Best silent switch

[yajdem]

Dear,

I'm planning to buy a new mechanical keyboard.
I would like to ask for your help in selecting the most suitable switch for me.

I'm currently using a cherry mx red switch with full satisfaction, but I want to change to quieter switches. What would you recommend?
On the market, cherry mx silent red is similar and quiet, but you can surely say an alternative. I would be glad, if the feel of pressing the buttons is similar to that of the red.

Thank you

[Auxo]

Zilent switches (Zeal switches)
Lubricated linear switches (Vintage MX Blacks)
Silent MX Blacks

Those are the 3 that come to mind, there are probably a bunch more out there if you do a quick google search

[Findecanor]

I would recommend a keyboard with MX Silent Red.
Gateron also makes Silent Red switches but keyboards with those are not as widely available.
Zeal switches and lubrication are for enthusiasts who build their own keyboards and/or modify their existing ones.

The sound profile of a keyboard depends mostly on the switches, but also on how it is built and on the keycaps.
If you use to flip up the back feet of your keyboard then they should have a piece of rubber — so that there is rubber between the keyboard's case and your desk, otherwise that transmits vibrations into the desk and cause noise.

I would look at Leopold, Ducky and Varmilo. They are brands known to make well-built keyboards.

Don't be fooled by marketing-speak that a keyboard has its mounting plate "made of metal". All mech keyboards have a similar part in them — but the most silent of them have it enclosed in plastic.
Some enthusiast keyboards are made from solid metal (as opposed to sheet metal) but those had cost a lot more to make, and you won't find keyboards of that grade in the store on the corner.

[shadowku]

I think it depends on how far you're willing to go for a silent keyboard.

The easiest, as Findecanor said, is to just buy an off-the-shelf keyboard with Silent reds/blacks. Don't need to do anything out of the box, but lubing them would improve it.

If you're willing to buy a more enthusiast board with hot-swap then you can also get Zilents and lube them but would be significantly more costly.

My preference for silent keyboards is actually silenced Topre. My silenced HHKB (Hypersphere) is the quietest keyboard I've ever used, but is now noisier because I've added other mods. A normal HHKB/RF with silence-X or deskey rings would also be very quiet. This would be a significant change from what you're currently using, though.

To make my keyboards quieter, I actually put a piece of foam inside the keyboard, like a neoprene piece or something similar. I also put a mat underneath to further dampen the noise.

[leninade]

Orion Spectrum G810 works well for me  at least when I'm bossing in path of exile and need super fast reaction times to protect myself from an otherwise lethal attack. I mean, great items bought with poe currency I buy helps too I guess, but top notch keyboard is also a must.

[rxc92]

To make my keyboards quieter, I actually put a piece of foam inside the keyboard, like a neoprene piece or something similar. I also put a mat underneath to further dampen the noise.

How's it affect the feel of the keyboard, by the way? My R2 came with some extra mats and I was wondering if I ought to try them out.

[donnghia]

topre HHKB Type-s

Matias Quiet Click - KBP V60

[shadowku]

How's it affect the feel of the keyboard, by the way? My R2 came with some extra mats and I was wondering if I ought to try them out.

I recommend trying it for sure if your keyboard came with it. RFs are also very easy to open up. The R1 doesn't even have screws that hold the case together.

It nulls out some of the vibration within the case to give it a more solid feel and sound. After I put the mat into my purple-slider'd lubed HHKB, I noticed a 1-2 decibel difference (I measured).
Not too significant, but it's something. I'm not sure how much of a difference you'll notice in a RF, but in an HHKB, where there's no metal plate, it makes a difference and I recommend it.

[Surefoot]

Gateron Ink Silent
Zeal Healios

Both are very similar in feel and noise. The Gat Inks have a better spring maybe, a bit more silent by default (with no lube).

[yuppie]

Healios are good, but the "best" silent linear is certainly the MX Zilent Black:

- Zeal Housing
- Zeal Spring
- Cherry Silent MX stem

[Krelbit]

Healios are good, but the "best" silent linear is certainly the MX Zilent Black:

- Zeal Housing
- Zeal Spring
- Cherry Silent MX stem

Oh Yeah.
Damn.
Damn Boi.
DAMN BOI
HE THICC BOI
THAT'S A THICC ASS BOI
DAMN
BA BAA!

[rxc92]

 
Yuck.. I can't get past that sound, it's just like thick plastic thunking on thick plastic.