Quiet (Silent) Mech for Work

[Sprite089]

Hey everyone!

I'm looking for a quiet/silent Keeb for the Office. Quick summary of the switches i have already typed on.

- MX Blacks

- MX Blues

- MX Browns

- Gateron Box Brown

- Zilents v2 67g (recently lubed them)

I'm currently using a GMMK with lubed Zilents, and a Varmilo VA88M Panda.

Since i recently started working in an Office i'm looking a quiet or silent Board. I already did some Research on Switches and was thinking of using Silent Alpacas or Bobagums. But thats not set in Stone so you can recommend other Swtiches , although im pretty set on Linear Switches since i've used tactiles for so long now.

The biggest Problem i have is everything else.. so the Keeb itself. I know there are a lot of options here and thats why im kinda overwhelmed.

I dont have a lot of soldering experience but if theres a Case/PCB/Plate Combo which needs soldering thats fine.

Soo i need advice on the following things:

- Case/Plate/PCB/Weight (since i'm from Europe i would prefer ISO Layout if possible, TKL or Fullsize)

- Foam?

- Keycaps (i have some cheap PBT Keycaps here which i would use first)

- Switches? (see above)

- Stabs

My Budget is around 500€ with some wiggle Room.

Thank you very much!

[Riverman]

With that kind of a budget, have you considered a factory silent Topre?  Those are out of most people's budgets, but well under yours.

[granola bar enthusiast]

a realforce tkl  (topre) with some DES silencing rings or KBDFans rings would be great but not quite fully silent for your taste,
For that budget there are a lot of great keyboards but IMO I would look at some boards such as the Frog TKL (restocks each month, check geon's discord for updates) and if you are willing to sacrifice an arm and a leg maybe a already run tkl such as the Mr. suit but it may not be quite as good of a deal as the frog

[Sprite089]

Thanks for the answers so far.

I'm not sure about Topre because I have never typed on a Topre Board. Thats why I want a Board with regular switches

The Frog TKL looks great, but i think Production stopped until June because they produce other Boards for now.

Is there anything thats kinda like the Frog TKL?

[WhiteHelix]

- Switches? (see above)

If you want linear, I would got for the bobagum. They really are exceptionally quiet, while the feel is kind of something to get used to due to the dampening inside the switch. If you want a tactile switch, I would look at the T1 Shrimp. Also with dampening, but not as noticeable as on the bogagumgs due to the tactile feedback they provide (which also is kind of strong)

[hvontres]

Also, keep in mind that even for an office, as long as your board is quieter than the person next door bottoming out on a cheap rubber dome keyboard, you should be fine.

[Handke]

Why are you looking for exotic switches when the cherry mx red silents are really quiet?

If you don't want to invest in new swtiches you could get the uniquey silent clips, that make any existing switch silent. Available for pcb mount and plate mount switches.

[Sprite089]

Why are you looking for exotic switches when the cherry mx red silents are really quiet?

If you don't want to invest in new swtiches you could get the uniquey silent clips, that make any existing switch silent. Available for pcb mount and plate mount switches.

I don't have any switches lying around so i will need new ones. I know about the Silent Reds but i just want to try out something new. But like i said, the Switches are not my main concern.
But thanks for your reply

[Handke]

Why are you looking for exotic switches when the cherry mx red silents are really quiet?

If you don't want to invest in new swtiches you could get the uniquey silent clips, that make any existing switch silent. Available for pcb mount and plate mount switches.

I don't have any switches lying around so i will need new ones. I know about the Silent Reds but i just want to try out something new. But like i said, the Switches are not my main concern.
But thanks for your reply

Your post is a complete nonsense.

[granola bar enthusiast]

Thanks for the answers so far.

I'm not sure about Topre because I have never typed on a Topre Board. Thats why I want a Board with regular switches

The Frog TKL looks great, but i think Production stopped until June because they produce other Boards for now.

Is there anything thats kinda like the Frog TKL?

to be fully honest I don't know of many TKL boards but the Devestating TKL is in stock rn and there are a lot of other good options you can find on gh. once again the Mr. suit is a great choice so I would look into one of those if a new one is in stock or if they are doing a r4 any time soon

[granola bar enthusiast]

Thanks for the answers so far.

I'm not sure about Topre because I have never typed on a Topre Board. Thats why I want a Board with regular switches

The Frog TKL looks great, but i think Production stopped until June because they produce other Boards for now.

Is there anything thats kinda like the Frog TKL?

sorry if I'm being annoying but there is also the phoenix TKL that is running very soon (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=116192.0;topicseen)

[ander]

With that kind of a budget, have you considered a factory silent Topre?  Those are out of most people's budgets, but well under yours.

I love Topre, but they feel considerably different from the switches the OP listed (and, as you mentioned, are usually considerably more expensive). So they may not be what he/she is looking for. Also, while they're quieter than many other types of switches, they're not particularly "quiet"... Their main distinction is that they make most of their sound when returning to their start positions, not when you press them.

OP, if you end up using any kind of MX-inspired switch, you may also want to try adding foam "landing pads" to your keys. Stopping key travel just 1–2mm shorter prevents switch sliders from slamming home, where most of the noise occurs—it makes a big difference. It's a mod you can easily do yourself with only a couple dollars' worth of materials.

As an extra benefit, you may find that even such a slight reduction in travel makes keys feel faster and more responsive. (I do!) I've described the process here.

Considering you want a board that's as quiet as possible, I think it'd even be worth doing with so-called "quiet" switches. It's easy to compare a few trial modded keys to the unmodded ones, and easy to undo if you don't like it (all you need is a toothpick!).

[Sprite089]

sorry if I'm being annoying but there is also the phoenix TKL that is running very soon (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=116192.0;topicseen)

You are not annoying at all. I'm very thankful for your help and recommendations!
Out of all the Keebs you mentioned i like the Frog the most. Only downside is the shipping date, but thats not something I can do about.

With that kind of a budget, have you considered a factory silent Topre?  Those are out of most people's budgets, but well under yours.

I love Topre, but they feel considerably different from the switches the OP listed (and, as you mentioned, are usually considerably more expensive). So they may not be what he/she is looking for. Also, while they're quieter than many other types of switches, they're not particularly "quiet"... Their main distinction is that they make most of their sound when returning to their start positions, not when you press them.

OP, if you end up using any kind of MX-inspired switch, you may also want to try adding foam "landing pads" to your keys. Stopping key travel just 1–2mm shorter prevents switch sliders from slamming home, where most of the noise occurs—it makes a big difference. It's a mod you can easily do yourself with only a couple dollars' worth of materials.

As an extra benefit, you may find that even such a slight reduction in travel makes keys feel faster and more responsive. (I do!) I've described the process here.

Considering you want a board that's as quiet as possible, I think it'd even be worth doing with so-called "quiet" switches. It's easy to compare a few trial modded keys to the unmodded ones, and easy to undo if you don't like it (all you need is a toothpick!).

Thank you for that! I will definitely try that mod, i'm sure that will make the Switches even more quiet. Thank you

[Handke]

I forgot one thing.... high end keyboards are loud.

If you want a silent keyboard - and that can be accomplished with standard cherry silent switches - you need to look for a keyboard with an abs case.

I made that discovery with the very old pok3r... the aluminum case was super loud, while the cheap abs case from aliexpress made the keyboard much more silent.

Like I said before, this thread makes no sense. A keyboard is as silent as its switches and stabs, you just need to mod those and get an abs case.

[granola bar enthusiast]

sorry if I'm being annoying but there is also the phoenix TKL that is running very soon (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=116192.0;topicseen)

You are not annoying at all. I'm very thankful for your help and recommendations!
Out of all the Keebs you mentioned i like the Frog the most. Only downside is the shipping date, but thats not something I can do about.

With that kind of a budget, have you considered a factory silent Topre?  Those are out of most people's budgets, but well under yours.

I love Topre, but they feel considerably different from the switches the OP listed (and, as you mentioned, are usually considerably more expensive). So they may not be what he/she is looking for. Also, while they're quieter than many other types of switches, they're not particularly "quiet"... Their main distinction is that they make most of their sound when returning to their start positions, not when you press them.

OP, if you end up using any kind of MX-inspired switch, you may also want to try adding foam "landing pads" to your keys. Stopping key travel just 1–2mm shorter prevents switch sliders from slamming home, where most of the noise occurs—it makes a big difference. It's a mod you can easily do yourself with only a couple dollars' worth of materials.

As an extra benefit, you may find that even such a slight reduction in travel makes keys feel faster and more responsive. (I do!) I've described the process here.

Considering you want a board that's as quiet as possible, I think it'd even be worth doing with so-called "quiet" switches. It's easy to compare a few trial modded keys to the unmodded ones, and easy to undo if you don't like it (all you need is a toothpick!).

Thank you for that! I will definitely try that mod, i'm sure that will make the Switches even more quiet. Thank you

if we are really going into the smaller stuff I have experienced FR4 plates to be the quieter option over PC/Aluminum and most other materials, haven't tried more exotic materials such as Poplypropelyne or Nylon plates. This is something that plays a much smaller role than something like switches or case material although should still be something to keep in mind when looking at the options out there.

[Leslieann]

Thock is tricky, silent is not.

With silent,
Start with the right switches and stabs,
Apply lube,
Shove them in something remotely decent.
Done.

I always tell people to eliminate the problem at the source, everything else is done to control the noise/vibration generated and do damage control for the other choices, if you don't generate noise to begin with the rest never have a chance to influence it and make it sound good/bad. Don't over think it.

[HungerMechanic]

You might also find information in this recent thread:

https://www.keebtalk.com/t/new-silent-build-from-keychron-k2v1/16946

[granola bar enthusiast]

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=115940.0
new thread that i just found has a list of running/recent TKL's on the market, would def check it out