Author Topic: quick request? kailh switches sound level  (Read 2350 times)

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Offline simplycanada

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quick request? kailh switches sound level
« on: Wed, 07 December 2022, 09:01:45 »
I know its a relative thing but I was wondering if anyone had a general chart for which kailh switches were toward the quieter side?

I'm seriously wanting to get a keychron barebone soon but I'm not too sure about whether to consider looking at any kailh switches or not (compared to gateron which has a chart that tells me I should give their blue and green switches a quick pass just for example)

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: quick request? kailh switches sound level
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 07 December 2022, 13:32:24 »
Kailh makes some 'silenced' switches, so those should be quietest. Like Kailh Fried Egg and especially Kailh Deep Sea.

With Fried Egg, I noticed that the springs are a little noisy. But Deep Sea is probably overall a better-made switch.

They also make "BOX Silent Brown" and silent pink, but Deep Sea is probably a more modern design.

Offline simplycanada

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Re: quick request? kailh switches sound level
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 08 December 2022, 14:45:04 »
thanks hungermechanic

will keep that in mind if I decide I could maybe want to try the kailh switches, otherwise I'll more likely look at ending up with the other choices

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: quick request? kailh switches sound level
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 09 December 2022, 08:49:17 »
What is it you are trying to do, exactly?

I recently gave advice to someone looking for what tactiles to use.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=119028.0


I was able to direct him to some affordable samples of various switches, including Kailh. In fact, I linked to a Kailh switch tester on AliExpress. There are many similar such things there. With the 12.12 sale coming up, it is likely a good time to pick up samples / testers of Kailh and a few other switches.

So I highly recommend checking out that thread.

If you are looking for tactiles that aren't loud, there is BOX Mute Jade, a toned-down clicky:

https://www.theremingoat.com/blog/kailh-box-mute-jade-switch-review

There is TTC Bluish White, which is quiet on the upstroke. And a version that's also dampened on the downstroke, as well.

There is a very quiet silent linear, OUTEMU Bubblegum, which you can buy samples of on AliExpress, particularly during the sale.


Silent tactiles are many: Zilent V2, T1 Shrimp, Aliaz, OUTEMU Silent Lemon/Lime, BOX Silent Brown and Kailh Deep Sea, U4 Boba.

It depends on what you are looking for, really. The OUTEMU Silent Lemon/Lime are cheap for how good they are.


If I wanted a quieter keyboard, I would perform some mods on the Keychron [perhaps the 'force break' mod, some dampening, etc...] and put silent switches in there.

Offline simplycanada

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Re: quick request? kailh switches sound level
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 09 December 2022, 08:54:38 »
lucky time for me to decide to refresh the forum..
hungermechanic I'm just trying to decide quiet/silent keyswitches for basically my first own keyboard (instead of buying something retail in-store) and had to wonder about kailh not quoting any sound-related specification themselves nor that I could find something elsewhere either

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: quick request? kailh switches sound level
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 09 December 2022, 09:20:10 »
I was in your position before, and can help you with that.

Basically, most MX switches are 'non-silent.' They are all pretty loud, if you ask me. Just plastic slamming down on plastic, usually with a metal plate amplifying the noise. Stock factory springs are loud too, they usually aren't lubed enough.

So, typing on my MX Brown keyboard, it is a symphony of noise. Of course, cheap rubber domes are somewhat noisy too. You have to fully depress them to actuate them, so there's a bit of slam there with every keystroke.

What I'm trying to say is, MX keyboards and cheap rubber domes in general all reach a certain office-racket noise level.

Kailh regular switches are at least as noisy as Cherry. I have built boards with Kailh Pro Purple and Kailh BOX Brown, and they are not quiet. So basically, any non-silenced MX switch [esp. tactiles] are going to reach a certain level of sound.

But Kailh does produced silenced switches. There are two types, those emphasizing quiet, and those emphasizing crispness.

The ones that are primarily designed for quiet are the BOX Silents, like Silent Pink and Silent Brown. You can get samples of BOX Silent Brown and the like from AliExpress, particularly during 12.12. I worry about BOX Silent Brown, though, because it might turn clicky as BOX tactiles often do.

Then, there are the Kailh switches designed for crispness. They use a newer form of dampening that isn't as quiet, but doesn't lead to as much of a "mushy" feeling. The one that stands out there is the Kailh Deep Sea. You may wish to read the entirety of this thread:

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/kailh-deep-sea-anyone-have-an-opinion/16324/65

Basically, Deep Sea is about as loud as a quieter office rubber-dome, but is relatively crisp instead of mushy. That might be my first choice for an office keyboard using Kailh switches. There's also "Kailh Midnight," another similar tactile, cheap too, although I hear they might break the stems of thin or ABS keycaps. So use PBT with those.

So something like these latter two, esp. Deep Sea, could meet your requirements. Deep Sea is pretty plug-and-play, it's fine enough without user intervention. There's also a new switch coming up:



but little is known about it.

So, TL;DR, I don't think a chart of Kailh switch noise levels would be helpful. Because most non-silenced Kailh switches are at least as loud as Cherry. But they have silent switches [BOX Silent Pink and Silent Brown] and crisp dampened switches [Deep Sea].

The silent switches in general will be noticeably quieter than everything else. I have 5 types of regular Kailh non-silents and they are by no means quiet.

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: quick request? kailh switches sound level
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 11 December 2022, 09:58:15 »
Just a little update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/zi52in/my_new_work_keyboard_kailh_midnight_pro_silent/

This guy has built a keyboard using Kailh Midnight Pro silent tactiles.


It seems to be working out well. Looks like some SA clone keycaps. They don't seem to have been damaged by the Kailh stems, so maybe it's not a problem [with these types of keycaps, or with the new Midnight Pro switches].