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Kailh Box Brown Silent- rather disappointed
jcoffin1981:
Overall I'm a huge fan of the Kailh switch lineup. They are reasonable in cost, many have shorter travel distance and great tactility. I've been looking for a new daily driver that would check off all of the boxes that I would desire in a board. I've purchased about 6 or 7 different switches and have been trying them out in my hotswap board before I commit with hot lead. Between de-soldering original switches, lubing new switches, and re-soldering; although I didn't time it , I'm sure it was 7-8 hours total time. The switches are mounted in a Leopold FC660M. I did not lube the tactile nub on the switch housing. The design is unique and when the stem makes contact with it, it actually slides away from it into the switch housing. The nub rests against the metal leaf and this is what creates the tension for it. It comes already lubed with a thick grease and I did not alter this.
I am kind of disappointed overall. I like the shorter travel distance, the higher actuation point, and the sound profile, and the weight. The upstroke as well as the down stroke is sileneced- and it's pretty darn quiet. It's akin to the quietest rubber dome board I have ever used. While it sounds a lot like a rubber dome board I used to own, it also feels like it (If I can find the model number I will post it). The switches are silenced at the expense of tactility and the switches are really quite mushy. They are really missing the sharp tactility that the original box browns have. I also find that I am having a lot of typing errors because I am not getting the same feedback. I am going to force myself to use it for a while. It may actually grow on me.
I had put about 10 switches in a hot swap board and used them for an evening and thought that I really liked them. This goes to show how you truly need to use a switch on a full board in real-world conditions before coming to a conclusion about it.
I've attached a video so you can at least hear it. I would love to hear reviews and feedback from others who have used the switch.
EDIT- Unfortunately my internet is acting up and I cant post the video/sound, but I'm working on it.
Leopard223:
The BOX silent brown sample I got was underwhelming IMO, very small bump, barely noticeable and it had a click as if it came completely unlubed, the BOX brown sample.
I liked the TTC silent brown better.
HungerMechanic:
I tried BOX Silent Brown, but it wasn't for me.
It has a short travel, which can be good, but I found that it also had a stiffer tactility at the top.
So you have to press harder than regular BOX Brown, but when you do, you come crashing towards the low-travel bottom.
I found this to be very unergonomic. Overall, to me, the switch felt like a cross between regular BOX Brown, and Zilent V2 62 G. It's clear that they were influenced by Zilent. But I think I might rather use Zilent than BOX Silent Brown, because it gives me a more positive feedback.
I am not sure if you have tried U4 Boba yet, but people tend to like that better. It is highly tactile, but a high-end switch. If I had access to U4 Boba, I probably would have a keyboard full of those [at ~55 G] instead of Zilent V2.
For options that are less tactile than U4/Zilent/BOX Silent Brown, people tend to overlook the Silent Forest stems, which are great in the right housing, such as MX Clear. If you like higher weights, you can run Silent Forest at 68 G inside the Boba housing, getting a stable and tactile switch with pre-travel and feedback.
I'll have to try TTC Silent Brown. It didn't have the best reviews, but I managed to make a good silent switch out of TTC Gold Brown V2.
jcoffin1981:
To date, Box Brown is my favorite and I was hoping this would be similar. You are right in that it is very stiff at the top of the keystroke. I have not heard of U4 Boba, but I will look into it.
I am now experimenting with the Durock Light Tactiles. I've only purchased 10 and I even have one in my keychain that I fumble with in my pocket. It is a 4mm travel tactile switch, but it is very smooth with little wobble. The tactile bump is a little longer, and the overall sound and feel of the switch is very pleasant
zslane:
I have found the BOX silent browns plenty tactile. I've been typing on them for several months now on my Drop CTRL. Of course, my main is usually a Topre board, so by comparison these BOX silent browns feel sharper in terms of tactility. So I imagine the experience will be quite different depending on what you are used to.
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