Most silent yet nice-to-type-on board?

[Phenix]

Looking for one for on the go. Scissor switches are afaik really silent, tough not that nice to type on..
typing on a touchpad is also not that awesome

What is your experience/any advice? (Nice feel is personal, so tell what you like - I will go ahead and try it at some point)

I have some Qmx clips on my way , maybe it will get quite enough then.
(My travel board is a Anne pro with gat Browns atm, didn’t found a better alternative with bluetooth.)
I like Topre - but can it get quieter than that?

[Chyros]

The most silent switches I genuinely like to type on are certain dome with slider switches. Those are louder than normal domes, though.

Dampened Alps and Matias Quiet switches work well too, and are very silent, but the feeling is just slightly weird.

[Wodan]

Gaterons wouldn't be my first choice when it comes to silent switches. Their clicky switches are so popular because they use a material that resonates much better than Cherry MX switches.

I was surprised by how well the new plate mount QMX clips worked. They will cost you a tiny bit of travel but really give you the perfect silencing job. Also quite affordable once available and will fit on any MX-compatible board.

My other big fav are silenced Topre boards which feel great, have genuine tactility and hardly suffer at all from the silencing.

I swapped Matias Silent sliders into a nice NIB Fokus 2002 and they also sounded really nice but ... there's just too many limitations around Alps/Matias, I am not looking for an extra challenge ...

[DustGod]

Dampened Alps and Matias Quiet switches work well too, and are very silent, but the feeling is just slightly weird.

I have some linear-mod Cream Damped which I quite like - even though some keys are quite scratchy even after thorough cleaning, because the board is very, very, worn. The problem with these is the bottom out noise, which is quite loud; is this normal?

[andrewjoy]

I can second that , they are very quiet.

Or even better

http://matias.ca/switches/linear/

[evoman]

My Topre seems quite quiet to me (passes the wife test - i can type while on the phone with her and she cannot tell I am not paying attention - whereas my Model M is a dead giveaway), so I imagine one of the silenced Topres would be really great. I have a quiet Matias and I don't find it that much quieter than the Topre. I assume many linear switches could be quieter, but I have no interest in linear switches.

Every time I use any of my older Thinkpads I am amazed at how nice those keyboards are, and they are all very quiet. I assume they are all scissor switch keyboards, so that might be a particularly nice solution. I think the short travel on the keys also helps keep the noise down since you don't bottom out with the same force, though that might just be my clumsy typing./

[Phenix]

I chose the gat brown as they were my best bet with the Anne Pro - price/quality is really great on them, so better than any (sometimes better, but sometime worse) more expensive boards.

Bluetooth is a must for me atm as well.. I guess I will look into thinkpad keyboards, IIRC they are quite cheap and could suit my needs - as long as the keycaps are profiled.

Spending somewhat 300$ for a Topre board is something which I dont really feel like atm btw




m

[zslane]

Topre with silencing rings is at the top of my list. After that would probably be Matias linears or tactiles and MX silent reds. However, the problem with Matias is that you are severely limited when it comes to custom keycaps.

In terms of small form factor with Bluetooth and a reasonable price, I think your options are fairly limited. The Plum Nano 75 would be my choice. It has silenced Topre switches (with MX stems) and Bluetooth, and comes in at around $150.

[Menuhin]

Matias Quiet Pro vs Realforce 87u Silent vs Cherry MX Blue Red Black Brown - typing sound

Stock Topre vs Cherry MX Browns + Silencing Clips + Cherry Profile PBT

Also Wodan's video:
MX Silent Red vs. GMK QMX Clips
Testing starts at around 3:30 and the lower board is QMX.

[andrewjoy]

Topre with silencing rings is at the top of my list. After that would probably be Matias linears or tactiles and MX silent reds. However, the problem with Matias is that you are severely limited when it comes to custom keycaps.

In terms of small form factor with Bluetooth and a reasonable price, I think your options are fairly limited. The Plum Nano 75 would be my choice. It has silenced Topre switches (with MX stems) and Bluetooth, and comes in at around $150.

I found that topre ( realforce) spacebars to be super loud, rattle and squeek everywhere

it sounded like somone riding a vintage tram whist punching a duck .

Such a shame , the rest of the board was outstanding, best build / feeling modern board by miles

[E3E]

I found that topre ( realforce) spacebars to be super loud, rattle and squeek everywhere

it sounded like somone riding a vintage tram whist punching a duck .

Such a shame , the rest of the board was outstanding, best build / feeling modern board by miles

That can be remedied if you lubricate the stabilizers with a thick grease. Unfortunate, since it requires the screw-happy, intensive disassembly process to get to the stabilizers.

I would say that silenced Topre is among the quietest you can buy stock. However, if you go custom, you can get some very quiet results. I have a 60% custom built with Alps SKCL Cream, the case of which I've dampened with a sorbothane sheet placed beneath the PCB, along with ABS spherical key caps and it's very quiet, rivaling Topre.

I've noticed cap thickness to be one factor that can quiet a keyboard up quite well.

[andrewjoy]

I found that topre ( realforce) spacebars to be super loud, rattle and squeek everywhere

it sounded like somone riding a vintage tram whist punching a duck .

Such a shame , the rest of the board was outstanding, best build / feeling modern board by miles

That can be remedied if you lubricate the stabilizers with a thick grease. Unfortunate, since it requires the screw-happy, intensive disassembly process to get to the stabilizers.

Don't worry i have had to do that on my novatouch ( RIP ) when i spilt beer all over it.

May get myself a realforce one day

My NT is fine my the way but its discontinued now all the silly gamers buying MX crap

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I assume that the most silent board is also going to be the most unique …

[Phenix]

I assume that the most silent board is also going to be the most unique …

lets go hunt the white narwhal..

[chip chop]

What about a HHKB Pro 2 Type S?

[zslane]

Too expensive, especially if he wants Bluetooth...

[Phenix]

Too expensive, especially if he wants Bluetooth...

the hhkb is indeed nice, but a hhkb JP BT is out of my water for now - I have to look at the budget at the moment...

thats the point..
I guess I will do
- wait for my qmx clips and test them
- look out for either a apple magic board (i KNOW, its forbidden to talk about these boards here ) or just Get any cheapo bt board.

In the end I will maybe regret getting it as my home daily is a dox for now and I always miss certain layers'n'conveniences I programmed into the dox

getting it silent, BT and ergo+transportable wont happen easily..

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I assume that the most silent board is also going to be the most unique …

lets go hunt the white narwhal..

I mean, nothing can be "less silent" or "more silent". It either is silent, or it isn't.

The word is "quiet".

No conventional keyboard is silent; some are very quiet, but even a Matias Quiet Pro makes far more noise than a scissor switch keyboard. It's not that the Matias Quiet Pro is loud (it's quiet, like it says on the box) but scissor switch keyboards are far quieter.

There are some excellent scissor switch keyboards with good travel and a good smooth tactile feel, but they're rare. It's a pity, as scissor switch could be done well if anyone cared, especially with Topre-grade rubber.

[zslane]

I mean, nothing can be "less silent" or "more silent". It either is silent, or it isn't.

The word is "quiet".

Quibbling over terminology is fruitless. I learned that when I realized that everybody uses "beige" when they mean "grey", particularly when paired with the word "dual". And don't get me started on "duel beige". Spelling isn't most folks' strong suit either.

[Phenix]

thanks, I appreciate the correction of silent vs quiet - tips like this improve my language, so im always thankful for errors pointed out..

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Quibbling over terminology is fruitless. I learned that when I realized that everybody uses "beige" when they mean "grey", particularly when paired with the word "dual". And don't get me started on "duel beige". Spelling isn't most folks' strong suit either.

I consider it blatant dishonesty when products are marketed as "silent" when they're anything but. The rest of the time, it's just part of the gradual decline and breakdown of human communication.

I don't recall anyone specifically confusing "beige" and "grey", but they need smacking too. I suspect I got confused by their confusion though. Bearing in mind the trouble with camera white balance, it's preferable to be verbally accurate since there's no guarantee that the photo came out correct. Of course, when people can't take good pictures or describe anything correctly …

I still have the Jolly Roger keycaps I bought that turned out to be white on grey — I never thought anyone would be stupid enough to have grey pirate flag keys, so I didn't ask for photos that didn't look like they were shot on the far side of the moon. I also bought a whole load of switches via Taobao FOCUS where I OK'ed their photo not realising that the lighting didn't show up that I'd got 99% of the wrong switch. The difference between colourless (correct) and pigmented white (wrong) wasn't apparent in the photo, and I'd already received a sample order of the correct part! This is still an open dispute as I bought them for a customer and I don't even know if any more of the correct switch is left.

Hell, Mechanical Keyboards still sell Tai-Hao switches of no known part number (but ordered new, or something) under the heading "ALPS XM Switches", since despite every conversation over the years, they still don't seem to have any idea what "ALPS" or "XM" mean.

Can't at we at least try to be precise? It would save so much confusion.

[babump]

I have yet to find a mechanical keyboard that is as quiet as a scissor switch keyboard. The switches on my MacBook Pro Retina 2011 are the quietest, but feel far from a mechanical keyboard.

The quietest non-scissor switches that I have tried so far are: RealForce Topre Variable weight silenced which I find slightly quieter than my Plum 84 35g. Both are fairly quiet and I would imagine would not disturb most people in an office setting.

The remainder of the switches I have tried from least quiet to loudest. The following I think are all significantly louder than the 2 mentioned above and would caution with use if they are in an environment that would not permit louder noise (ie: sleeping roommates/significant others, small-office environment with co-workers).
1. Cherry MX Reds (Leopold FC750R PD)
2. Cherry MX Reds (Corsair K70)
3. Cherry MX Brown (Das Pro)
4. Gateron Blue (Anne Pro)

[Phenix]

Mx Reds are out for me, as I am permanently bottoming out them, so not that nice..
Will think about the Topre (again)..