Leopold is a Korean keyboard company founded in 2006. Its boards are plain and solid, with good keycaps and few extras. Two of its best known are compact 66-key boards that look almost exactly alike, the FC660C and the FC660M. The last letter tells you the switch. C means Topre and M means Cherry MX. That one letter changes how the board types, what you can do to it later, and what to check in a listing. Deskthority even warns readers not to confuse them. This guide covers how to tell which one you're looking at, what each one is like, and which we'd buy.
The shared layout
Both boards use the same compact layout. It's a little wider than a 60%, with dedicated arrow keys and an Insert and Delete column on the right. Fn with the arrows gives you Home, End, Page Up and Page Down, though those aren't printed on the keys. There's no function row, so F-keys live on the Fn layer too. If you're coming from a full-size board, plan on a day or two to get used to it. If you want a function row, look at the 75% or TKL boards instead.
The FC660C
The FC660C came out in 2013 with Topre switches at a uniform 45g. Deskthority notes the switches are plate-mounted, as on Topre's own Realforce boards. That gives it the soft bump and low thock Topre is known for, with no metal contacts inside.
It has four DIP switches on the back. They swap Ctrl and Caps Lock, swap Windows and Alt, swap Windows and Fn, or turn the Windows key off. Pressing Fn and Q swaps the Escape key's layer, and a red LED on the Insert key lights up while that's on. The box came with a gold-plated USB cable and spare Ctrl and Caps Lock keycaps for anyone who flips that DIP switch. Look at the front right edge of the case. The FC660C has the formula for capacitance printed there, a nice tell in photos.
The keycaps are thick PBT, up to 1.5mm, except the space bar, which is ABS like most Topre boards. The legend method varies by version. Deskthority found laser-printed legends on the black Korean-and-English version, and dye-sublimated legends on others. Dye-sublimated boxes say so on several sides, so a box without that wording points to laser-printed caps.
When we checked, Leopold's Korean store listed FC660M and FC660MBT models but no FC660C. Expect to find this one mostly used.
The FC660M
The FC660M uses Cherry MX switches in the same layout. Leopold's store offers it with Brown, Blue, Red, Black and Silent Red switches and a couple of others, in English or Korean legends. There's also the FC660MBT, which works wired or over Bluetooth. Leopold's site advertises double-shot PBT keycaps on its current boards, and the store sells the M in PD and OE versions as well as different colors.
Because it's Cherry MX, standard MX keycap sets fit it, and the switch you pick decides the feel. Choose it if you like a particular Cherry switch, want wireless, or plan to fit your own keycaps.
Details collectors notice
Deskthority's notes on the FC660C include a few things you can spot in photos. The feet are rubberized, which grips better than the HHKB's, but there's only one height setting, and the board sits fairly steep. White FC660Cs look slightly off-white next to a white HHKB. The stock space bar is a little off-white too, so a bright white space bar in the photos may be a replacement.
Keycaps are the other big difference in daily life. The FC660M takes standard MX keycaps, so any MX set in a compatible layout fits it. The FC660C's Topre stems don't take MX keycaps, and the 66-key layout has its own bottom row, with three 1.25u keys either side of a 6u space bar. Check the sizes before you buy a set for either board.
How to tell them apart in a listing
- Read the model number on the box or the label on the back. FC660C is the Topre board. FC660M and FC660MBT are Cherry MX.
- Ask for a photo with one keycap pulled. An MX board shows the colored cross stem of a Cherry switch, and the Topre board shows a round slider.
- Look for the capacitance formula on the front right of the case. That's the FC660C.
- Ask for a short typing video. Topre sounds lower and rounder, and MX switches sound sharper, especially Blues.
- If the title just says FC660, ask which one it is before you buy.
What to check on each
On the FC660C, check that every key feels the same. Topre has no metal contacts to chatter, but the rubber domes wear, and a dome that feels different from its neighbors stands out. Look at the ABS space bar for shine, since it's the one key that isn't PBT. Ask whether the DIP switches are at their factory settings, which are all off.
On the FC660M, ask which switch is fitted and test every key. Cherry switches can chatter as they wear, typing a letter twice. Check the space bar, Enter, Backspace and the Shift keys for stabilizer rattle. On the MBT, ask whether the wireless still pairs and how the batteries are holding up.
On both, ask whether the board has been modified. Both are popular with people who lube stabilizers or add dampening. Good work makes the board better, but you want to know what you're getting.
Which one to buy
Buy the FC660C if you already know you like Topre and want it in a small board with arrow keys. There aren't many of those. Buy the FC660M if you want a specific Cherry switch, a wider choice of keycaps, or Bluetooth through the MBT. If you want key remapping in software, a knob or hot-swap sockets, the Keychron Q2 has all three. Our Topre vs Cherry MX guide explains the switch difference in more depth, and the Leopold page lists the rest of the range.
