Sound Dampening Test - Pok3r (sorbothane case mod)

[lunas]

I've read a few posts about people inserting shelf liners to change the sound of their boards. After reading a few topics I ran across a post by mkawa on sorbothane. It sounded like the Cadillac of dampening mats, so I figured, let's give it a try.

My goal isn't to make my keyboard quieter, moreso to minimize the sound from my desk and isolate the nice sound of my Clears. I recorded a few sound samples for comparison below. I originally tried just using the sorbothane between the case standoffs and pcb, but the difference was minimal to the stock case.

Materials:

• Keyboard - Pok3r
• Case Insert - 2mm sorbothane pad
• Mouse Pad - 4mm neoprene mouse pad

Here are some sound samples if you are interested:

• Stock Case - Desk vs. Pad
• Dampened - Desk vs. Pad
• Desk - Stock vs. Dampened
• Pad - Stock vs. Dampened

My takeaways:

• Most of the dampening effect, maybe 3/4, was from sitting on the mouse pad and not from the case liner. The higher frequencies were dampened with the liner in, but it's a subtle difference and not as obvious as I expected. The sorbothane might work even more under the keyboard, but is way to sticky for a desk mat.
• The board feels a more solid. Maybe the feel is only psychological, but typing sounds are definitely pure switch rather than reverberation from the desk or case.
• A downside is I can hear more pinging while I type and some squeaking from my stabilized keys. Isolating the switch sound allows that to stand up a be heard, so be careful what you wish for I guess.
• I'm guessing that the Pok3r's heavier aluminum case negated some of the effect of the case liner. The difference would probably be more noticeable if I was working with a plastic case.

It would have been interesting to compare this sorbothane sheet to a less expensive case liner, but for now it's really nice to hear a clean click/clack from this board.

[Connly33]

Thank you for making this post, i was curious about dampening an aluminum case would be like. Personally the sound as is doesnt bug me much, I like the sound of thick PBT caps on clears ( which after listening to your recording's mine sound a bit different, most likely because of the keycaps) , but i do notice the ping with clear switches on an aluminum plate, If you get more dampening from a mousepad under the keyboard than any material inside of the case id go that route if i am going for a quieter keyboard. But if it really does make the pinging more noticable ill probably leave it like it is.

I plan on getting a sturdier desk than the cheap ikea one i have now, and i imagine desk material would play a big role on the noticeable noise, when i bottom out the spacebar and enter keys it does reverberate quite a bit. But i do want to play a round with dampening/ desk surfaces myself as noise is one of the main reasons i love mech keyboards so much.

[cryptokey]

I'm thinking maybe I'll just get some thick felt from a local fabric store and give it a shot..

[lunas]

I plan on getting a sturdier desk than the cheap ikea one i have now, and i imagine desk material would play a big role on the noticeable noise, when i bottom out the spacebar and enter keys it does reverberate quite a bit. But i do want to play a round with dampening/ desk surfaces myself as noise is one of the main reasons i love mech keyboards so much.

My microphone was an iPhone so the sound quality may not be the best. The type of desk makes a big difference. For me it was the spacebar and backspace are the loudest thunk on the desk, but that reduced a lot with the mousepad and a bit more with the rubber liner. I used it for a full day today, and debating if it was worth it. I like the solid feel and the sound for the most part, but the pinging is for sure more noticeable, particularly on the center section of the board for some reason. Might be too much for me. I might ditch the pad and keep the liner. Time will tell.

I'm thinking maybe I'll just get some thick felt from a local fabric store and give it a shot..

A lot of people use towels. Thick felt would probably swallow some good sound. Most of the time it's the case vibrating on the desk.