Today I received a sampler kit with switches, keycaps and O-rings from WASD
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/wasd-sampler-kit.htmlI've read and watched all reviews about Cherry MX switches before, but it is still a totally different story to touch it myself.
Usually I do a lot of programming during the day and then play a bit at night, mostly Tanki Online lately. And my wife complains that my MS Natural Pro is too clicky during gaming, which actually it really is. So I tested different cherries with this setup in mind.
First of all - Blues are really clicky and can be recommended only if either you live alone or have a separate sound-proof room and do really love that clicky sound.
Then overall there are 4 sounds when you press and release the button (in the order of appearance): "grrr" in the middle, click at the bottom, click at the top, resonance in the key cap.
Click at the bottom is killed almost completely by the O-ring. Personally I will choose blue ones, as softest and thickest.
"grrr" in the middle is only for Browns, as they have that bump. Blacks and Reds are linear and don't have any sound in the middle.
"grrr" is actually quite weak and probably not really noticeable compared to the click at the top or key cap resonance. So Browns are relatively good balance between feel and sound.
Blacks are heavier to press, but at the same time the pressure of the spring inside is bigger, so it's all the time under tension and the top click is smaller and shorter and lower pitch than in Reds, which are somehow wobblier. I.e. Blacks are quietest of all, but I'm not yet sure how my fingers react to the additional force. My current MS Pro is not very light either, probably a tad lighter than Blacks, so the Black might be actually ok.
And then we have key cap resonance - the black switch without key cap is almost inaudible, but with the key cap the top click is well audible. I don't know if PBT would be better compared to ABS in this aspect, might be.
For the top click I'm going to try a couple of very small drops of rubber glue inside at the sides of the switch case where the stem knocks the case and if it helps in any way and doesn't prevent the stem from moving.
The key cap (actually only half of it) can be either filled with the same rubber glue or with 4 square pieces of dense acoustic foam - to make it overall heavier and/or don't reflect sound that easily.
I also think that while I'll order Browns as a primary switch for letters-numbers, I will try to order couple of dozens of reds and blacks and eventually replace the arrows and Alt-Ctrl-Space and other control keys, where one usually bottom-outs anyway and where the bump-feel of the browns is not really important. This way it will be quiet in games where arrows and ctrl-space make the most of the noise. But at the same time it will be comfortable to type on browns during the day.
Luckily one can replace stems or springs without disassembling the whole keyboard. The cases of all Cherry MX switches seem to be exactly the same.