Help me: Cherry Blues vs Browns

[pm_]

So I've been looking to get a mech for a few months now.  I initially tried a Cherry G80-1000 with blacks I bought from a friend for $20 and hated it.  Based on descriptions, I was expecting browns to end up the logical choice, but wanted to try out blues and browns nonetheless. So today I borrowed a few more keyboards from the same friend: a Ducky 1087 with Blues, and a Cherry MX-8100 with Browns (he has over 200 keyboards, so he can spare a few :smile:).

I was hoping I'd like the browns more and they'd be a clear winner, but...where the blues seem to have a tighter, more responsive feel, the browns feel a little more on the dead side.  However, perhaps this was an unfair comparison from the get go.  The Ducky is plate mounted and the key caps feel a LOT better in that, while not sticky, my fingers adhere to them well and stay in place.  So am I doing an injustice to the browns by test driving them on an inferior keyboard with crappy caps?  Does the plate mount have much of an effect on how the keys feel?

I'm going to be trying them both for a few weeks, and this might be decided by how they feel while gaming, but would like to know if I can/should expect more out of the browns on a better keyboard.

[Tony]

Don't worry, you will end up buying both blue and brown anyway. So your first can be either.

[pm_]

Don't worry, you will end up buying both blue and brown anyway. So your first can be either.

That's a definite possibility.  I'll probably end up with a standard tenkeyless first, but I will buy a Choc Mini or similar keyboard if they end up in the US at a reasonable price at some point.  And I eventually want to try a Topre...

Let me rephrase part of what I was asking though:

Given the same switches, how does a plate mount affect the feel of keystrokes vs. pcb mount?

[bugfix]

Have you considered Topre?

[.XL]

As far as 'feel' goes, I don't think plate mounted changes anything. I think it's just the sound, but don't take my word for it.

I was in the same position as you, my brother has a U9BL and I loved typing on that. I picked up a Compaq MX11800 to play with the browns a bit, and at first I was feeling 'maaan, I want some BLUES.' But after a few days with it, I started liking it more and more. I'm starting to bottom out much less, and my fingers are learning the bump. Now when I go back to my brother's U9BL I don't like it as much....I like the more hollow sound of the Browns bottoming out, and i like the feel of them at the tactile point more. It's not so pronounced, and I think that's what makes me like it.

When I play music, the blues annoy me, while the browns don't bother me at all. I like hearing them bottom out in the background When playing games my brother loves the click, I don't really care for it. But I know I like the lightness and bump in browns more.

For you I'd say borrow the Cherry for a week, use it as your main keyboard, and when typing try not to bottom out on it. Learn to feel the tactile bump. Then, go back to the Ducky with blues and try it out again; I think you'll find you prefer the browns.

[pm_]

Have you considered Topre?

I really want a Topre, but it's out of my price range for now.  I'm also not sure if I'd prefer the variable weight or all 55g...gaming is very important.  I need to talk my friend into getting one or both, so I can try them out :smile:

For you I'd say borrow the Cherry for a week, use it as your main keyboard, and when typing try not to bottom out on it. Learn to feel the tactile bump. Then, go back to the Ducky with blues and try it out again; I think you'll find you prefer the browns.

That's the path I'm going to have to take.  It's hard not to bottom out on the browns right now though as it definitely slows me down a bit.  I've got some time, anyway, as EK doesn't have Leopolds yet, and Diatec is still trying to finish the details on their new US distributor for Filco...Diatec told me mid to late January when I inquired at the end of December, then told me hopefully by the end of February when I emailed them a few days ago.  Either way, I figure Filco is coming back stateside in the not-to-distant future.

FWIW, the browns and blues are both definitely better for typing than the Keytronic Designer I was using...faster with fewer errors.  The Keytronic is definitely a bit stiffer and the Backspace key is hard to press when pushing on the left side of the key (probably a defect in my specific board).

[wongster]

You're definitely very lucky to have the opportunity to try out different switches before you buy. I wish I had that luxury. As someone already mentioned, you may just end up with both!

[wkwong]

I have both browns and blues, and I bought both at the same time. I think my experience is similar to yours, and probably a lot of other people. At first, the browns didn't seem all that impressive. At first I thought the browns almost felt like a normal keyboard. There was little tactile feedback, especially when compared to the blues.

But, after keeping the browns at my work for two weeks, it really grew on me. As I got used to the browns, I started feeling the tactile feedback as I typed.

Personally, I still like the clicking from the blues. But I'd recommend using each keyboard for over a week before deciding. Plus, if you still bottom out every single key press, it also makes it harder to appreciate the browns. You can't force yourself to not bottom out, but I believe it's when you naturally adjust that mechanicals really start to shine.

I'm still bottoming out myself, and it's been over a month on my Filcos.

[guilleguillaume]

Don't worry, you will end up buying both blue and brown anyway. So your first can be either.

Trust him...I actually did LOL

I think it requires a bit to get used to the tactile feedback of the MX Brown.

[keyboardlover]

@OP - you didn't really talk about what you thought of the blues. Did you like them? In any case, it definitely sounds like plate-mounted cherries are best for you.

[pm_]

@OP - you didn't really talk about what you thought of the blues. Did you like them? In any case, it definitely sounds like plate-mounted cherries are best for you.

I haven't used the blues that much so far even though I immediately liked them more.  I'm going through my trial with the browns first.  I might switch to the blues later on, but each will get at least a week, if not more, of testing.  I feel like I can fly on these browns compared to the Keytronic though...

From the few minutes I did spend with the blues, they feel really, really good.  Keypresses feel tighter and perhaps a little bouncier on the blues.  It might be the pressure difference, with the blues requiring a bit more than the browns.  While the key caps are nothing special on either one, they definitely feel a lot better on this ducky as my fingers stay in place, whereas the keycaps on the browns are a lot slicker.  Switching back and forth between the two, say alternating paragraphs, the blues feel better.

Gaming is really, really important though, particularly FPS, so that is what will make or break one or the other when I finally make a decision.  One other note, I thought the noise on the blues would interfere with my MIC more (I have it sitting on the CRT I use for gaming).  However, testing right now, when I hit the spacebar, which I have bound as fire, it seems like the one on the cherry brown board is actually louder and is more likely to activate the MIC.  That may have more to do with the backplate vs. PCB and stabilizer setup more than anything else though.  Clickiness so far doesn't bother me at all.

I may end up buying browns at some point regardless, as I really want to see how, say, a Filco will differ in feel vs. this Cherry G80-8113.

[Tony]

If you play FPS as much as typing, brown are a better bet.

Of course, you have to type lighter, almost 'feel' and 'sensibly touch' the keyboard. Your fingers will dance on instead of punching, the keys.

[keyboardlover]

I say go with the blues. You obviously like them more and there are quite a few gamers here who actually like blues. Different strokes for different folks. What's good for the goose is good for the...oh nevermind.

[pitashen]

It sounds to me OP is posting this thread for the sake of typing...

if you worry about the effect of the cap so much, swap them. Plate wise, my understanding is it affect mainly the sound and so slightly on the feel of the strokes. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
But seriously, if you get to test drive them for an extensive amount of time, then our opinion would have little effect on you.

[pm_]

It sounds to me OP is posting this thread for the sake of typing...
 
But seriously, if you get to test drive them for an extensive amount of time, then our opinion would have little effect on you.

lol

Seriously, I was expecting a more similar feel out of the blues and browns, with the blues simply having a louder, clickier sound.  As I said though, the blues feel a little tighter and more responsive.  Perhaps that's caused because they reset higher, or have require more force for actuation.  In any event, it wasn't what I expected, so I was hoping for some input from people who have both.  

I don't have a keycap puller, or I would swap them.  Maybe I'll borrow one next time I see my friend, as he has to have one, or I'll have made up my mind by then as to which one to get first.

[panda-R]

As one of the first pandas in the world to foray into the world of keyboards, and the first panda eat 100 metric tons of bamboo at one sitting, I can confirm with your findings that the blues feel tighter and snappier than compared to the brown poo stains on my white fur. I generally enjoyed the sports car feeling of the cherry blues to the cadillac ride of the browns. With that said, I have moved on to become the first panda to pilot a gundam.

[pitashen]

lol

Seriously, I was expecting a more similar feel out of the blues and browns, with the blues simply having a louder, clickier sound.  As I said though, the blues feel a little tighter and more responsive.  Perhaps that's caused because they reset higher, or have require more force for actuation.  In any event, it wasn't what I expected, so I was hoping for some input from people who have both.  
get first.

Sir if you have done enough research, then you'll realize that no one ever said that blue and brown are similar. Brown is meant to be in between black and blue and all three of them have distinct typing feel. Go check out geekhack's wiki on cherry switches. Look at their force plot instead of making assumptions.

And SERIOUSLY, Since you get to try them out, you should at least have some faith in your own experiences.

Therefore I conclude that deep down part of you just want to get an excuse to post a thread so you can  test out your keyboard.

[notlofty]

You may just be posting just to test out your keyboard, but its useful for those of us who don't have the same luxury that you have of knowing people with a bunch of keybaords and who haven't committed the money to our first board yet.

[db_Iodine]

As one of the first pandas in the world to foray into the world of keyboards, and the first panda eat 100 metric tons of bamboo at one sitting, I can confirm with your findings that the blues feel tighter and snappier than compared to the brown poo stains on my white fur. I generally enjoyed the sports car feeling of the cherry blues to the cadillac ride of the browns. With that said, I have moved on to become the first panda to pilot a gundam.

what would this keyboard community do without you, panda-poo?

[.XL]

what would this keyboard community do without you, panda-poo?

Prosper.

Chairman Panda-R has been stealing all our bamboo. We can barely survive on this minuscule level of rations! MOAR BAMBOO