Quiet keyboard suggestion?

[asfogh]

Hi

I had been using a Das Keyboard previously and loved it, and one fateful day I spilled some tea on it (a lot of tea) and it went kaput. I ran out and bought the best feeling keyboard at the shop near by (A Razer Lycosa -- yes, I know, there were slim pickings.. there was a Microsoft one I really liked the feel of, but it was wireless) and stuck with it for a while, until I used a Das Keyboard once again at my friends house and ordered a new one right then.

All happy, right? Well, not so much. In the period between my Das dying and getting the new one, my wife started working from home in the small apartment we share (as I do as well), and the typical clicking I never thought to mind started to become a bit too irritating when it's going on for many hours in the day. So, I have it off to the side now and I'm back using the Razer which isn't like the worst thing I've ever typed on, but well... it's not so great.

Anyway, I need a good, quiet keyboard I can get ahold of in Canada. It needs to be USB because it's an external keyboard for a Macbook. I appreciate your help and suggestions! Thanks!

[bhtooefr]

Maybe one of the new quiet Topres?

[ch_123]

I'm pretty sure there's a version of the Das that uses brown Cherry switches which are far more quiet than the blue ones that the regular Das uses. Alternatively, you might want to consider either a Filco with brown switches or a Topre, both available from elitekeyboards.com

[itlnstln]

Second the Topre suggestion.  A Cherry Corp. brown MX 'board (i.e. G80-3000) would be a fairly quiet 'board as well.

[ch_123]

Maybe one of the new quiet Topres?

As if the regular ones aren't quiet enough...

Well, they are surprisingly loud for something that is championed as the quiet keyboard, but it's the sort of noise and level of noise that you'd have to be pretty psychotic to be annoyed by it.

[itlnstln]

Topres, in general, are low-pitched which most people find less annoying that high-pitched sounds (like the clicking of Cherry blues, IMO).

[bhtooefr]

And the quiet Topres, from what I've heard, are quieter than your average cheap rubber dome (with bad key rattle,) so...

[itlnstln]

The only thing about the quiet Topres is that they have a lower key travel than regular version.  That, and you have order them through a broker from Asia.

That is, unless Elitekeyboards starts carrying them soon.

[asfogh]

thanks guys

i actually would have used the search function (im good at the internet, obv) but i didn't see it, then i registered and posted this and only then noticed the search option comes up once you are registered.

anyway, long story short, i spent the last two hours answering my own questions but nonetheless appreciate the additional information .

i wish i'd found this forum a lot earlier in my life -- would have saved my fingers some sadness. i remember being 15 and meticulously cleaning my keytronic lifetime classic because the slightest imperfection from a crumb or dog hair or something would drive me bat**** as i played starcraft all day, and i was a kid so obviously I couldn't just order a new one. i will probably be looking for a keyboard with cherry browns, since it's a feeling i know i like and i won't be able to try before i buy. im intrigued by the cherry blacks and reds, especially the reds, but i guess i'll have to wait until one can buy them in canada. also the capacitive ones too, but that extra hundred bucks seems a little prohibitive.

[itlnstln]

To be honest, other than the noise, I don't find the Topre switches to be all that special.  They're OK, but I like the Cherry browns better.  I still break my HHKB out from time to time, but that's just because the layout is so awesome.  The switches are kinda "meh" for me.

[skcheng]

I think there are better switches out there, but not the Cherry Browns. They lack a sophisticated tactile feeling.

And for that you need an Alps switch??  

[ch_123]

To be honest, other than the noise, I don't find the Topre switches to be all that special.  They're OK, but I like the Cherry browns better.  I still break my HHKB out from time to time, but that's just because the layout is so awesome.  The switches are kinda "meh" for me.

I intend on getting an MX11800 soon enough, so I'll find out. The Topres are alright, they're good at what they're designed at. I'm just happy that I paid about half price for mine.

[Mental Hobbit]

If you liked your Keytronic as a kid, why not try another one? They're still making very nice rubber domes. They're silent. They're cheap. And they feel... uhm, more exciting than Cherry browns.

[itlnstln]

Ask 10 Geekhackers their opinions on a switch and get 10 different answers.

[bhtooefr]

I'll note that I've never used Topres, so... but they sound like what the OP wants, if the OP wants what's basically a really good rubber dome.

[keyb_gr]

Solution 2.

Get her a Model F AT.  She won't hear your Das above the racket.

Sounds pretty nice btw.

[odyssomay]

I don't agree, it should sound 'click', but not 'click ping'.

[kishy]

The ping is what makes IBM keyboards enjoyable, not the click.

Y'all got your priorities screwed up.

[ricercar]

Ask 10 Geekhackers their opinions on a switch and get 10 different answers.

11. Ours go to 11.

[asfogh]

Is there a certain brand/model of kb with cherry browns, reds, or blacks, which would be readily available in Macau? I have a friend going there in a few days for a week. It seems keyboards are an asian-oriented obsession