Quick look at the plate mount QMX Clip

[kekstee]

I have one of GMKs new plate-mount silencing clips on hand as well as the ZealPC ones.
So I decided do do a short comparison.
Just from picking them up for the first time you will notice that the dampening inlay on the QMX top is much softer. Also they decided to cut the corners a little to make it a bit easier to clip them on an off. That's a welcome addition to the design.

plateclips.jpg (289.04 KiB) Viewed 8851 times

I didn't try them on a whole board or for a longer time, my setup was just one each on my regular keyboard.
On the left you can see the QMX, Zeal middle and of course the regular switch for the undampened comparison.

Dampening the switch stem is always a trade-off between switch feel and sound. The GMK clips manage to be a lot more silent, but of course this comes at the price of a bit softer bottom out.
In fact the silencing is so complete that I only now noticed how this k key sounds a bit more scratchy than the others. Might be the spring.

So yeah, turns out it really depends on how much silencing you need or are comfortable with. The Zeal clips retain a lot of switch sound whereas QMX is really quiet.
I also think the QMX feels a bit softer on the bottom out. I really should have tested this without hearing the switches though. Sound is such an important part in how you perceive the switch feel.

[drevyek]

Neat! I'd love to see that comparison again, but with something clicky, like zealistotles or blues.

The trade off on bottoming out is the same as in Alps/Matias damped.

[kekstee]

tl;dr: Don't try to use these with clicky MX

Only had a clicky pcb mount G80-1000HFD on hand.
Same result, but of course a completely different sound in that resonant case on a hard table.

Turns out there's a really ugly rattle to those Blues when silenced like this. It's hard to tell if that's due to the travel reduction or just gets drowned out completely on the unsilenced ones.
I wouldn't recommend doing this to your clicky switches :P

[hansichen]

Awesome comparison video, thanks for doing the work. I guess that proves that the zeal ones are overpriced shit if you want a silenced board

[Findecanor]

Cherry MX blues have a nub on the base on the slider that reduces key travel even more when used with silencing clips. Don't they feel weird? And do they work properly?

[scottc]

Jesus, both silencers on the MX blues just leave the horrible, high-pitched squeak. Like typing on tiny eggshells.

Interesting how the Zealencio and real deal compare. If I wanted a silent switch (which would probably be the scenario in which I'd buy silencers), I'd definitely go for the GMKs. That probably shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, though.

[kekstee]

Cherry MX blues have a nub on the base on the slider that reduces key travel even more when used with silencing clips. Don't they feel weird? And do they work properly?

Oh, right, that's another problem actually. I didn't connect it for this test, it's a terrible idea anyway.

It's even difficult on something like Clears since the reduced travel doesn't mesh too well with how the tactile force curve is supposed to go.

So in the end I would probably prefer silencing linear MX.

@hansichen: while horribly priced the Zeals might be just what you need to take the edge off the sound without deadening it completely.

[gjooro]

Nice comparison.

Do qmx clips work with gaterons/zealios?

[Wodan]

Nice and balanced review, thanks kekstee!

I am happy to see it's more than just a price difference between the two.
Guess everyone can find his own favourite silencing clip now

And yes, I totally agree these are perfect for linears.

[E3E]

The final question would be: How do these compare to MX Silents? It sounds like QMX clips might have a similar feel.

It seems like tactile MX might benefit the most from these as there is no silent version for those switches.

Of course, there are other MX and MX clone switches that would be welcome to these clips that are linear. but I'm speaking strictly of MX itself here.

As to silencing clicky switches, that sounds a little counterintuitive anyway, haha.

[kekstee]

Wodan has done a comparison in the same case, silent MX vs qmx clip MX. Should be somewhere.

I figured these wouldn't work with 2x3x4 LEDs earlier - well, turns out they're an exact fit.
Again, just PCB mount, but this time tactile MX in the form of Ergo Clears.

You know the setup by now:

While it felt almost too silent on my massive plate mount board I really enjoy the sound of the QMX clip on these PCB mount Ergo Clears. In fact I probably should get a full set of these.
Keep in mind though that you can notice the lack of movement below the tactile bump compared to the unsilenced switch. It's fine with these light springs but there's potential to feel weird, I guess.

Do qmx clips work with gaterons/zealios?

They do clip on.

[kvsn]

Any idea when the QMX clips will be available for purchase?

[Shihatsu]

Do you have testet the clips with silent blacks? This could be the to-go combination for large offices...

[davkol]

I have tried MX Silent with Zealencio clips. QMX Clips coming soon.

The problem with pairing internal and external damping is that only the one with larger travel reduction is used in practice. Zealencios, for example, reduce travel very significantly, thus internal damping of the MX Silent switch (probably) isn't applied on bottoming out at all.

Actually, on Zealencios: they're underwhelming. They're like EliteKeyboards' soft-landing pads, except made of rubber (I guess) and firmly attached to housings instead of keycaps. No shit… Well, two things. First, they cost roughly $1 more than the pads (and they're a PITA to install/remove, don't work with most switches including Kailh's MX-compatibles, not to mention various non-MX). Second, there isn't much upstroke damping actually. Most of the rubber pad's bottom surface is covered by plastic.

On the note of upstroke damping, I've noticed that my fingertips hitting keycap surface produce quite a bit of noise more or less on par with the upstroke clack inside the switch. There's no real solution for this, other than a softer keycap material/coating (see, e.g., those silicone/jelly keycaps). Because of this, I've lost most hope in more effective damping. That said, MX Silents do help a bit. Zealencios really don't, as I said.

And then there's feel. Bottoming out, that's obvious. I think those solutions hit a sweet spot between too soft and hard o-rings; it's neither too mushy, nor very hard. There's one more thing though. MX Silent sliders just aren't quite smooth—it's not terrible, but nowhere near my vintage blacks; it's not the scratchiness of a dirty or cheap clone switch, it's as if the whole slider were a bit rubbery (I can't think of a better comparison than to sliding fingers across thinkpads' lid coating). The clips shouldn't do this… but they do have a similar effect as if the slider were rubbing against them. O_o Perhaps it's the exposure of switches' internal noises discussed wrt MX Blue in some post above.

[derzemel]

Plate mount QMX Clips are now available on Uniqey's website:

https://uniqey.net/en/accessories/18/qm ... -pcs.?c=11

the issue is that Unikey delivers products only to 8 European countries (at least these are the countries available in the address form at the checkout): Austria, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, UK.

It seems I might have to rely on a proxy to get some.
I sent a mail to Uniqey regarding this to ask them if they plan to deliver products to all of the 28 EU countries.

Edit: I just got confirmation, Uniqey will ship only to the above countries + US and Canada due to shipping regulations

[Gahho]

Can you conclude that these are better than Zealencios? Physically, are these any different? I wonder what allows the GMK variant to be more silent...

[Wodan]

Concluding that one product is better than another is something many people would love to hear just to assure them they are buying the right thing. But in most cases this is just a personal preference!

My theory regarding the more silent QMX clips is that they are using a softer material to dampen the downstroke. This however will affect the type feeling and soften the bottom-out more.

Looking at the prices of both alternatives - considering the difference between them is just nuances - I don't think anyone will be paying around 3x of the QMX asking price for the Zeal things. It was fun while it lasted and he really took advantage of GMKs design flaw there but I guess unless we see both products at roughly the same price, there is just no competition for the QMX clips as an aftermarket dampening solution.

[davkol]

QMX Clips definitely use a softer material and the layout of holes on the inner side is better. Travel reduction aside, this is hands down the best damping solution for MX switches. Effective, relatively cheap, easy to install.

I wish there were replacement switch covers with integrated damping, so that there'd be no travel reduction, but I don't see that happening any time soon.