Thinking About Cherry Black

[pitashen]

I already own a DSI Modular Mac keyboard (Liking it a lot) with Cherry Brown for about a year. Now that I can hardly live with any membrane keyboard, I would like to get another mech KB for school use (got a desk of my own as a TA). Thing  is, I kinda don't want to get another brown and would like to experience other types of switches. I　tried blue switch once coz seller sent me the wrong DSI board with blue switch and I gotta say its probably too loud for work and for my wife at home if I am to use it at home. So I am thinking of Black switch for the quietness. Is anyone here using (or have tried) Black elusively for typing? I would like to have some input from you.  

Many Thanks

[RiGS]

Blacks are very quiet when touch typing.

[sixty]

I love MX black. They are my favorite switch. I only like the old type though, the new ones are slightly more stiff and feel somewhat rattly.

I assume you are in the US? Geekhack member Ascaii is selling MX Black boards starting as low as 5 Euros, if you are open to buying one from Europe...

[manfaux]

blacks are great for FPS gaming, that's what I used it for.

As far as typing go, yes they are pretty quiet, comparable to a membrane I'd say(unless bottomed out hard). Although for extensive typing I feel like it's a bit too stiff and the travel distance is too long for me.

[clickclack]

Hi there pitashen,

I really love the black cherry switch, particuarly on a non plate mounted board.
I many times use a Cherry MX-11900. A wonderful board in my opinion.
Just throwing that out there.

Black cherry switched boards seem to be a little bit more quiet than browns and even slightly more so if they have no plate. I can type exceptionally fast on a black cherry board because even though there is no pronounced tactile activation point the operation is smooth. It's significantly easier for me not to bottom out because due to the stiffness of the springs and not having to think about the activation ponit. Though if you like to bottom out as many times I do the sound is quite nice. Thicker keys like some cherry 2-shots and lasered ones also make the sound slightly lower pitched and slightly quieter.

I hope some of that helps and good luck on your continued keyboard adventures!

=)

[Minskleip]

Me I don't understand the deal with "loud" blues; sure they make more sound than rubber, but load? No.

The only problem with loudness I've had is with buckling springs and a sleeping housemate after nightshift, but that doesn't count. If your woman sleeps during the day it means she's not doing her job right.

[defragen1]

I love MX black. They are my favorite switch. I only like the old type though, the new ones are slightly more stiff and feel somewhat rattly.

I assume you are in the US? Geekhack member Ascaii is selling MX Black boards starting as low as 5 Euros, if you are open to buying one from Europe...

I tried doing a search on "Ascaii" but I cant find this username
can you get me in contact with him

[RiGS]

I do not recommend buying old and used switches, because the condition of the slider and the contact leaf affects how good the switch is to type on. You're better off buying some new ones.

[Minskleip]

NOS then. Speaking of which, when was the "Elbowglue POS" made?

[turbocharged]

I love the MX black switches. Currently typing on my Deck Legend on this computer and my MX11900 is running in the living room on another machine I'm working on.

There is definitely a distinct difference between the two (one new and plate mount...the other older and pcb mounted). I honestly don't know which one feels better...both great, just a bit different. PCB are much quieter when bottoming out though.

[chel-]

Im currently using black switches and while Im not an expert its certainly a better experience than a membrane board imo. I have no other mechanical switch to compare it to so my insight is limited in that regard. In terms of quietness its pretty quit unless you are bottoming out, as stated above.

[Ascaii]

I was summoned?^^

I have a few "black boards".
please refer to my post in the classifieds section.

[RiGS]

I love MX black. They are my favorite switch. I only like the old type though, the new ones are slightly more stiff and feel somewhat rattly.

I think that's the point of lubing cherry mx switches and swapping the springs with aftermarket springs.

[pm_]

Hi, I thought I'd post a dissenting opinion.  I was initially set on getting a KB with Cherry Blacks, and one of my friends happened to acquire some older used Cherry MX1000 / G80-1000.  It would be at least ok, or perhaps good for gaming, except the spacebar is really stiff, and I thought that this particular set of black MX switches were, overall, a bit stiff too.  After using it for 20 minutes or so, and granted that's not a long time, I hated it enough that I switched to a backup keyboard temporarily.  Of course, newer blacks mounted differently may feel a lot better.  

Personally, my interest has now shifted to cherry browns or Topre Realforce switches. Until I get one of the aforementioned in a 10keyless, I'm using a Keytronic Designer, which is pretty decent for a cheaper KB, except for a backspace key that likes to bind up and piss me off.

Nothing wrong with trying out cherry blacks, and enough people have posted they like them.  Just wanted to share my contrarian opinion (how is contrarian not in the spell check dictionary?!).

[keyboardlover]

It's not really THAT contrarian though; cherry blacks are definitely in the minority of cherry switch favorites. Too stiff, that's why they're the preferred switch of weight lifters and German nihilists.

[mrblond]

i own a filco with browns as well as a deck with blacks. now im not much of a typist but i prefer blacks over the browns. I felt I was bottoming out to hard on the browns as well as hitting the wrong," fat finger syndrome." and with the blacks I do not get that so much.

[microsoft windows]

MX Blacks require a lot of force in order to type on. But if you don't mind that, they're good, smooth-feeling, solid key switches.

[drsauced]

Swinging it back the other way, I'm finding that the MX Blacks are great for touch typing, the only downside (at least on the Deck Legend) is that the spacebar really is too tight, so it does slow me down a little bit.

For gaming though, it is a joy to use.  I've gamed a little bit on my Model M and it is a bit frustrating, so I can only imagine MX Blue or other tactile switch would be similar.  MX Black all the way, baby.

[urlwolf]

After typing on reds for a few months, I'm really getting into black switches. I have both the old and new models, old is plate mounted, new is PCB. I much prefer the old one. It feels a bit tiring, but it could be a matter of getting used to it.

[Rairden]

I used the steelseries 6gv2 for SC2.  I returned it after a few weeks.  It feels great considering it was my first mech board, but the force required is nearly the same as a regular Dell.  Even though it's real smooth and linear.  I'd prefer linear for FPS but less force, but for SC2 I want some tactile.

I'm awaiting a tenkeyless brown leopold (or filco).  I can almost guarantee a brown will be waaay too soft for me, cuz I accidentally pushed keys nonstop on the 6gv2 (no feedback+smooth).

[turbocharged]

I accidentally pushed keys nonstop on the 6gv2 (no feedback+smooth).

This happened to me a lot when I first started using MX black switches...had to teach myself to not rest my fingers on the keys with any real weight. Now it is a very rare occurrence, but does happen from time to time. This is the only thing that scares me about MX reds.

[reaper]

+1 for mx black.  I prefer it over the brown since I game more than I type..  not to mention that it's also a bit quieter.  I mean I can game and type on both but when I'm using black switches, it just feels more natural. lol

[pitashen]

Thanks a lot for all the inputs. They do give me a pretty good idea what I am for if I get a black switch board, and I am pretty sure I am gonna give black a shot for my next keyboard.

[stefeezy]

My 6gv2 has blacks.  I mostly use it when I play starcraft.  It's pretty good for that usage.  I think its okay for typing, nothing remarkable, but defintly feels better than membrane keyboards.

[bugfix]

Have you considered Topres?