Thanks. I will look more closely into the other switch options. I wish there were pre-built keyboards with silent tactile switches.
You and me both!
Leopold should ideally come stock with something like 62 G U4 Boba switches, they are silent tactiles, and I know something like this would be do-able since I have a Leopold with Zilents in it. Bobas might not be robot-solderable, though, so no factory Bobas.
There are some factory hotswap keyboards that are great with silent tactiles, and should just come with those switches.
Thank you for your help. I ended up buying this with MX Silent Blacks:
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With taxes and shipping to Canada it was 138 USD or 179 CAD. I think I overpaid but hopefully it should be worth it.
Well, I can't fault you on the board. Ducky makes a pretty solid board, especially compared with the gaming keyboards you typically find in store.
The Horizon colourway is also excellent, a theft of GMK Nautilus. Ducky keycaps are considered among some of the best factory keycaps, nice double-shot PBT. They are especially good with linears IMHO.
I am a bit surprised you went straight for silent blacks, though, as they differ in weight from the switches you are used to.
There's a lot of wisdom in Maledicted's post, and he's entirely right. I can't tell if you will like MX Silent Black or not. It is indeed very heavy. I have read accounts from people who became great typists with MX Black after using Browns and Clears, if you get used to the spring weight it can be a consistent and satisfying switch. Although, like Maledicted, I don't really think it's the ideal switch for most people.
If I may be so bold, you may be repeating some of the mistakes I made early-on. I thought that, since I wasn't satisfied with my first factory mech, an MX Brown Filco Majestouch 2, that I should try a different keyboard.
So I bought a Ducky in MX Red. But I wasn't really satisfied with that either. I tried a Leopold in MX Brown, and it wasn't a significant improvement over the Majestouch.
You probably shouldn't purchase a board just to see what the switches are like. That might have made sense back in 2010. But today, if you are getting into this, you're going to get in somewhat deep. So it's sensible to just buy a switch-tester and/or a cheap hotswap keyboard (that you can sell later), and just consider them expenses for finding the best keyboard.
You use a cheap hotswap to find the right switch - you can put anything in there: MX Blue, MX Red, MX Silent Black, whatever. And much more exotic things. Then, you can get a custom kit or have a factory board [like your Ducky] retrofitted.
I hope that the Ducky board works out and is the best fit for you. It's a great board, usually, and the silent Blacks should be noticeably quieter than MX Brown.
If it doesn't work out, then it may be time to test other switches in hotswap. There's likely a switch out there for you, you just don't know it yet.
Maledicted brought up the Matias silent linears. When researching your question, I saw those pop up on Youtube. I have no experience with them, but they seem interesting. I would prefer those for your use-case over the Matias Quiet Click. The silent linears, by their nature, should be the quietest Matias option, and will still have a little tactility for ergonomic purposes. So it could be ideal. But I've never even seen one, never-mind used one.
If the Ducky board doesn't work out, just return/resell the board. If you imported it, I guess returns could be more difficult. There are services in Canada than can retrofit the board with other switches, but it won't be cheap. But I've done it:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=103412.0In my personal experience with linears, I prefer those that are midweight between MX Red and MX Black. In factory, you can find those in various options from Gateron Yellow to the various Zeal options. Tangerines and Alpacas are often offered in middleweight 67 G category. I personally prefer 63.5 - 65 G linears, which are just a little heavier than MX Browns. Changing springs on switches is easier than you think, if you have access to them.