Introduction

Mistel first showed off the latest entry to their split keyboard Barocco series, the MD770, at Computex last year. The company had planned to bring it to the retail market later that year, and the US market at least got it only recently. The unit from the trade show has also undergone some small changes since, but has retained the vast majority of the feature set and is also available in multiple options. We take a look at a representative offering today, and thanks to Mistel for sending a review sample to TechPowerUp!


The Mistel MD770 Barocco is available without any backlighting, with RGB backlighting, and in wired or Bluetooth+wired options. In addition, there are two color options with a white or black base for these, so there are quite a few different SKUs before we even get to the various switch options. What is common across all options is the adoption of a 75% form factor in contrast to the 60% MD600 and 68% MD650L. The number in the product name is thus a good indicator of the form factor when it comes to Mistel keyboards, and the larger form factor here allows for a dedicated Fn key row in addition to retaining most of the arrow key cluster as it compares to a TKL keyboard with a smaller footprint. We will go over the MD770 Barocco in the RGB version in more detail in this review beginning with a look at the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Mistel has shied away from the shiny cuboid packaging used for the MD600 and MD650L Barocco in favor of a more traditional, flatter box here. The box also has a more matte finish in darker colors as opposed to the shiny silver before, but we still see the company and product name alongside salient marketing features on the front, including the adoption of Cherry MX switches. On the back and sides we see more of the same, along with some specifications. There is a double flap in the middle to help keep the contents inside in place.


Opening the box, we see the keyboard immediately inside a wax paper wrap and surrounded by cardboard on all sides. The accessories are found underneath or in the compartment above the keyboard. This includes a user manual (online copy here) that could be more detailed and clear, which Mistel says they will see to based on my recommendation, and it is very handy for all the onboard functionality here. As with the other split keyboards, we get two different cables. The first connects the keyboard to your computer, and the other connects the two keyboard halves to each other. It is nice to see nothing but USB Type-C connectivity when it comes to the keyboard itself, and Mistel also includes a nice wire-type puller with 301 stainless steel for the metal wires, as well as a dual-composition base (orange ABS plastic and black TPR rubber). We also see some keyboard feet and installation screws we will get to on the next page.


The final accessory is a set of spare keycaps that come in a plastic zip-lock pouch. There are so many of these that I had to ask Mistel about it since it does not make sense to include a lot of these for the MD770, including the longer space bar keycap. As it turns out, the company has a new mold for PBT doubleshot injected keycaps in two color schemes, and has a full set of keycaps available for their various keyboards, including the Hacker MD800 full-size keyboard we also saw at Computex. So this is more of a gift for people to use—a full set of 119 Mistel higher-end keycaps for their larger keyboards. The company plans to release other color options besides the black and white with orange legends in the future and are inviting feedback from our readers on the colors they should target. This keycap set also includes a new Mistel logo Esc key, which is a good example to showcase the backlighting support, or lack thereof. The extremely thick keycaps (1.52 mm average wall thickness) and two darker injections mean the majority of light hitting the keycap is absorbed and not transmitted through, so don't expect much in terms of backlighting when it comes to the keyboard with this black and orange keycap set.