I know people say the switches are superior to other buckling springs, but is the sound different?
The sound is nice, you can do a floss mod if it's too much for you. It's more metalic, whereas the Model M has a plasticky sound, as fohat mentioned. The actuation force is much lower than Model M. This is what guided me to Model F, the Model M keys are too hard for my fingers. On Model F AT, the spacebar is hard too, and if you want to make it lighter you have to open the keyboard. It's not hard, but you have to pay attention. There is a lot of info on GH about this.