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The HMX Blue Topaz switch is a real "gem". It inherits the quality and affordability of its predecessors and offers something even more. HMX has been constantly working with new designer studios and rolling out new switches every month. However, what they do is not simply push out re-color switches and try to trick people into buying repetitive products; HMX focuses on product development and material innovation, and every new switch from them has something different to offer. If you are familiar with HMX, you would know that they have been releasing tons of blend materials to change how switches sound and feel. I wouldn't say all of them are successful attempts, but some of them worked and created a few very unique switches. For example, the T2 blend material used on Canglan V2 created the first-ever thocky and deep HMX linear switch. The Blue Topaz switch we have today could also be a switch that starts a new trend; Let's dig deeper into the details now.
Price
Price: 0.35 USD per switch
Switch Specifications
Switch type: Linear
Designer: Mage Studio (Designer of BSUN Akashi switches)
Manufacturer: HMX
Stem material: LY
Top Housings: PC
Bottom Housing: P4
Operating Force: 40±5g
Bottom-out Force: 48±5g
Pre-travel: 2.0mm
Total Travel: 4.0±0.3mm (3.8mm in real life)
Spring: 22mm Single-Stage KOS stainless steel extended spring
Factory Lubed: Yes! 3204 on leaf spring, stem feet, and bottom housing rails. Dry film lube on springs
HMX Blue Topaz Linear Switch
The Blue Topaz switch's design inspiration comes from the Blue Topaz gem (obviously). The color theme is an attempt to capture the natural beauty of the gem, and I personally think the transparent blue top housing contributes to that a lot. It is a beautiful switch overall. However, we are not here to purely discuss the aesthetics of the switch, aren't we?
Materials:
The most important aspect that we need to stress is the P4 bottom housing. P4 is a new nylon blend material designed by HMX. Unlike the other nylon blends which are simply nylon with fiberglass, the P4 material is a blend of nylon, PTFE, and sound-dampening substance. The purpose of creating such a blend material is to make the bottom-out sound dampened, marbly, and not as sharp and shrill. It would also benefits the bottom-out feel and make it softer and more rounded. The difference is going to be very noticeable if you compare the blue topaz to loud and clacky HMX switches such as Hyacinth V2/V2U.
The PC top housing has nothing special about its material. They used regular PC according to my knowledge. What's different is the molding HMX uses for PC top housings. They adjusted to stem-top housing touch point to make the top-out sound more concentrated and not as loud as you would hear on some other PC switches.
The stem is made of LY who is an old friend. When paired with the P4 bottom housing and improved PC top housing, the switch itself is very unique; Don't get me wrong, the blue topaz switch is still a clacky switch, but the clackiness is more pleasant for some people. Both the bottom-out and top-out are not as sharp and loud as some other HMX options. The bottom-out feel is also softer and more friendly to heavy typers. I am not saying this is a 100% advantage, but it definitely adds more features and options to the current HMX product line.
Overall, the Blue Topaz switch is more refined in both sound and feel.
Design: Design-wise, the blue topaz switch's top housing mold is newly created by HMX. The reason behind it is to utilize PC material to optimize aesthetics while maintaining a great sound profile overall. What HMX did was modify the touch point on the top housing and make the top-out sound more subtle and more concentrated.
There is one more thing regarding the design that is new on the Blue Topaz switches which is that they added glitters to the top housing! It doesn't affect the switch's sound and feel, but it does look very cute.
Factory Lube
One thing to note about the factory lube on the Blue Topaz switch is that they made modifications to it for the international batch. The factory lube now is thinner and more precise. The reason was that the lube was too thick for the first batch, and some of the switches had frozen and sticky lube after transportation. It is winter time my friends. For those who live in Northern countries and have concerns this might happen again, we offer stock versions as well.
Form of Sales
Time of Sales
January 2nd, 2024 Happy New Year everyone!
