some of my interest, however, they all seem to use software now. I dont want to have to do this in order to control RGB backlight features. Even the K556 now appears to use software now. I hope it’s optional and not required. Nevertheless, Ive been happy with the one I bought.

If you want to get into a mechanical on the discount, this could be a good choice. Knock off cherry MX brown hall effect switches. Lots of LED, not full array-full zone, but ok. The unit performs well and is largely quiet except for the over travel by the switches. If you want a mechanical for work or games, you could do far worse

I have purchased several Redragon brand items. K556 keyboard, Vampire Elite Mouse, and even the Zeus Headphones. All have been excellent quality! This keyboard in particular is very sturdy, has some weight to it to prevent it from sliding, durable solid feel for those who smash keys, and can keep up with quick strokes! Yes it is a wired keyboard and is does NOT have wireless abilities. Keeps you from having to charge it for using the light up RGB. Its very customizable with RGB colors and can handle different key switch colors like brown, red, blue or black. Black is the most quite, red is second to that, then brown and is more of a tactile sound, and blue that is very clacky. The back board and underside of the keyboard is made with metal. The keys have Shiney texture around the sides of the keys and a grippy texture on the surface. It does come with a few things like tools to help you remove keys and switches if you want or need to change or replace. It also comes with a set of demo switches so you have a better understanding of what kind of switches you would like to change too for the future. Along with all of that it comes with a cool sticker and user manual. This is an excellent keyboard for those who like having a solid board that doesnt take up alot of room, yet still wants 100+ keys. There is software available if you want it, go to the redragon website and look for the software tab. The software makes it more indepth with the color customization for the RGB. By the way, for a black keyboard the RGB is rather bright and can be dimmed. I believe its bright due to good quality and shiney sides of the keys. All in all, a very good choice. If you like a sturdy board that doesnt slide around your desk, you like a board that is durable and can handle some abuse, and or you enjoy the customization of switches and colors, then THIS is the board for you. Amazon does tend to have it cheaper than the actual brands website at times so just keep your eyes open. Good quality keyboards can get rather pricey and Id say this is TOP quality material for an inexpensive board! Enjoy!!

I had heard about mechanical keyboards, mostly for gaming. While I do game, Im also a working professional who does a LOT of typing extensive documents each day. Previously, I was using the Logitech Wave keyboard which I still really like due to its ergonomic design which fits my hands and work style. I was hesitant to switch away from it but wanted to see what all the fuss was about for a mechanical keyboard. I know there are cheaper options for starter mechanical keyboard but while I didnt want to spend $200 on a high end option that I wasnt sure I was going to like I also didnt want to get a throw away option either. The reason I picked this one is I needed a 10 key, I did want back lighting but wanted to be able to customize the back lighting key by key (not just fixed red lighting), didnt want the louder/heavier pressure blue switches that seem to be the most common. The K556 checked all those boxes. So, now that Ive been using it for a couple of weeks, I love it! I wish I would have go this instead of the Wave which I bought for writing my thesis. It is super comfortable to type on. The key pressure is very light and perfect for what I like, basically if I think about hitting a key it clicks. As far as the clicks go, it is clicky, both audible and in the tactile physical way I love. I would prefer if it was a little quieter (probably the red switches) but it is acceptable for me and far quieter than the blue switches. Build quality is good to very good, wouldnt call it excellent or exceptional but I would only expect that in the $150-200 price range. This thing is built like a tank, it weighs more than my laptop and is solid on my desk, no concerns about it moving or sliding with the weight and good rubber feet. 2 negatives, the first is something I saw in another review that the white back lighting has a pinkish/rose color. I have no problem with this and it is not uncommon for led lighting. I love being able to customize the colors with themes, think letter=blue; numbers=yellow; special keys=red; function keys=white (or rose). So call that a negative if you must. The second negative is the dragon emblem above the arrow keys. I had hoped I could easily remove it as it doesnt have that professional look I prefer, but it doesnt seem like I could get it off without ruining the keyboard. It really isnt that bad, at least it doesnt glow like some of the others I looked at and I knew it would be there when I ordered it, this is after all intended as a gaming keyboard marketed by Redragon. So again 2 negatives but I consider both of these to be minor. Bottom line: if you are willing to spend a little more than the cost of the cheapest mechanical keyboards and you want something other than blue switches, on a 10 key, with customization backlighting this is a very good option.

I am new to mechanical keyboards and wanted a cheaper one to make sure I liked this type of keyboard. This keyboard has a metallic base and is pretty hefty. It over all seems pretty sturdy and I love the sound of the brown switches. Compared to other brown switches I have heard it might be a little louder due to the key caps, but I tend to like the click they make. The lighting on the keyboard is very nice and there is a variety of color choices as well as RGB. I have had another redragon keyboard and in general I love them. They are an affordable and sturdy option for a beginner. I wish it was a little more intuitive, but I think over all it is very worth the money.

I wasnt too sure about this keyboard. I wanted a lit keyboard as I prefer to do my gaming with the lights off. I suppose I delayed for years getting one due to the price. I read all the reviews concerning the Redragon keyboard. Although I was somewhat skeptical, I pushed the key to purchase. The lights (or, why were here): Prior to this keyboard I was using a really nice wireless one from Logitech. It still is nice, but it doesnt lite up the keys. The Redragon does...spectacularly! I dont know that I have a reason to use all the light shows it will perform, however, if you are reading this and you want a keyboard that does...this is the one! Now, when it comes to lighting, I wanted one that I could program the color and intensity of the keys. More importantly I wanted to be able to program each individual key according to the key controls for games. There are many expensive ones that caught my eye but didnt have this capability. This keyboard hits a grand slam when it comes to programming individual keys! Everything I wanted. For me that is enough to validate the five stars I gave it. Tactile feel/feedback from the keys: At first I wasnt sure I liked the feel of the keyboard. I used it in a few games and loved it. But I wasnt sure I was going to enjoy typing on it...until I typed out my first email. My fingers were dancing around on the keys making clickity click sounds like Reindeer on the roof. I was afraid I would end up with a lot of typos on this keyboard and the opposite is true. If you want a keyboard with tactile feel and feedback, then Redragon is your buttercup. In regards to the instructions: They arent that great. The good news is that the operation/programming of the keyboard and downloaded software is very intuitive. Seriously, it aint rocket science. I was up and programming in less than ten minutes. Would have been less except I was enjoying all the light shows. Time to sum it up and move on: Truthfully, $49.89 is outstanding for a keyboard of this caliber. Its a great gamer board and also great for typing (even in the dark). I highly recommended this keyboard! On a side note; this aint no plastic keyboard! Whack somebody with it and youll likely get charged with manslaughter (or womanslaughter, kidslaughter, petslaughter or coleslawder). Nice because it doesnt slide around.

In brief: Pro -Customizable switches and key caps; field replaceable with no need to solder -Comes with several blue switches to set for special keys/try out a different switch type -Feels and looks like good overall build quality. Nice metal base with the best risers I have seen (things to raise the back of the keyboard to give an angle) Con -minor rough spot on the chamfer on front of base, dosent look pretty and I smothed it out to ensure that I would accidentally get cut (unlikely it didnt feel sharp but better safe than bloody). -Backlighting, I didnt see a way to turn it off other than to dim it but likely just overlooked where it says how to do that. -Personal preference would have been to have a removable USB cable instead of an permanent cable Overall/Review I am having to do much more typing lately to update system documentation and after using a mechanical keyboard while visiting one of my remote offices I decided if I was going to be tortured I should at least be tortured in comfort. Thus I decided that I wanted a mechanical keyboard the problem is that I havent really used any keyboard other than what is on my laptop or comes standard with a computer when you order it from a company. Thus the journey of buying a mechanical keyboard began. Not having much experience with all the different aspects of a mechanical keyboard, particularly switch types, I decided that if I wanted one I had to find one that would allow me to change switch types fairly easily so that I could try out different types as the desire overcame me. This keyboard fit the bill and even provided some extra switches to use of a different color (user experience) than was on there which I love. By doing that it let me see that I was right to go for brown over blue switches because I think that the extra clicky noise would have been distracting for me and possibly my neighbors. Secondly the fact that the switches used are modeled after the Cherry MX, it opens up a world of keycaps to chose from for further customisation down the road. The overall construction of the keyboard is solid, and as I stated the only issue I had was a rough spot along the from chamfer that was smoothed out with a few gentle strokes of 600 grit sandpaper. The only other negative I have is that the cable provided, while seeming to be of high quality, permanently attached. This would have been nice so that I could transport it easier and unless I am mistaken will likely be the part that breaks first, years down the road. The weight of the keyboard is wonderful, its rubber(?) feet are very grippy, it is easier to lift it up and move it over trying to push it around your desk. Furthermore the feet, those things near the top of the keyboard that can be flipped out to raise it up if you want, are the most solid ones I have seen and if they get broken I think it will be due to someone trying to break them. The RGB is smooth, both in movement and color transitions and are easy to switch among the various presets and to turn off just dim completely. Not an overall fan for everyday usage, but it is useful for darker environments. Reason I gave only 4 stars is that I think having a replaceable USB connector in place of the permanent connection would have been nice and I dont care much for the key caps. I feel like the key caps are slightly narrower than I like and the font on them is somwehat distracting but the quality of the caps themselves so far seems excellent. The caps have no visible manufacturing marks visible and other than feeling slightly narrower and have a sharper edge that I like/am used to, feel very nice on the finger. I really like my purchase and feels so far feels like a solid keyboard which I can modify in the future should i get the itch to try a different switch.