UPDATE: Sorry I guess this is too long, scroll down for the TL;DR version.
Preface
Due to lack of resources / information regarding Deskeys rings on 55g Topre, I had to trial and error this myself. Most of the information documented are regarding Deskey #3 on 45g Topre. Was hoping I can follow someone's guide but somehow I was never fully satisfied, and now ending up with enough combination to write my own guide.
Again I am no means of master of Topre silencing, this is just what I found through my trial and error also some are opinion of my own. If you disagree or find faults in my findings feel free to let me know I will make correction to it.
This whole guide is meant to help people so they don't have to suffer and waste money like I did LOL. On hindsight I probably should've bought Deskeys 4 in 1 pack, instead of buying it 1 by 1 (paid shipping each time) and now I just ordered #4 and #5 so I'll update those when they arrive.
But in short I owned a Realforce 104UW 45g uniform Silence X modded, later on bought a Realforce R2 R2S-US5-IV (stock 55g silent) and somehow was never happy with it, I ended up modding it trying to make it perfect but so many mods later I'm still not fully convinced yet. Hopefully eventually I'll get there.
Modding Criteria
Tactility - So we're forever fighting wanting more silencing but usually as the thickness of the ring increase, silencing gets better but you're losing tactility (Topre dome start to feel more linear). Finding the perfect balance is tricky also often depending on the user's preference.
Silencing - As I mentioned above, usually thicker the ring, the more silencing it does, but you're also start to lose tactility.
Stability - This is something that I'm surprised NO ONE ever talked about. Stock Topre the dome and slider don't pressed on each other 100% matched, I mean even purple slider suffer the same issue. There is a tiny bit of tolerance so when you press/release the key it creates this rattle/wobble. By using the silencing ring it fills this gap and makes the keys feel stable/connected and premium. It's not the original intent of the mod but it's a nice byproduct of the mod.
Material
In general most silencing rings are basically foam with a plastic backing to hold the shape so the ring doesn't deform unexpectedly when the keys are being pressed. They generally recommend install with the plastic side up. However Silence X and keyclack V2 rings are silicone rings with no backing.
Short Summary of Each Ring Type
Original Topre Silence Ring - Original rings are about 0.5 mm thick, plastic ring on top of foam.
Dental Band - This was sort of the poor man's Topre silencing mod since at the time since Hypersphere rings were too expensive. Personally never tried it but I heard it was too thick and reduce tactility. Would not recommend at this day and age.
Hypersphere - 0.6 mm thick, the thickest of all rings. Also very expensive to get but it was one of the earliest method available. If you want absolute quietest then this is the way to go, will reduce tactility even on purple slider.
Silence X - 0.22 mm thick based on other reports, silicone ring with no backing. Issue is if not installed properly sometimes they'd stick on the top and gets deformed out of place, then it will get stuck then you'd have to open your keyboard up to fix it. However was very cheap and very thin and does a decent job. Was the most recommended method before Deskeys come around. In my opinion I might still pick this over Deskeys depending on situation.
Keyclack V1 - Probably about 0.25 mm. I've personally bought one and got it but never tried it, but on visual inspection they look as thin as Silence X, however some part of the rings are very thin so I heard it's also prone to get stuck. However also because it's thin so I've heard good reports in terms of tactility vs silencing.
Keyclack V2 - Probably about 0.4 or 0.5 mm thick, silicone construction with adhesive backing (a lot firmer than foam rings). This is meant to be installed on the slider housing as oppose to normally installed on the slider itself. Will definitely reduce tactility but I've heard some people like the end results of it. But in my experience takes about 3 times as long to install.
Deskeys #2 - 0.2 mm, very very thin and reduce no tactility. However I find it silence less than Silence X.
Deskeys #3 - 0.3 mm, this is the most recommended size on 45g Topre. However I find on 55g it still silence less than Silence X, also produced the plastic sound.
Deskeys #4 - 0.4 mm, I have this on order, will try it when it arrives. Deskeys recommend this for 55g domes.
Deskeys #5 - 0.5 mm, I also have it on order, will only try it if 0.4 mm fails. Deskeys also recommend this for 55g domes.
General Guideline When Silencing
Generally speaking, the softer the material the more "mushy" your keys will feel, also will need more compression to silence. The firmer the material the "cleaner" it feels, also requires less compression. As to which silence better it's hard to say, I find in some cases foam silence better in other cases silicone silence better.
But generally speaking silicone ring will always feel "cleaner" than foam rings. Also foam ring's plastic top on thinner rings will produce a plastic upstroke sound that I didn't like, since it's basically plastic hitting plastic.
Combinations I've Tried
45g Topre
Black Slider + Hypersphere - Silence REALLY well, stability is great, tactility is bad.
Black Slider + Silence X - Silence decent, stability is okay, tactility is good! I feel like a tiny bit thicker than stability will be better, a tiny tiny bit loose as is.
55g Topre
Purple Slider + Stock Rings - Silence kind of meh, plastic sound, stability is bad, so much wobble and rattle. Had so much hope was hoping it would be amazing stock. Was considered as the holy grail of Topre but so much disappointments, which prompted me to start the other mods.
Purple Slider + Hypersphere - So with Hypersphere I realize it's still thicker than even purple slider, you lose some tactility and it feels mushier, silence better than stock rings, however it's still not perfect, moving on.
Purple Slider + Keyclack V2 - I previously bought them but never tried it, at this point I learned that firmer rings feels cleaner, so I gave it a try. Tactility is great, but stability is horrible because it's about the same thickness as original rings, so it rattles and wobbles. However it gives very clean typing feeling. I later on use this as my baseline for un-purple slider my purple slider.
Purple Slider + Keyclack V2 + Deskeys #2 - As I mentioned earlier, I used Keyclack V2 as my method to un-purple slider, then after that I installed Deskeys #2. Tactility is great! And this is quieter than just only using Keyclack V2. However the dealbreaker is that since Keyclack V2 is about 50% wider than Deskeys #2, so only 50% of the ring overlap each other. It creates this weird plastic sound and not super clean feeling. But overall I'd say this is the best thus far. But hence moving on to Deskeys #3.
Purple Slider + Keyclack V2 + Deskeys #3 - So this is actually the quietest I managed to get this keyboard so far. Stability is also great, very firm feeling. However it start to eat a tiny bit into tactility and coming from #2 to #3 you'll definitely notice it. Also the weird plastic sound got better but it's still there. But with purple slider this is the best so far, I would even say if you want tactility #2 is better but if you want a bit quieter than #3 is better.
Black Slider + Deskeys #3 - At this point I convinced that I simply cannot get purple slider to feel as clean as black slider. So I pop open my Type Heaven and swapped the sliders over and here on I'm using black slider (I know, crazy eh?). Deskeys #3 on black slider feels decent, again you notice the loss of tactility a bit but it's not too bad, stability is great. However it still produce this weird plastic sound but better than the purple slider + Keyclack V2 + Deskeys #3 combination. But silencing and stability is actually better on the purple slider + Keyclack V2 + Deskeys #3 combination. At this point I slightly regret taking off the purple slider + Keyclack V2 rings. But ship has sailed so moving onward.
Black Slider + Silence X - So at this point I was like hey I had a spare set of Silence X lying around, and I enjoyed them on my 45g Topre, why not try it on 55g Topre? Turns out they do feel cleaner than Deskeys #3 AND also quieter. Thing is since Silence X is silicone ring, it doesn't have that plastic upstroke sound. It also sounds deeper, however since it's thinner stability is a little bit better on Deskeys #3. Again I feel like if they can make Silence X a tiny bit thicker it might've been perfect.
Combinations I Want to Try Next
55g Topre
Black Slider + Deskeys #4 - At this point I actually don't know what to do now. Tactility wise Silence X is in between #2 and #3, however silencing wise Silence X is better than both #2 and #3. I was thinking at this point why not just to try #4 and see what happens. I hope the plastic hitting sound will be less obvious but I know most likely tactility will suffer here on.
Black Slider + Deskeys #5 - I'm buying this just because I don't want to pay shipping again in case #4 fails. But my hope is that hopefully I'll never get to use this.
Conclusion
45g Topre
For Topre 45g the general public seems to recommend Deskeys #3 rings, I personally haven't got around to try that. But I had good results with Silence X even though stability is decent but not the best. Silence X is the "jack of all trades master of none" rings, it can do everything decent but it's not the best at everything. I guess you can't go wrong with either these 2.
Have not try purple slider on 45g so I won't know for certain.
55g Topre
Again like I said I tried Deskeys #3 on 55g hoping it would work but I didn't like it. It probably felt okay but sounded very thin and plastic ish. Completely butchered the Topre thock. It's still work in progress but I'd say I do not recommend purple slider. If you must then purple slider + Keyclack V2 + Deskeys #2 or #3 are both okay. However I still recommend black slider and currently I like Silence X better than Deskeys #3. Tactility is better and sounds deeper too. Will update you guys once I get #4 and #5.
Also I'm not too sure but I did find R1 seems to be a bit sturdier and sounds a bit nicer than my R2? I could be wrong since it's different weight so it's not apples to apples.
I must apologize for the super long article, I probably could've shorten it somewhere but I'm too lazy to go over it again.
Congrats for making it this far, feel free to ask me if you have any questions. Otherwise happy modding!
