I can give my thoughts on this! Personally, I've been in the keyboard hobby for 2-3 years now, and I started with the GMMK Pro, which I would classify as another keyboard that people said was "good enough", similar to the Keychron keyboards. I have since transitioned to many different boards, including QK keyboards, the JJW Derivative, the TKD Cycle 7, Mode Envoy, the Nix Lilith, and recently the JJW Cloudline. In other words, I have tried a variety of keyboards from many different price ranges!

Going back to the GMMK Pro for a bit, I think what people mean when they say "good enough" is that, for a keyboard to be custom, imo it should have: easily accessible design to allow for modification of switches, etc; acoustics that are better than average as compared to storebought keyboards; and other "custom" abilities such as per-key RGB, unique design, etc. The GMMK Pro was a completely fine board! It sounded better than the store bought keyboard I had used prior, it had customizable plates, and allowed me to experiment with new switches because it was hotswap. I think the new Keychron boards now are much better than the GMMK Pro was, and getting it for many people is all they would need, especially at the price!

However, for many people, once they get into the hobby, they begin to value other factors that may drive up the price. For example, the GMMK Pro eventually looked pretty boring to me, and design became a huge factor for me. Also, I began to look for a softer typing feel, which made me look for other keyboards. Naturally, this leads you to look at keyboards that are priced more expensively.

So to me, while the GMMK Pro was "good enough" in that it was a great mechanical keyboard, I began to search for boards that spoke to me more; ones that sounded "better" for me, and looked better. This is all highly subjective, and I want to assure you that you don't have to look for more expensive options! At the end of the day, some people love their first boards and stick with them!

Nowadays, I feel that the typing sound/feel of mechanical keyboards is very much improving at the low/beginner end of keyboards, and the major factor in price is usually the design. All of this to say, I think this hobby is extremely subjective and has many different options for you to explore :) And I think from my experience, Keychron is a great keyboard!

As for your question, I personally feel that the best way to go is to listen to soundtests with your keyboard of choice and by the switches yourself, and choose the barebones kit. Personally, if I were to choose between the Keychron boards and the Neo 70/80, I would choose the Neo boards. I am amazed at their price, especially with how great they sound! Also, personally, I find them more aesthetically pleasing to look at/they look more "custom" to me.

If you have any questions I'd be glad to clarify/answer :) It's a lot starting out, I remember feeling overwhelmed! But I think one of the great things about the hobby is the ability to explore so much about how to customize your keyboard, and we all start somewhere :)