Since you're worried about the noise, I'd highly recommend that you go on YouTube and listen to people typing (Reddit has a nice list of links at
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/keyboard_sound_samples). Even with that, I think it's hard to tell exactly what a particular keyboard will sound like for
you–chances are the way you type isn't quite the same way as someone else, and that could make all the difference. (And that's not even counting things like different sorts of keycaps with different materials and profiles that might affect the way you type.)
Ultimately, your relationship with a keyboard is really personal, and anything anyone else says may or may not be helpful. That said, I'll share my experiences, too.
I've been using the Matias Tactile Pro for about fifteen years. They are loud, but they feel great. But they're really too loud to use when you're on the phone, especially with a headset. So after reading lots of things, I thought that Cherry MX clears sounded like the ****, so I bought a CODE. It's nice, too. The feel is different than the Matias (amongst other things, the force you need is very different, but the key mechanism is different, too). It's quieter than the Matias. But it's not
that quiet. I added some O-rings, and it's quieter, but it's still not silent by any means. (I have thicker O-rings to swap, but they just got here yesterday.)
Meanwhile, I'm reading about the Topre Life, and I want to try them, but I've also gotten hooked on the whole idea of having nice keycaps. Luckily, there's the Novatouch. It's relatively cheap (in Topre terms). It's also very nice. It sounds and feels very different than the CODE and the Matias. It sounds kind of nice. It sounds even better with the Nantucket Selectric keycaps that I get off the waiting list! But it's not silent, either. Quieter than the CODE, but not silent. It's fine for work, I think (and I actually just bought Hypersphere rings for it because Geekhack is a pusher).
In between, I ordered a Red Scarf III from Massdrop. Because I heard that Zealios were the ****, I ordered those for it. But it isn't here yet, so I can't tell you what it will be like. I do have a bunch of keyswitches of various sorts, so I can, say, compare the feel of a Zealio 62g against a MOD-H (62g) against an MX clear (65g), but I don't think you can really tell what a whole board would feel like from a single key. (Having said that, the Zealio and the MOD-H feel similar to me, and I think you can probably tell if you
hate a particular switch from just one.)
So I guess I agree with everyone. Topres are nice, if you like that sort of thing. Zealios are nice, if you like those. And clears are nice, too.
Although I'm not a huge fan of returning things, in your place I might buy something like the CODE from Amazon, and if you hate it, or it's too loud, just return it. The Topres are a lot harder, because they're crazy expensive and the folks selling them aren't big fans of returns. Elite Keyboards is actually not that far away from where I live, but their showroom is only open on weekdays, which conflicts with this whole job thing I have going, which is why I ended up with the Novatouch. (Although spring break is coming up... hmm.)
If your coworkers are all happy with their flat scissor keyboards (like my partner), then I can imagine them complaining about almost anything. But if one of the quieter keyboards works for you and doesn't drive them crazy (don't they have headphones?!), then all will be good with your world (or at least the keyboard parts).
Good luck! (And tell us what you buy!)
