PIIFOX LUNA Muse65 Pro Mechanical Keyboard Review

It’s been quite a while since I reviewed a mechanical keyboard; my last reviews were the CHERRY KW X ULP and the Cherry MX 8.2 TKL Wireless.

I use the Cherry ULP at work because it’s relatively quiet, which makes it more tolerable for my colleagues, and at home for writing, I have continued to use the JamesDonkey RS2.

I was always a tactile switch fan, enjoying the keystroke feedback and the clickety-clack noise, but after reviewing the JamesDonkey with its Gateron Red switches, I became a linear convert because it felt like it improved my typing speed.

PIIFOX are a new brand for me, and looking online, there is not much information about them, and they seem better known for their range of keycaps.

However, it appears they have a reasonably extensive range of keyboards, with many listed as new models.

They have sent me the PIIFOX LUNA Muse65 Pro to review, and also, at my request, they kindly sent me the LUNA Grid98 to review, as I am terribly old-fashioned and like a number pad.

Specification

PIIFOX LUNA Muse65 Pro vs Varmilo Muse65 HE

When researching this keyboard, I came across the Varmilo Muse65 HE. The Muse65 naming is presumably more than just a coincidence, but when I initially looked at the Varmilo model, it seemed quite different.

While both are 65% keyboards, the Varmilo uses a different layout: a more compact design where the arrow keys aren’t set apart from the main keys, and the Insert/PgUp/PgDn/Delete key is in a vertical column flush against the main keys.

Additionally, the Varmilo is advertised as a magnetic keyboard using magnetic switches and Hall effect sensors.

The Varmilo Muse65 HE also appears to be wired only, and it lacks the option to have a smart display or media key.

Confusingly, the Varmilo Muse65 HE does seem to be very similar to the PIIFOX FORX Defender68 HE Magnetic Keyboard, but the PIIFOX only has the option for Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro switches.

The practical difference is easy to summarise. If you want Hall effect switches with adjustable actuation points, rapid trigger and the other gaming features that come with magnetic sensing, the Varmilo and the PIIFOX Defender68 are the boards to look at. If you want a wireless, hot swappable mechanical keyboard with a screen and a knob, the Muse65 Pro is the one that makes sense. The spec sheet for the Muse65 Pro lists no for adjustable actuation, rapid trigger, SOCD and dynamic keystroke, so nobody should buy this expecting competitive gaming features.

Switch Options

This keyboard comes with three switch options including:

The numbers matter more than the names. Jade Peak is the lightest of the three at 40 gf operating force, which puts it in the same territory as a Gateron Red or a Cherry MX Red, and it bottoms out at 48 gf. Jade Spike is the tactile option at 47 gf with a heavier 60 gf bottom out, so it takes noticeably more effort per keystroke. Jade Ripple sits at 47 gf but has the heaviest bottom out at 55 gf and the longest travel at 3.8 mm.

There is a small inconsistency in PIIFOX’s own materials worth pointing out. The Jade Ripple is described as tactile in the specification table but listed as silent on the product page, with a quiet sound profile. The sensible reading is that it is a dampened tactile switch, so it should give you feedback without the noise. All three are factory lubricated, use POM stems in polycarbonate top housings, and are 5 pin, so they drop straight into the hot swap sockets without any wobble.

Design

I won’t spend long here because a 68% keyboard in white is not exactly hard to picture. The case is ABS plastic rather than aluminium, which keeps the weight down to 0.8 kg, and the board measures 352 x 140 x 42 mm. Mine is the white version, though a black model is also available.

Fit and finish are better than the plastic case might suggest. There is no creaking or flex when you pick it up by one corner, the gaps between the case halves are even, and the three level kickstand clicks firmly into each position rather than flopping about. Anti slip pads on the underside and on the feet keep it planted on my desk mat.

The mounting structure is a sandwich design with a polycarbonate plate that has flex cuts, so there is some give across the middle of the board rather than the dead, hollow feel you get from cheaper keyboards. Height is 23.40 mm at the spacebar and 31.46 mm at the Esc row, so a wrist rest is worth considering if you type all day.

One nice touch is where PIIFOX have hidden the 2.4 GHz dongle. Rather than a slot on the underside, it sits beside the arrow keys under a small magnetic cover with the fox logo on it. It is an unusual solution, but it works well and means the dongle is easy to grab if you move the keyboard between machines. On the left-hand side there is a physical slider for switching between Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz and wired, and the USB-C port is on the rear.

What You Get in the Box

The packaging is better than I expected for the money. Thick cardboard and a moulded plastic insert protect the contents, and there is a decent amount in there beyond the keyboard itself.

Inside you get a braided USB-C to USB-A cable, the 2.4 GHz dongle, a keycap and switch puller, two spare switches, three translucent keycaps, the smart screen module, two knob options and the manual. The manual is worth keeping because the layer shortcuts on a 68% board are not all obvious, and you will want a reference for the ones you use less often.

Hot-Swappable Keys & Keycaps

I will admit I don’t tend to customise my keyboards much, unlike many people over at r/MechanicalKeyboards.

However, it is always good to have the option to customise your keyboard.

As mentioned above, this has three keycap options when ordering: the Jade Peak, Spike and Ripple, and the keys are hot swappable so you can replace them with anything you want.

Within the packaging, you get a keycap and switch puller to make swapping things out as easy as possible.

The sockets take standard MX style switches, and because they are 5 pin you are not limited to 3 pin switches or forced to clip the plastic legs off. The keycaps are Cherry profile double shot PBT, so the legends are moulded into the plastic rather than printed on top and will not wear away. PIIFOX sell their own keycap sets at $33, roughly £24.40, which is reasonable if you want to change the look without buying a new board.

Smart Screen and Media Keys

One feature I haven’t come across with my past keyboard reviews is the option to replace some of the keys with a small LCD smart screen and a media knob.

The smart screen can display real time system stats and upload custom GIFs for a personalised setup.

The screen can be customised with the QMK WEB UI

As I always listen to music while I am working, I have always been a big fan of media keys so I love that you can swap out one of the keys for a media knob.

Mechanically, this is neater than I expected. Both modules simply pull out and drop back into the switch sockets like an oversized keycap, so there is no cable to fiddle with and no tools required. You can run the screen, the knob, both, or neither and use the standard keys instead. Swapping takes seconds.

The screen itself is small, roughly the width of two keycaps, but the panel is sharp enough that the default readouts are easy to read at arm’s length. By default it shows the time, battery level, connection mode and the current operating system profile. The knob has no push to click action, which is a shame because that is the obvious place for play and pause, but each rotation gives a distinct detent so volume adjustment is precise rather than a vague sweep.

QMK Driver / Web UI Customisation

This is another feature I have not come across with my past reviews. Larger brands like Cherry use their own proprietary software, whereas QMK (Quantum Mechanical Keyboard) is an open source, highly customisable firmware designed to control programmable mechanical keyboards.

I will admit that installing a clearly Chinese driver was a little bit concerning at first, but QMK seems to be well regarded and I have experienced no issues with it.

With the driver installed, I could customise the keyboard via https://qmk.top/v4/

The web based approach has a lot going for it. There is nothing bloated sitting in your system tray, nothing phoning home in the background, and you can configure the board from any machine with a compatible browser. Remapping keys, building macros, setting up layers and changing the lighting all happen in the browser, and because the keyboard has onboard memory, your layout travels with it.

My reservation is that this is a third party portal rather than something PIIFOX control, and it is not the official QMK Configurator or VIA either. If that site disappears or breaks with a future browser update, you are relying on someone else to fix it. It would be better to see PIIFOX publish a VIA compatible JSON file as a fallback, or at least host their own mirror.

Connectivity and Battery Life

Connectivity is tri mode, with Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4 GHz via the bundled dongle, and wired USB-C. Bluetooth handles three paired devices, so I could keep my work laptop, my desktop and a tablet on it and cycle between them from the keyboard.

Polling is quoted at 1,000 Hz wired and over 2.4 GHz, dropping to 500 Hz over Bluetooth. PIIFOX also quote a latency figure of 0.125 ms, which does not sit comfortably alongside a 1,000 Hz polling rate. A 1,000 Hz report rate means one report every millisecond, so treat the 0.125 ms number as a marketing figure for the switch scan rather than end to end input latency. In practice, the 2.4 GHz connection felt indistinguishable from wired to me, which is all most people need.

The battery is a 4,000 mAh cell, which is large for a 68% board. PIIFOX quote up to 400 hours with the lighting switched off, falling to somewhere around 90 hours with the LEDs at 50% brightness. Those numbers assume a fairly gentle duty cycle, but even taking a pessimistic view you are looking at weeks rather than days between charges with the lighting off. I have been charging it roughly once a fortnight with light RGB use.

Worth noting is the warranty position. PIIFOX offer 12 months on the keyboard but only 3 months on the battery, which is short. Batteries are the component most likely to degrade, so a 3 month window is not much reassurance on a board that leans on a large cell as a selling point.

RGB Lighting

The keyboard has south facing per key RGB with a long list of preset effects, and the LEDs themselves are bright with good colour saturation. The problem is that the standard PBT keycaps block most of it. The legends are double shot but not shine through, so what you actually see is a glow leaking out from around the edges of each key rather than illuminated characters.

This is easily the weakest part of the package, and it is the same criticism I would level at most PBT equipped boards. The three translucent keycaps in the box hint at the fix, and if the lighting matters to you, a shine through keycap set is close to essential. If you type in a dark room and need to see the legends, this is not the board for you as it stands.

Performance

I don’t game as much as I used to, so I have mainly used this keyboard for writing reviews for Mighty Gadget, and I have used it in my office job as IT support. While I would prefer a larger keyboard for both jobs, this has worked well in both scenarios.

Like all new keyboards, the first few uses take some getting used to as I seem to forget how to touch type, but I quickly got used to the key positions. The 68% layout is the part that takes the longest to adapt to rather than the switches. Losing the function row means F5 and the volume keys move to a layer, and as someone who lives in spreadsheets and remote desktop sessions at work, that is the compromise I notice most. The dedicated arrow cluster and the column of navigation keys on the right go a long way towards making it usable, and it is a far easier transition than a true 60% board.

My sample has Jade Peak switches, which are linear with a lower operating force. PIIFOX classifies the sound level as thocky, whereas the Ripple switches are the quietest.

Due to the linear nature of the switches, I find these much quieter than a tactile switch. The only noise is from when the switch bottoms out and creates a sort of soft muffled noise. I don’t find it as intrusive as many other switches, and my colleagues have not moaned about the noise.

The 40 gf operating force is light enough that it encourages a lighter typing style once you stop bottoming out on every keystroke, and I have found no accidental double presses in a couple of weeks of heavy use.

For gaming, I am far from a competitive gamer, so I won’t appreciate the responsiveness of switches as much as others but have found the performance to be good.

Typing Sound and Acoustics

This is where the Muse65 Pro punches above its price. The internal layering is more thorough than I expected from a board at this money: a Poron switch pad, an IXPE switch pad, a PET sound damping sheet, switch seat foam and bottom case foam, all sitting under a flex cut polycarbonate plate.

The result is that the hollow, metallic ping you get from cheap mechanical keyboards is absent. Bottoming out gives a fairly deep, muted sound rather than a sharp clack, and there is no case resonance to speak of. The stabilisers are plate mounted rather than screw in, and they are the one area that gives the game away; the spacebar and the Enter key have a slightly rattlier note than the alphas. Nothing that needs fixing, but a lubed screw in stabiliser would have been the finishing touch.

Price and Alternative Options

The PIIFOX LUNA Muse65 Pro with Jade Peak keys is available from piifox.com for $96.40. Shipping to the UK then costs $13.90 with an estimated 7-14 days shipping time. At the time of writing, this works out at £81.50, which is quite reasonable.

For Jade Spike, it is $97.40, and Jade Ripple is $101.50. Including shipping, that is roughly £82.30 and £85.30 respectively.

Keycap sets then cost $33 and extra sets of mechanical switches costs $5.25/$6.65/$9.45 respectively, so about £24.40 for keycaps and £3.90 to £7 for switches.

There are two caveats with buying direct. The first is import charges. PIIFOX state that customers are responsible for customs fees, and while UK import VAT should be collected at checkout on consignments under £135, it is worth checking your order total before you commit rather than being surprised by a handling fee at the door. The second is returns. This is not sold through Amazon UK, so if something goes wrong you are shipping it back to the manufacturer rather than dropping it at a locker.

For alternatives, the obvious one is the Ajazz AK820 Pro, which is £79.99 from ajazz.co.uk. It is a 75% board rather than 68%, so you keep the function row, and it has a TFT display, a knob, the same 4,000 mAh battery and tri mode connectivity. It is gasket mounted rather than sandwich mounted, which some people prefer. On paper it is the closest rival, and the fact that it is sold from a UK site with UK pricing removes the import question entirely.

If you want a brand with a longer track record and better UK support, the Keychron K6 Pro is £109 in UK ISO layout from The Keyboard Company. That buys you QMK and VIA support proper, an aluminium option and a genuine 65% layout, but no screen, no knob on the base model, and a much smaller battery. You are paying around £27 more for the brand and the support rather than for features.

The Epomaker range covers the same ground from around £50 upwards, though the cheaper models drop the wireless, the foam layering or the screen. Below about £60 you are generally choosing between features rather than getting all of them.

Overall

The Muse65 Pro is a lot of keyboard for around £81. The screen and knob modules are the headline feature, and unlike a lot of gimmicks they are genuinely well implemented, dropping in and out of the switch sockets in seconds with no tools and no cables. The layered foam and flex cut plate give it a typing sound that would not embarrass a board costing twice as much, the Jade Peak switches are smooth and light, and the 4,000 mAh battery means you can more or less forget about charging it.

The compromises are real, though. The RGB is largely wasted behind PBT keycaps that don’t shine through, which is a strange decision on a board that markets its lighting. The plate mounted stabilisers rattle slightly on the larger keys. The knob not being pressable is a missed opportunity. The configuration route depends on a third party web portal rather than official QMK or VIA tooling, and the 3 month battery warranty is short for a product that leans so heavily on battery life.

For me, the layout is the deciding factor rather than any of the above. I like a number pad and I would take the extra keys over the compact footprint every time, which is why I asked PIIFOX for the Grid98 as well. If a 68% board suits how you work, and you are comfortable ordering direct from a brand with little UK presence, this is good value. If you want the same feature set with a UK return address and a function row, the Ajazz AK820 Pro at £79.99 is the more sensible buy.

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing.

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