Sound Pitch

[patrickgeekhack]

I have the impression that my Customizer spring has the lowest pitch sound when compared to my G80 and Das (blue Cherry) and my ABS M1. If someone is typing while the door is opened, the sound can be heard from the other rooms, but when the door is closed, the sound does not seem to travel much.

How many of you use a Model M in a cubicle farm without your colleagues going nuts?

[patrickgeekhack]

That's what I was trying to say. From another room (but with closed door), the sound may not bother others that much.

[spremino]

I'm resuming this thread to ask for more opinions.

That's what I was trying to say. From another room (but with closed door), the sound may not bother others that much.

Thus, buckling springs are preferable over Cherry blues when you don't want to annoy other people in the same house?  Thanks.

[SpAmRaY]

Dat necro!! Nice!!

I would think BS boards would annoy as much or if not more than blues....greens is the worst offender to me.

[fohat.digs]

Setting the keyboard on a foam pad is the easiest way to cut a couple of decibels.

The floss mod helps considerably, because it cuts away the higher resonances, but has better feel on an F than an M.

[spremino]

I would think BS boards would annoy as much or if not more than blues....

Why? Are BS louder than Cherry blues? Usually people hate higher pitches more.

Setting the keyboard on a foam pad is the easiest way to cut a couple of decibels.

Nice tip. Thanks.

[spremino]

However, I would like to hear direct experiences, that is: users sharing their flat with other people. Thanks.

[fohat.digs]

Are BS louder than Cherry blues? Usually people hate higher pitches more.

The actual decibels of buckling springs may be a few more, but the pitch of the sound makes the Cherries much more annoying, to my ears at least.

Somehow, Cherry switches annoy me far more than any other "clickers" but I am prejudiced. I have tested greens, clears, etc, and on a quick run-through, they seemed far less annoying than the blue ones. Too bad, otherwise the blues are the best.

The "jailhouse blue" mod is great and perfect, but I have never done it because (1) I don't own a board with Cherries, and (2) it is A LOT of work.

[BlackWidowMan777]

Would love to hear a sound off between Razer Blackwidow with blues (no o-rings), Matias Tactile Pro, and Customizer with full poundage - no gentle caressing of the keys like you got eggs under the keycaps.

Haven't tried the Matias but both the BW and Customizer sound like machines guns at full throttle. Once I installed the o-rings and soft-landing pads on all my cherries problems totally solved!

[Oobly]

I find high pitch Click sounds more annoying, too. Low frequencies tend to travel further and through more materials than high, though, and high frequencies are more easily damped away.

[spremino]

Thus nobody here types while other people are in the same home. I didn't suspect that GeekHack users were so shy

[spremino]

This article embeds three audio samples comparing Cherry greens, Cherry blues and Buckling Springs:

http://techreport.com/review/24461/a-first-look-at-cherry-mx-green-key-switches

Cherry greens are the least annoying to me.

Of course, keyboard build impacts sound, thus we should keep that into account.

[spremino]

OK, everybody here types when they are alone in the house. I assume I could have to do the same when choosing any clicky keyboard.

Thanks.

[fohat.digs]

OK, everybody here types when they are alone in the house.

I have a wife and 2 teenage kids. Based on that, my house is pretty "quiet" but that is relative.

Much of the time I work at home and I am alone during the work day, but by late afternoon there are others.

A Model F is pretty noisy before the floss mod, after modding you can hear it distinctly in the room, but the sound does not carry over much distance.

Other clicky boards like Alps and Space Invaders do not resonate all that much, either.

[spremino]

A Model F is pretty noisy before the floss mod, after modding you can hear it distinctly in the room, but the sound does not carry over much distance.

I suppose that with a BS, it would be the same.

Other clicky boards like Alps and Space Invaders do not resonate all that much, either.

I suppose that with Cherry clicky switches, it would be the same.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[rowdy]

OK, everybody here types when they are alone in the house. I assume I could have to do the same when choosing any clicky keyboard.

Thanks.

No here too - my other half and our 7yo are here, and during the week most of the typing I do is early in the morning or late at night when they are in bed.

Hence Topre seems to be the quietest (especially when compared to MX blue or Model M).

[spremino]

No here too - my other half and our 7yo are here, and during the week most of the typing I do is early in the morning or late at night when they are in bed.

Hence Topre seems to be the quietest (especially when compared to MX blue or Model M).

Rowdy, thanks for sharing your experience. However, the Topre is not a keyboard that I fancy. For me, it is either BS or Cherry blues/greens, and I would like to know whether they are tolerable beyond a closed door. I suppose that typing in front of a wall that is not shared by other rooms helps further.

[rowdy]

To me MX blue has a higher pitch sound that travels further.

But BS is louder overall.

Depends on how sensitive to different pitched noises the others are.

MX blues with O-rings is fairly quiet, but still has that high-pitched tick-tick-tick typing sound.

BS is just clack-clack-clack.  You can do a floss mod to dampen the sound somewhat, although I read here recently that although that doesn't seem to reduce the sound much, it does seem to stop the sound travelling as far.

[fohat.digs]

I suppose that with a BS, it would be the same.

Other clicky boards like Alps and Space Invaders do not resonate all that much, either.

I suppose that with Cherry clicky switches, it would be the same.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

The resonance of the Model F is quite different from the Model M, and benefits more from the floss mod.

Clicky Cherry switches have a higher and more "tinkly" sound that other tactile switches.