Comment by r0b05

3 months ago

Does anyone know which keys/switches out there sound like this one?

It's got a soft cheery non-intrusive sound that I really like compared to the usual louder mechanical keys/switches that I hear in videos.

7 comments

r0b05

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rjzzleep  3 months ago

I recently learned that it's not just the switch, but also the gasket, so the switch plate material, the foam layers and even the keycap itself. I built two different split keyboards recently with the same simple Kailh box red v2 switch and they sound and feel completely different just because of the thickness of the switch plate and the type of keycaps I use.(check this for example https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HIldaxljpzc )

You can check if you find the switches colors here(it looks like an Akko purple pro, but not quite) https://keeb-finder.com/switches

Whereas rtings has a filtering list that also has sound profiles in the review pages.

https://www.rtings.com/keyboard-switch/tools/compare

  • r0b05  3 months ago

    Thanks for the info. A split keyboard sounds awesome.

    • rjzzleep  3 months ago

      You can get really cheap boards on taobao, for sofle, lily58, corne(all 3 are open source/open hardware) keyboards. You can of course also get prebuilt ones with or without switches for cheap if you want to. But in today's world, if you have tools and access to a 3d printer you can get a board for a few bucks some components and finish the whole thing with good switches and keycaps for 20-30 dollars.

      It's a fun experience, and a nice reason to play around with SMD soldering techniques. I had my daughter (4 years) solder the hotswap sockets.

      Worth checking out the miryoku layout, which is optimized for small keyboards, where I recently added sensor bindings for ec11 encoders[1].

      [1] https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku_zmk/pull/116

arein3  3 months ago

The sound is described like creamy or thocky.

You can get aula f75 for cheap, arround 50$, there are plenty of sound tests on youtube as it's very popular.

I got that version and I am happy, but if I was to buy a new one I would get the full size f108 because it's important for me to have distance between arrow keys and other keys. And tbh I would just get an apple keyboard or something similarly slim because it's more confortable for me. However for thicc (mechanical switch) keyboards, aula f75 has great specs and sound at a very good price.

UltraSane  3 months ago

Best keyboard I have very used was at a random data center and I would swear it was using alps switches. They feel more like snapping a glass rod.