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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: okan on Tue, 21 March 2017, 08:33:09

Title: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: okan on Tue, 21 March 2017, 08:33:09
Hey there,

Last week i bought a steelseries 6gv2 mx blacks just to get the feeling of linear switches..after using filco blues and browns for 7 years..i feel in love with linear switches..Steeseries wasn't a great experience though.
Right now i was ready to order a Filco mx reds but just found out that there is a new kid in the block. I don't have any chance to try them so i have to buy it blind. Is there any difference between Reds and Red silents expect noise damping? I mean is the linear feeling of the switches same? Can you help me out if you did use both of them?

Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: Marvellion on Tue, 21 March 2017, 08:43:27
Silent reds have a "mushy" bottom out because of the silencing. It feels like o rings but better.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: Hyde on Tue, 21 March 2017, 15:39:46
Silent reds have a "mushy" bottom out because of the silencing. It feels like o rings but better.


Exactly this but if this is the first time you're trying it I'd vote against it.

To me it ruins the clean crisp feeling of MX Red.  Also shorten travel distance a little bit.

Stick to MX Red.  :thumb:
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: okan on Tue, 21 March 2017, 16:34:08
Silent reds have a "mushy" bottom out because of the silencing. It feels like o rings but better.


Exactly this but if this is the first time you're trying it I'd vote against it.

To me it ruins the clean crisp feeling of MX Red.  Also shorten travel distance a little bit.

Stick to MX Red.  :thumb:

Just what i was asking, thank you very much :)
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: OfTheWild on Wed, 22 March 2017, 02:20:46
It depends on what you prefer really. Reds are good switches and have bounced around in popularity over the last few years. People here like to complain about the scratchy feeling or the light spring weight. I personally feel that once they're on a board and being used it doesn't seem so prevalent. I do prefer a slightly stiffer spring weight though. I typed on reds in my Corsair K95 and K95 RGB for many years and loved them.

Silent reds (pinks?) are as far as I know not sold separately yet. So you would have to desolder a Corsair with them (like I did) or wait for the new boards from other manufacturers that are being released with the silents this year. I really like the new silent reds. They are smooth, a half a mm shorter travel, and have an impression of being more solid than the reds simply because they don't have any extra 'tick' when bottomed out. I bumped up the spring rate to 62g springs and lubed them and they are potentially one of my top 3 switches right now.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: cutterline on Wed, 22 March 2017, 03:15:55
Silent reds (pinks?) are as far as I know not sold separately yet. So you would have to desolder a Corsair with them (like I did) or wait for the new boards from other manufacturers that are being released with the silents this year.
You either misunderstood his question or didn't know that Filco, for a while now, also sells silent red board under the name mx pink.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: merlin64 on Wed, 22 March 2017, 09:15:42
The Silent Cherry MX was too mushy for me stock. I ended up swapping the springs for 62g korean springs and they feel so much nicer.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: zslane on Wed, 22 March 2017, 13:00:48
I was a heavy MX red user until very recently. Now I primarily use Topre switches with MX keycaps (RealForce RGB boards). However, I did get a Vortex Pok3r with MX silent reds and two Filco Majestouch-2s with MX silent reds. I like them better than regular MX reds simply because I can no longer abide bottom-out or upstroke noise in a switch. Yes, the silent reds do feel a bit different, but I think part of that is purely psychological due to the lack of that plasticy clacking noises that MX reds normally produce.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: Niomosy on Wed, 22 March 2017, 14:11:26
Silent reds have a "mushy" bottom out because of the silencing. It feels like o rings but better.


This has my interest.  I might need to look into a board with these at some point.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: northpark on Mon, 03 April 2017, 08:11:55
Still on the fence about these...  no place to demo locally sadly. 
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: merlin64 on Mon, 03 April 2017, 09:11:15
Where are you located Northpark?
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: zpcomstock17 on Mon, 03 April 2017, 21:08:35
Hey there,

Last week i bought a steelseries 6gv2 mx blacks just to get the feeling of linear switches..after using filco blues and browns for 7 years..i feel in love with linear switches..Steeseries wasn't a great experience though.
Right now i was ready to order a Filco mx reds but just found out that there is a new kid in the block. I don't have any chance to try them so i have to buy it blind. Is there any difference between Reds and Red silents expect noise damping? I mean is the linear feeling of the switches same? Can you help me out if you did use both of them?

Stick to the normal reds, silenced reds don't have the satisfying bottom out because it's stopped by the added rubber dampeners.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: zslane on Tue, 04 April 2017, 11:52:56
Another way to look at is that MX silent reds don't have that annoying bottom out and upstroke clack due to their rubber dampeners. They still bottom out just like regular reds do, it's just that you aren't making a noisy racket every time you do.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: HPE1000 on Tue, 04 April 2017, 12:47:26
FWIW I think silent reds feel sort of like a linear topre switch in regards to the bottom out. That shouldn't really be surprising but that is how I feel about them. I have them only on a numpad but I think I am going to build a whole keyboard with them when mk.com restocks the rgb ones.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: Hyde on Tue, 04 April 2017, 16:40:03
FWIW I think silent reds feel sort of like a linear topre switch in regards to the bottom out. That shouldn't really be surprising but that is how I feel about them. I have them only on a numpad but I think I am going to build a whole keyboard with them when mk.com restocks the rgb ones.


To me Topre has crispier/cleaner bottom out than Silent Red.  So it kind of depends on what you prefer.

For something quiet and still feel good I'd go Topre.  For gaming or that clean mechanical feel I'd go MX Red.

But from what I've been seeing is that Silent Red is kind of love and hate like MX Blue, so there is still chances that you might like it.  :P
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: zslane on Tue, 04 April 2017, 17:23:01
I haven't played a video game in ages, so I don't even know what switch I'd want for that application domain. I use a keyboard for typing, and so that's why Topre and MX silent red are my switches of choice right now.

However, if I were playing video games a lot and Topre switches weren't getting the job done, I'd just put together a gaming keyboard with some other switch and leave the Topre board for typing. I see no value in tying oneself down to just one keyboard if you have to compromise one of your keyboard contexts just to make the other one ideal.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Tue, 04 April 2017, 18:49:34
Silent reds (pinks?) are as far as I know not sold separately yet.

They were on sale on AliExpress last year, but sadly not any more.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Tue, 04 April 2017, 19:04:03
Seems to be some for sale here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4-pcs-lot-RGB-Cherry-MX-switches-3-pin-Black-Red-Brown-Blue-Shaft-for-Mechanical/32449414789.html
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: SpAmRaY on Tue, 04 April 2017, 19:38:20
Seems to be some for sale here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4-pcs-lot-RGB-Cherry-MX-switches-3-pin-Black-Red-Brown-Blue-Shaft-for-Mechanical/32449414789.html
$3/switch? Hahahaha...... :eek:
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Wed, 05 April 2017, 02:27:51
Indeed — these prices are tolerable when collecting small numbers, but you'd not want to be fitting out whole keyboards with them!

Still cheap compared to the prices of used switches on AliExpress, which can run to over $30 each!
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: atomicus on Wed, 05 April 2017, 06:13:09
Mechanical Keyboards have Silents (albeit not in stock currently) at $1/each!! Thought they were reputable retailer.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2230
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: SpAmRaY on Wed, 05 April 2017, 10:02:29
Mechanical Keyboards have Silents (albeit not in stock currently) at $1/each!! Thought they were reputable retailer.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2230

Add more to cart, the cost goes down with larger quantities, all their switches are priced that way.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: atomicus on Wed, 05 April 2017, 21:11:25
Gateron Yellow are pretty quiet I've heard. Not sure how they compare with Silent Reds exactly, but they're very close in actuation, just a tad heavier.
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: atarione on Sat, 08 April 2017, 14:10:17
I have no way to demo a silent red board locally (that I know of)... how do the silent red's on the Filco compare to a Filco MT2 TKL with reds and o-rings??

which is what I use now... I still don't get the scratchy thing but I may just be monkey strong and may mash the keys so hard I miss subtle nuances?

anyways.. just curious if anyone has tried both how they compare?
Title: Re: Cherry MX Red Silents..
Post by: kekumu on Sat, 08 April 2017, 15:44:05
I have a Planck with Matias Linears that I use for gaming. They're also dampened, which gives them a very mushy feel and a short bottom out compared to my MX Reds. It's a very smooth, soft, and quiet switch, but I find them too mushy for gaming. Can anybody compare the mushiness of Silent Reds to Matias Linears directly?