Author Topic: Another quiet mechanical keyboard thread (Read 42676 times)

Resaebiunne · « **on:** Wed, 13 June 2012, 22:38:58 »

So, I've gotten some complaints recently about my keyboard at work, and I definitely want to find something quieter.

I'm using a Dell AT101W in place of the cheap microsoft rubber dome they gave me. At home I used an IBM Model M (on my desktop). Since I tend to type fast and bottom out the keys, both are actually quite loud. The AT101W especially has quite a thwack to it.

Having read some of the threads here on the forum, it seems scissor switches may be the way to go, but personally the whole reason for having a good keyboard such as AT101w or Model M is for the key tactility. Scissor switches belong on laptops, especially if they are chiclet style. So... here I am.

I'm thinking of the Rosewill RK9000 with the MX Browns, especially cuz it's on sale at Newegg, but I'm not convinced it's going to be any quieter than the At101W, especially given my typing style. My next thought is the Realforce 87u silent, but it's $310, and that's just too much for a keyboard that I'll leave at work. I don't want to risk it getting stolen. Ideally I'd spend ~$100, but I'm flexible. Thoughts?

cleeoo · « **Reply #1 on:** Wed, 13 June 2012, 22:59:44 »

The normal Topre keyboards aren't too loud. Or I don't think so either, and I bottom out when I type too. I haven't used the silent one so I'm not too sure what the difference is in the noise levels. If leaving it at work is a problem, you could always get a TKL or a HHKB2 and take it to and from work, if that's an option? I am guessing there is no chance of you being able to leave it in a drawer or cupboard at your desk, out of sight when you're not at work (although I guess that's not that much more secure)? Or locking it somewhere?

The alternative is probably a MX keyboard with o-rings?

WRXChris · « **Reply #2 on:** Wed, 13 June 2012, 23:27:51 »

I would recommend a cherry mx board (browns or clears) with o-rings. It sounds like you are a heavy typist, so you may want to consider an mx clear board (55g springs, browns are 45g), but they are getting hard to find new these days. If you aren't so concerned with aesthetics you could get a refurbished mx clear g80 for ~$45 shipped from ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cherry-Mechanical-PS2-Keyboard-MX-Clear-Touchpad-Programmable-N-Key-Rollover-G80-/221047052085?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item33776e5735#ht_3524wt_966

nullstring · « **Reply #3 on:** Thu, 14 June 2012, 09:42:06 »

I don't know how loud the Alps are, but I can rank some of the cherries based on my own observations:

1. Blues: 5
2. Browns: 3
3. Reds: 2.5
4. Average Rubber Dome: 2

I would say that MX browns are about 50% louder than rubber dome.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #4 on:** Thu, 14 June 2012, 09:56:39 »

O-rings and a soft pad between the board and the desk will help a lot. Without mods, Cherry switches will not be significantly quieter than Alps.

Flossing the Model M will cut out a lot of the higher resonances so that the sound does not carry as far.

Resaebiunne · « **Reply #5 on:** Thu, 14 June 2012, 10:17:14 »

Quote from: nullstring;613293

I don't know how loud the Alps are, but I can rank some of the cherries based on my own observations:

1. Blues: 5
2. Browns: 3
3. Reds: 2.5
4. Average Rubber Dome: 2

I would say that MX browns are about 50% louder than rubber dome.

In that case, the browns might not be so bad. I switched out my at101w here at work and its definitely quieter, but the board is just too light and mushy, ick.

Matias · « **Reply #6 on:** Thu, 14 June 2012, 16:41:45 »

We're releasing a quiet version of the Tactile Pro in about a month. It uses a new switch that we've been developing for over 2 years. It's quieter than any of the Cherry switches, and more tactile.

If you can wait, it should solve your problem.

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #7 on:** Thu, 14 June 2012, 18:25:24 »

Is this new Tactile Pro going to be available in Windows layout?

I could forgive the garish case if I can just have all 105 ISO keys where IBM and Microsoft intended ;-) (AutoHotkey does NOT work inside remote access software, for starters.)

Resaebiunne · « **Reply #8 on:** Thu, 14 June 2012, 18:50:23 »

Hm, yeap, "Windows" layout is preferred, but I can forgive the lack of a Windows key. The extra command and apple keys would get irritating quickly.

dorkvader · « **Reply #9 on:** Thu, 14 June 2012, 21:03:00 »

Quote from: nullstring;613293

I don't know how loud the Alps are, but I can rank some of the cherries based on my own observations:

1. Blues: 5
2. Browns: 3
3. Reds: 2.5
4. Average Rubber Dome: 2

I would say that MX browns are about 50% louder than rubber dome.

In my experience, browns are pretty quiet, if you don't bottom out. I still have yet to try o rings, though.

Matias · « **Reply #10 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 08:22:41 »

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore;613696

Is this new Tactile Pro going to be available in Windows layout?

I could forgive the garish case if I can just have all 105 ISO keys where IBM and Microsoft intended ;-) (AutoHotkey does NOT work inside remote access software, for starters.)

Yes, we're doing a Windows version -- no AutoHotkey required. The case on the PC one is black. I don't think you'll find it garish. :-)

Matias · « **Reply #11 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 08:34:13 »

Quote from: Raging Salmon;613786

Just a suggestion: it must be very expensive (and scary) to commit to buy hundreds of thousands of switches from the factory. If the switch you are developing is Alps based you may want to offer to sell these switches on the side for hobbyists to solder into their old Alps based boards.

You probably won't sell a ton but if you can sell a few thousand - well - that's a few thousand off the contract.

Yes, we'll be selling them both in small and large quantities, to whoever wants to buy them. We probably won't make a lot of money selling switches, but we want this switch to catch on, so we're making it as available as possible.

Fuhua did a lousy job marketing "Fukka" Alps switches for things they were better suited for than Cherrys, so Cherry "won" by default. You can't win the game if you don't even show up.

The new switch is made from better materials than the old Fukkas and has a longer operating life. We're already past 25 million actuations, and expect it to go at least as high as the 50 million actuations that Cherrys are rated for.

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #12 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 15:45:11 »

Fukka switches do have a disadvantage: ALPS switches are noisy. That you have rectified this is a big advantage.

Now we just have to guess the colour of the sliders in the new switch (is this a Simplified ALPS Type V, or is it a complicated switch?)

So far, we've had cream, orange, pink, white and black.

Someone suggested purple for a new Cherry switch, which is still a free colour at the moment. I don't think maroon ever got used for anything either; teal is nice but it's been used for some rare Cherry MX switches before.

Matias · « **Reply #13 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 18:41:16 »

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore;614271

Fukka switches do have a disadvantage: ALPS switches are noisy. That you have rectified this is a big advantage.

Yes, that was the plan. :-)

Quote

Now we just have to guess the colour of the sliders in the new switch (is this a Simplified ALPS Type V, or is it a complicated switch?)

No need to guess. They are bright orange. Internal structure is similar to the switches on the Apple Extended Keyboard II, but more tactile and quieter.

FoxWolf1 · « **Reply #14 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 18:50:24 »

Definitely liking the idea of these new ALPS-style switches so far. How do they compare to black StrongMan switches (type III)?

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #15 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 19:10:53 »

Wait, I thought the EKII was damped? Those don't sound damped to me.

rknize · « **Reply #16 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 21:41:27 »

OP: I was pretty much in the same boat as you. The Model M is my favorite by far, but too noisy for the home office. At work, I made it tolerable to my coworkers by doing a grease mod. I found the browns to be a decent compromise, but not exactly quiet. With o-rings, browns feel much like a scissor switch and are fairly quiet.

TexasFlood · « **Reply #17 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 21:49:46 »

I have boards with Fukka Alps switches and they're crazy loud. But I want to believe, I really do...

Looks like mine are type II "XM" simplified yype II alps and read much better things about type I which I don't have.

thegunner100 · « **Reply #18 on:** Fri, 15 June 2012, 21:55:17 »

I'll have to agree with buying a HHKB and just taking it to work

Topres are much quieter than MX keyboards, even when you bottom out. THe other choice, as mentioned earlier, would be to buy a mx brown keyboard and get some 40A o-rings to silence them.

Grimey · « **Reply #19 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 00:42:55 »

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore;614391

Wait, I thought the EKII was damped? Those don't sound damped to me.

The EKII I harvested switches from is more silent than the one in that video. I placed the switches in a Dell AT101W to use in at my new workspace, but I will have to see if I can get used to the switches as they are fairly heavy.

Matias · « **Reply #20 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 09:58:28 »

Quote from: FoxWolf1;614378

Definitely liking the idea of these new ALPS-style switches so far. How do they compare to black StrongMan switches (type III)?

The Black StrongMan switches feel great.

Ours are lighter, more tactile, and dampened to make them quieter.

Matias · « **Reply #21 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 10:08:43 »

Quote from: Raging Salmon;614380

[video=youtube;VQOA0PtIXYY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQOA0PtIXYY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL952328BC009E9E4D[/video]

How much more quiet than this?

Not sure why that one is so loud. Maybe it's been harvested, or it could be that it wasn't miked properly. Who knows.

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #22 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 10:12:32 »

Rubber dampers like in the EKII?

I don't know what BBC Micro Type I switches have, but the bottoming out impact is totally silent. However, the return sound is so loud that overall it's worse, because the keystroke sounds lag behind your typing

I've never used an EK or EKII – for me the issue with the AT101W isn't the sound, but the stiff, gungy feel compared to the fluid, clean strokes of the Fukkas in the TP3 and complicated blues. I've vaguely used some old Apple boards with tactile ALPS (Macintosh 128K and that other one) and those felt perfect.

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #23 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 10:13:32 »

Quote from: Matias;614747

Not sure why that one is so loud. Maybe it's been harvested, or it could be that it wasn't miked properly. Who knows.

All the EKII videos sound like that, i.e. glorious.

Matias · « **Reply #24 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 10:17:15 »

Quote from: TexasFlood;614481

I have boards with Fukka Alps switches and they're crazy loud. But I want to believe, I really do...

Looks like mine are type II "XM" simplified yype II alps and read much better things about type I which I don't have.

Yes, we tried the XM switches and didn't like them. That's why we did our own. That and the fear that Fuhua would stop making Fukka switches, which they now have -- early this year they stopped.

Oh, I forgot to mention, we've also eliminated the residual ping sound that Fukkas make when you hit them hard. Lots of people hated that sound.

Matias · « **Reply #25 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 10:20:55 »

Quote from: thegunner100;614484

Topres are much quieter than MX keyboards, even when you bottom out. THe other choice, as mentioned earlier, would be to buy a mx brown keyboard and get some 40A o-rings to silence them.

The o-rings just silence the downstroke. They're still noisy on the upstroke.

Sorry to nit-pick, but I've been dealing with this stuff for the past 2 years.

Matias · « **Reply #26 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 10:31:31 »

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore;614749

Rubber dampers like in the EKII?

Yes, they have the same basic design, with a few improvements.

Quote

I don't know what BBC Micro Type I switches have, but the bottoming out impact is totally silent. However, the return sound is so loud that overall it's worse, because the keystroke sounds lag behind your typing

You'll get the same delayed feedback with o-rings on Cherrys, because they're not dampened on the upstroke.

Quote

I've never used an EK or EKII – for me the issue with the AT101W isn't the sound, but the stiff, gungy feel compared to the fluid, clean strokes of the Fukkas in the TP3 and complicated blues. I've vaguely used some old Apple boards with tactile ALPS (Macintosh 128K and that other one) and those felt perfect.

It's a funny thing... I have a few AEKII boards and they don't all feel the same. I don't know if it's because they're old, or if they didn't have strict enough QC standards. Some definitely feel better than others.

TexasFlood · « **Reply #27 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 12:41:44 »

Quote from: Matias;614377

They are bright orange. Internal structure is similar to the switches on the Apple Extended Keyboard II, but more tactile and quieter.

If so, should also be similar to the SGI Granite keyboards I used years ago and liked quite well. I never owned one of my own but used them at work for years. Dampened white alps IIRC, sounds promising, thanks for the info...

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #28 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 12:51:01 »

My heavily worn complicated blue board feels very similar to brand new Fukkas, very smooth and clean and sharp. My only recollection of the Macintosh 128K keyboard and the ALPS PowerMac (?) board was that they were very light and smooth, like Cherry MX blue, but like all ALPS, they had a loud clack sound that makes them in many ways as good as clicky, especially because a solid clack sound is much deeper than the click sound in many cases. Complicated blues, though, have a deep, resonant click – hopefully the Tactile Pro 5 will introduce a clicky switch similar to the complicated blue …

And aluminium cases …

Then there's the black keycaps – I'd love to hear that they'll be doubleshot, but I don't believe that for a moment. All-over coated pad printing is the next best, as it doesn't dirty and break up like laser spooge, but it can all wear off in an ugly way. I don't know what Topre use for their dark gold lettering – looks like paint. I've even seen a brand new Dell Latitude laptop a couple of months back without the decal look – maybe they used all-over coating? Couldn't tell, but it was so wonderful to see that even Dell will, occasionally, make an effort over quality. Decal look is for chumps.

For white keyboards (e.g. TP3) you want dyesub, as it's inky black and smooth (if done right – Acer did it perfectly), unlike the erratic grey scarring from laser.

Matias · « **Reply #29 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 12:54:41 »

Quote from: TexasFlood;614833

If so, should also be similar to the SGI Granite keyboards I used years ago and liked quite well. I never owned one of my own but used them at work for years. Dampened white alps IIRC, sounds promising, thanks for the info...

Yes, the SGI Granite keyboards used the same switches. They're a solid solution to the noise problem. :-)

Matias · « **Reply #30 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 13:25:55 »

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore;614839

My heavily worn complicated blue board feels very similar to brand new Fukkas, very smooth and clean and sharp. My only recollection of the Macintosh 128K keyboard and the ALPS PowerMac (?) board was that they were very light and smooth, like Cherry MX blue, but like all ALPS

Maybe it's just too old (25+ years) or from lack of use, but my 128K Mac keyboard has a really really heavy feel to it. I don't remember it feeling that way when it was new, but who knows.

Quote

hopefully the Tactile Pro 5 will introduce a clicky switch similar to the complicated blue …

I don't know if I've ever used a Complicated Blue board, but I personally prefer our new switches to any I've used in the past -- with the exception of the Simplified Blacks, which felt really great, and were tactile even without the click.

Quote

Then there's the black keycaps – I'd love to hear that they'll be doubleshot, but I don't believe that for a moment. All-over coated pad printing is the next best, as it doesn't dirty and break up like laser spooge, but it can all wear off in an ugly way. I don't know what Topre use for their dark gold lettering – looks like paint. I've even seen a brand new Dell Latitude laptop a couple of months back without the decal look – maybe they used all-over coating? Couldn't tell, but it was so wonderful to see that even Dell will, occasionally, make an effort over quality. Decal look is for chumps.

I agree the decal look is just awful. Doubleshots are incredibly expensive to tool, so I don't really see a future for them. You basically need a seperate mold for each key legend, in addiition to overmold for the key itself. The two best print methods I've seen are UV painting and laser when done properly.

UV painting is paint and UV material mixed together before printing on the key. This gives you the vibrant colour of paint and the wear resistance of UV coating, without the decal look. It's the best solution IMO. Not many factories do it. Not sure why. Maybe cost.

Quote

For white keyboards (e.g. TP3) you want dyesub, as it's inky black and smooth (if done right – Acer did it perfectly), unlike the erratic grey scarring from laser.

For white keycaps, laser is amazingly good, as long as the laser is set correctly and they don't ink-fill it. If you get that engraved look, it's because the laser operator didn't know what they were doing, or were too lazy to adjust the machine properly.

Matias · « **Reply #31 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 13:37:35 »

Quote from: Raging Salmon;614843

A couple more question(s):

Have you added rubber pads on the bottom of the keyboard? The TP3 likes to slide around quite a bit.

I believe the TP3 had silicone pads. We're using rubber for the TP4, which is more grippy.

Quote

Also, how does the space bar sound? This was quite loud on the TP3.

It's quieter for sure, but it's a long piece of plastic, so it will resonate more than the smaller keys.

Quote

Very excited to try these!

:-)

funxion · « **Reply #32 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 13:42:04 »

Quote from: nullstring;613293

I don't know how loud the Alps are, but I can rank some of the cherries based on my own observations:

1. Blues: 5
2. Browns: 3
3. Reds: 2.5
4. Average Rubber Dome: 2

I would say that MX browns are about 50% louder than rubber dome.

Not sure how you type, but browns are definitely not 50% louder than rubber domes. It's more like 100% ESPECIALLY if heavy typing is going on. Browns are still pretty loud if you're bottoming out, which you probably do.

Get browns with o-rings like someone else suggested.

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #33 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 14:53:37 »

Quote from: Matias;614872

The two best print methods I've seen are UV painting and laser when done properly.

From what I've read here, laser has never worked for dark keys – the white spooge stains brown quickly, and has been known to crack and fall out of the grooves. Some people also complain about being able to feel the lettering; the same complaint is heard about pad printing, but if anything I actually like it.

Quote from: Matias;614872

For white keycaps, laser is amazingly good, as long as the laser is set correctly and they don't ink-fill it. If you get that engraved look, it's because the laser operator didn't know what they were doing, or were too lazy to adjust the machine properly.

The TP3 and the AT102W are the same – all you see is scorched plastic. Plastic never looks good after you've melted it. The result is very low contrast, rough lettering. Dye sub is so much better than laser, as the edges of the lettering are sharper, you can cover solid area (e.g. the Apple logo) properly, and it's jet black. Oddly, my blue ALPS keyboard is some sort of combination of dye sub and doubleshot – I've never pulled enough keys to figure out what the method is to this madness.

Which reminds me, do Matias ALPS switches have any mitigation for keypulling?

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #34 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 15:15:19 »

You can get those for ALPS switches? (It's going to be interesting to see what affect the Matias ALPS switch has on the availability of ALPS caps, which are as good as nonexistent at the moment.)

Regardless, I never cared for the "Pretend it's Star Trek where controls aren't labelled" look. Besides, the new Tactile Pro isn't being targeted at geeks – don't forget that the TP is possibly the only keyboard in the world to bear the layer three and four legends for the Mac, something rarely seen since the Space Cadet.

terrpn · « **Reply #35 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 15:24:09 »

Looking forward to the new board.......was getting ready to spring for something a little quieter for the office. My MX blues are just driving too many people crazy and that's from across the hallway. By far my fukka is about the clacky-iest, noisiest board I have- but I love here at home. I love alps, but just hate the restrictions for key choice:(

I just took a Dell Quiet Key completely apart and am soaking the crud out of it to use at the office. Pretty much "alps" like, but with a rubber dome versus a spring. People just can't take a joke...........

So we can assume a new board with "alps" switches might present the possibly of a greater selection of colors for keys in regards to alps, not to mention the switches- "very cool." Did you tell us earlier (?) what color the new board, keys will be and I'm guessing the end of summer or so for production?

Yea........decent rubber pads would be nice.

False_Dmitry_II · « **Reply #36 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 15:32:18 »

@OP
For me, people just saying that clears are obviously perfect for that because they are so much heavier switches and will "stop" you from bottoming are incorrect. The bump is so unnoticeable to me that I even bottom THOSE out. I think I even use more force on those than my space invaders or any of my alps. Sounds like you might be doing something similar. I was going to suggest an AEKII or stealing the switches from one either by opening them and swapping contents with another not-silent board or soldering. If I cared about being quiet those are the only ones so far for me that is anything even close to that.

Heck, my dad is using a browns board right now, just because of the NKRO of it and the fact that it is programmable (and has never programmed it, but then I have some of those too and haven't either). Anyway, I think he might be louder on it than the model m he was just previously using.

Quote from: Matias;614764

It's a funny thing... I have a few AEKII boards and they don't all feel the same. I don't know if it's because they're old, or if they didn't have strict enough QC standards. Some definitely feel better than others.

Yeah, I'm not sure what is going on for that. One of the things I've noticed is that, so far for me anyway, the ones that look like they are truly cream colored are the ones that don't feel good. The ones that look stark white (they make the complicated whites look gray) do. I've only managed to get two that were stark white and unfortunately the first one was the best I'd used before and it got parted out.

I'm quite interested in those new ones though, I just hope I don't find either the switches or the whole thing too expensive. I generally use older stuff, so that might be a lowish number to most here.

Matias · « **Reply #37 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 18:38:38 »

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore;614925

From what I've read here, laser has never worked for dark keys – the white spooge stains brown quickly, and has been known to crack and fall out of the grooves. Some people also complain about being able to feel the lettering; the same complaint is heard about pad printing, but if anything I actually like it.

Like I said, the key to laser is to have good quality plastic, have the laser set correctly, and not ink-fill it. The ink-fill will always wear off.

Quote

The TP3 and the AT102W are the same – all you see is scorched plastic. Plastic never looks good after you've melted it. The result is very low contrast, rough lettering. Dye sub is so much better than laser, as the edges of the lettering are sharper, you can cover solid area (e.g. the Apple logo) properly, and it's jet black.

Apple uses laser etching on all their keyboards and they look great.

Apple not withstanding, white caps are usually lasered wrong. The laser trace pattern for white keycaps is different from black. Most vendors only do black keycaps, so if you give them white keys, they laser 'em like black keys and end up looking rough and unsharp.

Anyway, I don't disagree that dye sub looks good, but there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Quote

Which reminds me, do Matias ALPS switches have any mitigation for keypulling?

If you know how to use a puller, they come right off. :-)

Matias · « **Reply #38 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 18:43:05 »

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore;614932

You can get those for ALPS switches? (It's going to be interesting to see what affect the Matias ALPS switch has on the availability of ALPS caps, which are as good as nonexistent at the moment.)

Blank keys in white and black are easy to source. If you want other colours, let me know and I'll see what can be made available.

Matias · « **Reply #39 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 18:52:32 »

Quote from: terrpn;614938

...I love alps, but just hate the restrictions for key choice:(

By "restrictions for key choice" do you mean colours?

Quote

So we can assume a new board with "alps" switches might present the possibly of a greater selection of colors for keys in regards to alps, not to mention the switches- "very cool." Did you tell us earlier (?) what color the new board, keys will be and I'm guessing the end of summer or so for production?

Production is happening in July. The new boards will be white for the loud switches on Mac, silver with black keys for the quiet switches on Mac, and all black for the PC version with quiet switches.

Matias · « **Reply #40 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 19:05:01 »

Quote from: False_Dmitry_II;614943

Yeah, I'm not sure what is going on for that. One of the things I've noticed is that, so far for me anyway, the ones that look like they are truly cream colored are the ones that don't feel good. The ones that look stark white (they make the complicated whites look gray) do. I've only managed to get two that were stark white and unfortunately the first one was the best I'd used before and it got parted out.

The ones I dissected had click leafs with different angles. The lower-angled ones were less tactile. How they got that way, I'm not sure.

Quote

I'm quite interested in those new ones though, I just hope I don't find either the switches or the whole thing too expensive. I generally use older stuff, so that might be a lowish number to most here.

Resellers and Amazon will likely sell them below MSRP. As for the switches, they'll likely sell for $100 for a package of 800 switches.

mkawa · « **Reply #41 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 19:22:48 »

Quote from: Matias;614842

Yes, the SGI Granite keyboards used the same switches. They're a solid solution to the noise problem. :-)

interesting! i've used one of those, but it was quite a long time ago. in fact, i think there's still one hanging out around the lab...

TexasFlood · « **Reply #42 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 19:56:03 »

Saw the eye from Matias' avatar but wasn't really focusing on it. Just came to me it's the Bladerunner opening scene eye belonging to special effects guy Richard Rippel. Nice avatar.

Findecanor · « **Reply #43 on:** Sat, 16 June 2012, 20:29:05 »

A new keyboard switch sounds very interesting, especially the parts about it being soft, silent and very tactile. I often use Cherry MX switches with dental bands for dampening, but they don't dampen on the upstroke.

What name will Matias' new keyboard switch have?

Will the switch's casing be compatible with Alps? Same size spring?

didjamatic · « **Reply #44 on:** Sun, 17 June 2012, 00:03:53 »

Quote from: Raging Salmon;614380

[video=youtube;VQOA0PtIXYY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQOA0PtIXYY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL952328BC009E9E4D[/video]

How much more quiet than this?

That video sounds nothing like dampened ALPS. I did a full switch swap on a SIIG Minitouch to go to Dampened ALPS from an AEKII link here, sorry my pics got broken when I took my site down. It's a very quiet keyboard and I love those switches.

TexasFlood · « **Reply #45 on:** Sun, 17 June 2012, 00:30:41 »

Quote from: didjamatic;615273

That video sounds nothing like dampened ALPS. I did a full switch swap on a SIIG Minitouch to go to Dampened ALPS from an AEKII link here, sorry my pics got broken when I took my site down. It's a very quiet keyboard and I love those switches.

What about this one, different keyboard from same review site (mrinterface.com).
Should be same switches and sounds a bit more like what I remember.

False_Dmitry_II · « **Reply #46 on:** Sun, 17 June 2012, 01:01:19 »

That sounds closer. But still pretty far off. Just for fun I typed the same sentence he did on an AEKII that I put regular white click leaves as well as the regular sliders. It sounded the same. Maybe he just types like superman?

TexasFlood · « **Reply #47 on:** Sun, 17 June 2012, 01:25:32 »

Quote from: False_Dmitry_II;615312

That sounds closer. But still pretty far off. Just for fun I typed the same sentence he did on an AEKII that I put regular white click leaves as well as the regular sliders. It sounded the same. Maybe he just types like superman?

Could be the typing style, condition of keyboard, mic setup, etc.

There are other AEKII videos that are quieter, like:

Resaebiunne · « **Reply #48 on:** Sun, 17 June 2012, 03:03:47 »

So, I broke down and bought a Rosewill keyboard from newegg with the MX browns. We'll see how it goes, here's hoping. If not, I think I'll just look into scissor switches.

didjamatic · « **Reply #49 on:** Sun, 17 June 2012, 09:12:06 »

I'm sure you'll like Browns. The downside to an AEKII is you need an ADB to usb adapter for most systems, which tacks on $20-50 for a good one like the Griffin imate

The AEK original and II had keys made out of a material (and in consistency) that is very unique and contributes to feel and sound. It's hard to explain but it's like the plastic was more foamy when made so it had a texture feel to it and sound that is very different and even sound absorbing compared to most key caps. The AEK had orange ALPS, I have one here and it's a dream to type on. The AEK II had primarily dampened ALPS and is also nice. I've done multiple switch swaps with dampened for their quietness. One more weird thing, the nubs aren't on F, J, they are on D and K because Steve Jobs liked to be different.

News:

Author Topic: Another quiet mechanical keyboard thread (Read 42676 times)