Are MX Blues really that loud?

[gr3yh4m3]

Hey guys,
I'm looking at buying my first mech keyboard, and I've just been going over the different kinds of switches. To be honest, I'm fading out of gaming for the most part so typing would be my main use of a keyboard - which has obviously lead me to consider the cherry mx blues. But everyone is saying that they are indeed quite loud, but just how loud are they? I mean, people said the steelseries sensei raw had a deafening click but I don't find it that offensive..
Also is there a suitable alternative to a gaming keyboard for cherry mx switches with a backlight? If not I don't mind a gaming keyboard at all, those things look way cool.
thanks!

[exitfire401]

The short answer: yes. The long answer: They have woken my Fiance up in the middle of the night. I absolutely love my blues, but have had to switch them out for clears on my orbweaver. They're an amazing switch, but loud (thank god they're nowhere near buckling spring levels though)

[gr3yh4m3]

Wow okay, thanks just to humor the nerd in me, would you happen to know how many decibels they clock? and what are clears? I've heard browns are pretty good for typing too, would you (or anyone) happen to know if that's true?

[rowdy]

Most mechanical keyboards make a louder noise when you bottom out (press the keys too hard all the way down).

It is said that the click that MX blues and greens have is quieter, but a higher pitch, thus a more penetrating and annoying sound.

Personally I quite like the sound, but I have been gently reprimanded by my other half in the wee hours of the morning.

I find something linear with stiffer springs is quieter - I don't tend to bottom out quite as much, and linear has no inherent click.

Talking about MX blacks btw

[exitfire401]

Wow okay, thanks just to humor the nerd in me, would you happen to know how many decibels they clock? and what are clears? I've heard browns are pretty good for typing too, would you (or anyone) happen to know if that's true?

I have no idea what decibel level they hit unfortunately =(. Clears are basically heavier browns. If you like blacks, they're a nice tactile alternative. I personally don't like browns because they feel scratchy to me (I've tried them on multiple boards and modded multiple ways with no difference) but I seem to be in the minority on this.

[jacobolus]

MX blue and green are noticeably louder than any other MX switches. However, they’re not as loud as buckling springs, clicky Alps, amber/cyan omrons, or in general most other clicky switches.

Personally, I find their click to be unsatisfying: it’s too wimpy sounding.

If you want quiet, I’d recommend going for dampened tactile Alps/Matias switches, Topre, or adding o-rings to linear or tactile MX switches.

Are you sure you want a backlight? (Personally I find backlighting to be a tacky gimmick, and it tends to come along with cheap and ugly keycaps and sometimes questionable overall keyboard build quality.)

[nicechen]

我觉得还好

[gr3yh4m3]

Thanks rowdy, I've only heard that blacks are hard to press though? Maybe that's just to do with bottoming out, but then overall that would have to do with one's individual style of typing, wouldn't it?
jacobolus, can you tell me what "dampened tactile Alps/Matias switches, Topre, or adding o-rings to linear or tactile MX switches" are? Or hit me up with some links?
Also the reason I go for backlight is that it's something i've always worked with and am used to.. I suppose I could give it a go without, as I'd also really like to get into customizing the caps (and i assume this works if not only, but better with a non-backlit board?)
nicechen - 这是真棒

[jacobolus]

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Matias_switch
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCM_Cream_Damped
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Topre_switch
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=40227.0

[regack]

Using a RadioShack sound level meter set on 'C' Weighting, Slow Response, ~3ft away - I get 61dB

Edit - Using a Ducky Shine 3.   Also of note, I'm still kind of adjusting to the blues... I'm more comfortable typing on the Model M.

[Decaffeinator]

I was kinda curious myself. I used my phone to measure how many dB it was. I put my phone about a meter away, and if I typed normally on it I would get about 55-58 dB or so. If I bottomed out, I could get it up to about 60-64. If I mashed on it as hard as possible, it peaked at about 66.
Very crude measurements, but it gives a little insight into how loud it is. Given the same measuerment technique, my MX browns on my ducky zero measured about 52 dB, to give you an idea of relative volume.

[SpAmRaY]

Wow okay, thanks just to humor the nerd in me, would you happen to know how many decibels they clock? and what are clears? I've heard browns are pretty good for typing too, would you (or anyone) happen to know if that's true?

I would say it all depends on your typing style, key caps, plate vs pcb mount etc.

Personally the quietest board I had was my modded HHKB, but as far as mx goes all the ones I have make some amount of noise, but I find GMK caps on plate mounted clears to be tolerated well. Blues I couldn't stand and neither could by boss who is in the next office over.

[mougrim]

MX Blue ARe loud, but... it depends. Compare it to Greens or BS.

[ynrozturk]

Wow okay, thanks just to humor the nerd in me, would you happen to know how many decibels they clock? and what are clears? I've heard browns are pretty good for typing too, would you (or anyone) happen to know if that's true?

I use Blues at work and Browns at home, and I prefer the Browns. The Blues can just get to be a bit too much after a while. Plus I like the way Browns feel a lot more.

[Razor Lotus]

yes they can be quite clicky

combined with the sound they make when you bottom out, i think it can be quite loud

browns and clears are much quieter for a tactile switch

ive not heard buckling springs though

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Blues aren't that loud IMO. Slightly louder than the rest of the MX switches, but still not as loud as Greens/BS.

[HPE1000]

Yes blues are loud, if you bottom really hard just about any switch will be loud. While blues can be fun to type on, I just don't like listening to them all day.

Edit: Why does everyone say greens are louder than blues? I don't find that to be true at all.

[hwood34]

Edit: Why does everyone say greens are louder than blues? I don't find that to be true at all.

Greens don't seem louder, they just have a "heavier" click

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Yes blues are loud, if you bottom really hard just about any switch will be loud. While blues can be fun to type on, I just don't like listening to them all day.

Edit: Why does everyone say greens are louder than blues? I don't find that to be true at all.

I've noticed a very slight difference in the amount of sound from a Green vs. a Blue, with the Green being the slightly louder of the two. I can't attest to full MX Green boards though, as I'm going off of a single Green switch for this comparison...

But anyways, my point being that the sound difference is so minute, it's almost not worth mentioning.

[SpAmRaY]

Edit: Why does everyone say greens are louder than blues? I don't find that to be true at all.

Greens don't seem louder, they just have a "heavier" click

For the sound difference between blue and green I would call the green sound sharper, maybe higher pitched.

[geniekid]

A good thread by someone who did recordings - http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=56648.0

Apparently, Greens can be louder than buckling springs.

[HPE1000]

Maybe greens sound louder to some people because they have to press them harder and end up bottoming out with more force. I am not sure, I really cannot tell a difference.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I'd think you'd be less likely to bottom out on a heavier switch, but I guess that depends on your typing style...

Typing style: something else to consider here...

[HPE1000]

I'd think you'd be less likely to bottom out on a heavier switch, but I guess that depends on your typing style...

Typing style: something else to consider here...

I would say that on a linear switch but on blues and greens you have to get over the actuation point which adds to the weight.
(not sure if I can properly describe that)

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I'd think you'd be less likely to bottom out on a heavier switch, but I guess that depends on your typing style...

Typing style: something else to consider here...

I would say that on a linear switch but on blues and greens you have to get over the actuation point which adds to the weight.
(not sure if I can properly describe that)

I know exactly what you mean.

That whole friction at the activation point thing that makes the switch feel heavier than it actually is... particularly noticeable on the clicky switches, even on the tactiles too (Clears moreso than Browns).

[geniekid]

I'd think you'd be less likely to bottom out on a heavier switch, but I guess that depends on your typing style...

Typing style: something else to consider here...

I would say that on a linear switch but on blues and greens you have to get over the actuation point which adds to the weight.
(not sure if I can properly describe that)

I agree.  I find that reds are really soft to type on because you apply a very small but constant force from start to finish.  Key cap profile also has an effect here - my personal experience is that the DSA profile reduces bottoming out significantly.

[mashby]

I've found the volume has a lot to do with the key caps as well. For example, thick PBT key caps don't sound as loud to me as thin ABS. Then again, I bottom out when I type, so as others have said, your typing style plays a big factor.

If you're concerned with volume, then getting a clicky switch is not the way to go. I'm on the phone a good bit, so typing on MX-Blues was out of the question, so my office board uses MX-Black.

I don't know how much this will help, but I did a sound sample video that includes MX-Blues if you'd like to hear the difference.

[ideus]

I've found the volume has a lot to do with the key caps as well. For example, thick PBT key caps don't sound as loud to me as thin ABS. Then again, I bottom out when I type, so as others have said, your typing style plays a big factor.

If you're concerned with volume, then getting a clicky switch is not the way to go. I'm on the phone a good bit, so typing on MX-Blues was out of the question, so my office board uses MX-Black.

I don't know how much this will help, but I did a sound sample video that includes MX-Blues if you'd like to hear the difference.

Is that your board in the video? It looks cool!

[mashby]

Is that your board in the video? It looks cool!

Yes. They are all boards I've collected, or built over the past year-or-so. 

[PolaBurrr]

A good real life comparison for the loudness of blues is that blues are just a bit quieter than clicking a pilot g2 pen.

[C5Allroad]

I saw some graph comparing the clicking to actual bottoming out.. Wasn't a big difference in decibel level, but what I would imagine be annoying to some would be the CLICK CLICK

[demik]

do you have toddler's hearing? no? then they aren't that loud

[johndavis33]

I never understood people saying that blues are loud. Bottoming out is louder. I mean maybe if you're typing in a sound isolated room with nothing else happening, it may be kind of loud. I barely hear it if I have my tv or or anything coming out of my tv's speakers or if I'm thinking about something particularly interesting.

[gr3yh4m3]

I've found the volume has a lot to do with the key caps as well. For example, thick PBT key caps don't sound as loud to me as thin ABS. Then again, I bottom out when I type, so as others have said, your typing style plays a big factor.

If you're concerned with volume, then getting a clicky switch is not the way to go. I'm on the phone a good bit, so typing on MX-Blues was out of the question, so my office board uses MX-Black.

I don't know how much this will help, but I did a sound sample video that includes MX-Blues if you'd like to hear the difference.

Thanks mashby, this video is great! It helped alot
As far as the decibel thing goes, you guys are awesome, I also downloaded a decibel meter app just to check my mice (sensei raw, naos 3200 and delux m618) and with constant clicks surprisingly the delux was the softest of the three at about 48 db, the naos was second at 54 db, and finally the sensei raw at 58. Pitch-wise I'd say that the delux is the highest pitched, then the sensei then the naos, which is why it surprised me.

Sound-wise i personally like the blacks, which are harder to type on? Although it depends on your typing style?
And different keycaps contribute too? Man. And so the rabbit hole goes...

EDIT - I should've read through the first page more carefully, sorry about that. you guys had already answered some of my questions.
Spamray, what are "...GMK caps on plate mounted clears"? And how expensive are they?

[Linkbane]

I usually see GMK in ABS, it refers to a certain style of printing. There should be a group buy or interest check on with them now, take a look. PBT would probably be more quiet, but it varies. Plate mounted Clears refers to the switch type (most boards are plate-mount unless they're Cherry or specified as PCB-mount), and PCB mounts are usually more quiet upon bottoming out, if more vulnerable to damage.

[jacobolus]

Anyone following this discussion should check out http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=56648.0 and the associated video Not a valid vimeo URL
The Matias quiet switches are really (relatively) quiet! :-)