I know the Kailh Midnight Pros weren't the most silent of the bunch, but I thought the typing sound from them was really good... With the other switches, you could almost hear a little squeak from the silicone, but the midnights had a lovely soft bottom out.
I've been using the Boba U4's for over a year now in the build I bring into the office, and I couldn't recommend them more. Perfectly silent and smooth, never had a single complaint from those I work near. Thanks for this awesome video, Scott!
In my opinion any silent switch that is manufactured by Outemu is by far the best option if you want absolute silence. I have an RK100 that I outfitted with Outemu silent Peach switches and there is more noise made my your fingers hitting the keycaps than the actual volume of the switch.
Ditto. I'm a big fan of Outemu's Silent Peach for linear switches and Silent Cream Yellow for tactile switches. Factory pre-lubed on both of these switches are incredibly silent. The tactile Cream Yellow have a slight spring noise, so maybe you can hear that in an absolutely silent room, but I prefer the tactile feeling over linear. I have two boards that I go back and forth on, even though the Silent Peach is probably less noisy, I find myself always reaching for the board with the Silent Cream yellows. If I could just fix my stabilizers.... :D
Oh man, this was fun to see. Just a few weeks ago I was inspired by your Wind silent video to mod a keychron v6 to make it silent for in office typing. I used lubed/filmed silent cherry reds and used o rings for the tray mount, combining your old keychron mod with the silent switch mod. Turned out way quieter than I thought the kb could get with its lack of gaskets. Thanks for your videos, Scott!!
@fundthementally I def like the results I'm working with. I don't think i notice any squish from the o rings themselves. And for office typing, it's super quiet even compared to my coworkers membrane kbs. . Primarily, the reason I used o rings was to isolate the steel plate from the standoffs for the mounting hardware. It didn't really affect how hard my bottom out was, more so the sound isolation. I guess technically there is a very small amount of give since the screws are compressing o rings very lightly, but not enough for me to feel a difference when typing. Plus, using silent cherry reds means I get a slight mushy bottom out anyways due to the elastomer dampeners on the stems.
These silent switches still use silicone dampeners, which to some can feel mushy and they don't like that. Switches made by Haimu, such as the Heartbeat and Whisper switches, or the WS silent tactile/linear use a new mechanism with a flex cut on the stem and holes in the bottom housing to kill sound. The result is a very nice silent with no mushiness.
@@Keybored The Kalih Midnight Pros? They use a dampening pad in the housing. The Haimu Heartbeat/Whisper switches are different and don't use rubber or silicone pads at all. It's all plastic so less mushy but still silent. They also use the same stem design in the Skyloong Glacier switches as well.
When compared, the keychron silent switches still sounded louder than the other 2 switches, for budget option, I guess the Outemu Silent Lemon or the newer Haimu Whisper could be viable to the build
The new style silents out there that use relief cuts in the stem vs. silicone inserts seem really nice. Plus, no mushy feel on bottom-out. I've been meaning to get some.
Another option for silent switches are the newly released WS Switches from Wuque Studios! They have silent linear and tactiles that are crazy quiet from what I've heard, and I even order a set of the silent tactiles for my work keyboard.
For those that can't find those, try the Skyloong Glaciers/ Epomaker Icebergs (but the silent version ofc, since they use the same type of silencing on the stem, but with varied actuation points and spring weight)
I think the reason people say membrane is more quiet is because offices are synonymous with that sound so people learned to tune it out in some way. I’ve never seen someone bring a MK to the office yet so when a new sound is introduced people hyperfixate on it even if it isn’t loud. Loved the video!
I'd love to see you review the Haimu silent switches! I recently got some Haimu heartbeat and put them stock in a board with only one piece of bottom foam, and it's still alot quieter than my fully foamed up board with U4's. And not having that rubber dampening really helps with the feel of the switches, mind-blowing!
Now this is more my preference. The expensive one turned out very nice but it's cost is a bit much. Either way the concept can be applied to any board so great job showing us examples of what's possible, well done
Great video Scott! I previously owned (and broke) a Keychron K2 and waited months and months thinking of a replacement. When the holidays hit, I saw that the V1 was part of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale as were the Keychron silent switches (which I wasn't aware of) and one of their Cherry profile, double-shot PBT keycap sets. I am just blown away by the quality improvement relative to that early Kickstarter K2 and I'm glad you spotted this option for people as well. Great value if you want to get into keyboard/keycaps/silent linears. I don't want to become one of those people with 12 keyboards so at most, I may one day upgrade my switches to my original picks of Silent Alpacas but that's more than half the cost of my entire setup.
I call switches like the Midnight Pros, muted switches. Another example would be the Gateron Black Crystel Silent Reds. These switches are just in between silents and normal switches. I love them for their sound profile, truly recommend trying them out.
For my personal office board I actually use the Odin V2 myself with boba U4 silents lol. The only modding I did to the switches was I spring swapped my bobas to use 2 stage springs for the snappier feel. Great video as always!
I haven't used a wide variety of silent switches, but I have both the Haimu Heartbeat and Haimu Whisper (the names are backwards IMO, heartbeat is a linear and whisper is the tactile?). Both are amazing, but I agree the heartbeat is the best. Definitely worth checking out for anyone who wants a silent board. The whispers are quiet as well, but they have a louder top out due to how the silencing is implemented with the relief cut only being on the bottom of the stem. Still good switches, but the heartbeats are better for noise
@@sneakytowelsuit the ingenuity in this design made my jaw drop. Such a clever implementation that I understand is much less mushy than most other silent linears
Just finished my Keychron K4 v2 with lubed+filmed durock dolphins. Also added a bigger battery and poron plate and case foam sheets. I was 100% inspired by your first silent keeb video! I love how quiet my keyboard is.
I know this may be a random loaded question to answer in the comments, but how do you go about planning the timeline/flow of your videos. Since you have made so many videos at this point in time does it come naturally or do you still plan out heavily what points you want to make and when in the video.
@@Keybored gotcha, thats 100% understandable as your videos are amazing and I have started to dabble into making videos and the production of them can be quite the process.
Back in the day the Dell Quietkey keyboards were pretty quiet, quieter than the membrane keyboard featured in this video. Additionally the Maxiswitch-built battleship keyboards like the Gateway 2000-branded Anykey, and the later Sun Microsystems keyboards were also pretty quiet. The Dell and Sun offerings were meant for computer labs and office environments specifically. The thing I've learned about keyboards over more than 25 years in IT, the quality of a good rubber-dome can be far better than a bad mechanical. Of course that doesn't mean that I think all rubberdomes are better, most are very much not, but there are a lot of gimmicky low-end mechanicals that aren't especially good out of the box. Professional keyboards like those early VT terminal WYSE with Cherry MX Blacks were good, but there's been a lot of trading on simply being mechanical lately and then upfitting with bling. I'm watching these because I was the guy in the office pounding away on an ancient IBM Model-M, and I'm looking for something with a good feel but exceedingly quiet. This and videos like it offer ideas, both for new builds and for taking an off the shelf mechanical and swapping the switches. It would be quite the solder-job for what I have, but it may be worthwhile if I can get what I want in the process.
The first time I was introduced to this channel was when I was searching how to make a silent keyboard and stumbled upon your video on the first silent keyboard build you did. It's really cool and fun on how you build keyboards and insert some science to the vid very creative!
@@Keybored Honestly the mushiness wasn't what killed silicone-dampened switches for me - it's the silicone sticking onto the plastic housing (or vice-versa, for the Kailh Midnight Pros) that killed it for me I like to rotate my switches once in a while and as long as you don't use them regularly they all stick to the top when you press, it's so bad I stopped using them The Haimu switches can also be found called "WS Silent Tactile" or "WS Silent Linear" for the more generic versions, I think a genuine better stock silent keyboard you could compare to is against a silenced topre OR you could get that Fold 2000 (nicknamed "Breast Implant") as well, since you literally just press on silicon on those xD
the bonus switches you threw in the end sound much better than the average silent switches but how do they feel compared to the others? i'm not to big on normal silent switches due to the squishy feeling when typing so i shy away from silent switches
I just "built" (assembled) my first keyboard but this video made me extremely impressed with what can really be achieved with readily available products. Thanks!
I keep the membrane keyboard provided for work in an office closet! I work on a Keychron Q6 + Durock Dolphin lubed silent switches + Keychron doubleshot PBT cherry MX keycaps! [and the same setup at home just diffent colour keycaps] 😁
I would love to hear your opinion on Haimu switches. I've been using heartbeat linears for a little while now and they are great. Haimu makes silent linears and tactiles for Wuque studios and Geon Works. Keep up the great content.
Nice^^ I started using zilents because I felt like my zealios were a little too loud at my office (no one ever said anything) but after trying them on different boards I think maybe lubed zelios are even quieter / nicer to type on.
@Keybored As a newbie to this, do I need to purchase anything extra when you say you've used the "silencing pads" as well as the "silicon wire dampeners" ? Does this come with the set of Owlabs Owlstabs? Cheers.
a silent keyboard for around 200 is a splitkb kyria, with silver choc switches (linear, about 40g of force) that are lubed and tapemodded, 3dprinted plates and some foam for bottom of chair feet (sliced up) invetween plates and pcb for sound dampening. yes it requires a bit of effort to set up and the kyria is a split keyboard, but ive had it for iver a year and it's really comfy and also super quiet
I built a color matching mechanisk urskog build with blue macaws. Theyre not as quiet as u4s are, but I kind of see that as a plus as it is quiet enough to be used in lectures while still having a reduced "mush" when bottoming out
Check out the haimu heartbeat switches. They use a brand new, innovative mold type with no rubber silencer so they are less mushy, factory lubed (inconsistent but not bad), and pretty cheap!
I love that the easy Odin build sounded a bit like muffled rainfall. Really nice, But dang... That ultimat silent build crushes the other two in terms of audibility.
Honestly I find most silent builds not sounding that great, you hear all the little squeaks and rubbings since there is nothing to drown those sounds out, at least, that's what I assume what is going on... BUT, that Kailh Midnight Pro Silent build is one heck of a different story! That thing sounds good!
you are right. i just built my first keeb (tray mount, plastic case) with silent switches and it sounds more muted than both Logitech Silent Touch and K380.
As a programmer, I don't want to hear my keyboard when I'm working (in the office or at home) and I honestly don't think keyboards sound "good". I use silent switches but it'd be great to know some hacks to make it even quieter.
yes, most people use keyboards to type. hence most people use membrare keyboards. most people who use mechanical keyboards do care about sound, typing experience and the likes. hence load mechanical keyboards are popular among them.
The Kaihl aren’t as quiet as the Boba but I think I like the sound better. I’m using the Kaihl Silent Pinks and absolutely love everything about them from their feel to their sound.
thanks so much. I'm just starting to put together my first custom keyboard, which will be used in an office environment, so going down the silent route. This video is concise and informative. Thank you very much!
Would also love to see these compared to the most silent topre build possible! The membrane keyboard is so rattley but a well tuned topre just sounds delightful
Ope also highly recommend ttc silent bluish whites for another silent tactile option! It's not as quiet as the U4S, but it's a very satisfying tactility!
I want to use TKL ISO layout with hot swap switches, so my keyboard options are currently as follows: (1) GMMK TKL ISO (2) ??? Add Boba U4 switches and PBT keycaps and it should cost around $170. You may need to tune the stabs if you want really silent.
I'm kind of curious how the boba's would sound on the keychron keyboard and vice versa with the odin and keychron keys. In other words between the two builds, is it the switches or the keyboard itself causing the sound difference. Based on the kaihl/boba comparison, I'm thinking its the switches. And yes, I highly recommend the Boba U4's as I'm using them and they are quite silent; while still tactile.
When I got my Ducky 1|0 Edition with Roselios silent linear switches, I expected it to be really quiet, but due to the plastic case and no foam in back, it echoed horribly and the switches were pretty scratchy! I resolved this with clear gorilla tape mod (to keep the LEDs shining through) and lubed the switches from the top with 205G0. Huge improvement, but still not as good as these boards!
Thank you for reviewing our switches (I am Gazzew) - just want to communicate, the switches are U4 (not U4S). I've sent a message to Milktooth to make sure he's labeling them correctly. Thank you again for your review -- Tao
I work in an office and I use a leopold keyboard that I modified with boba u4 switches and I have by far the most silent keyboard. membrane keyboard clack and most importantly, they creak in a very obnoxious way, especially when people type heavily on them. The only membrane keyboard that is truly quiet is one with topre silent switches.
If you want another silent budget switch, Akko just released their Haze Pink silent switches at 14 bucks for 45. Another great option in the silent switch space.
I would like to find something similar to my old Keytronic KT-2001 keyboard from back in the days. It's a rubber dome keyboard i know. But the sound and feel when typing was epic. What keyboard or/and switches would be a good starting point? Typing sounds are available on UA-cam if you search the model. My goal is to use it on my works desk. Doesn't matter if it's wired or wireless or both. Preferable if it's USB-C if it's wired. Will be connected to my laptop dock. I have looked at keychron keyboards but there are not supermany to choose from since I need Nordic/Swedish keycaps/layout. Preferable would be to have all those number keys aswell on the side but not really required.
What I have seen from me running a Iris with Silent Dolphins inside. Is that first of course it's not making no sound. Mine has a nice bass sound (peaking at 76 hz) and the most fun is that depending of the table the sound it different! My favorite is at my parents house where they have a marble table. Feels so good Honestly, can't come back from it!
The only issue I'd have with the Keychron is that the spacebar still sounds a bit loud. Other than that, yeah the Odin sounds better, but not 5x the cost better.
@@Keybored I think the biggest thing is getting high quality stabs. I'm still on my old Ducky Shine 2 and the stabs are rattly AF. Have a Keychron V1 and Gateron Silent Blacks in the mail...
Ha cool, I built an Odin V1 with Boba U4S for a former friend :D It really is exceptionally quiet. The skin brushing against the keycaps is louder than the switches. I still haven't lubed my MX Zilents tho 😭 I was supposed to get that done months ago
THANK you for covering silent switches. Thoughts on silent alpacas? They're my favorite silent switch. My keyboard broke and I got the keychron k2 pro with silent alpacas as a temp standin, and I love it a lot.
ive made a quieter frankenswitch top- milky bottom- gateron north pole 2.0 yellow stem- black ink with the foam bits of a silent alpaca or silent red or any which you find quiet spring- any non crunchy spring
Membranes suck bro, can't believe I used them, bro. Thank you for the hard work, bro! ^^ Got a Keychron Q5 for work and productivity, gonna be modding it soon bro.
Keychron V1, GK Gamakay Phoenix Linear Switch , and your choice of key caps. I feel is comparable to the highend in this video. I think i will be checking out Boba U4S switches soon though.
I might just not be a foam person but wouldn't the PE foam increase some of the sound of the Boba U4's? From my experience it usually makes everything louder and poppier. But as I said. I'm not a foam person so I don't know too much about this.
Well, PE is making the midrange freq sound louder by suppressing the lows and highs. Is the case of a silent switch though, there is not much to suppress nor amplify, so my bet is that there is not much of a difference.
most membranes are definitely not even close to 42 db like the most silent keyboard from the previous video. plus bad typing experience, plus thhey wont last anywhere near as long.
Do you think the Keychron board would have the same result with the U4S switches? I'm pretty new to all of this and don't know how much the board itself might affect the noise.
I'm going to be trying this experiment out at some point as I've currently got the V5 with boba U4T's in it but am also curious how it'll sound once I can get the silent switches. To directly answer your question, it's possible to closely approach the same sound with the same switches, however different factors such as the shape of the case housing, the plate material, and even the keycaps can alter the sound of a keyboard, so it's difficult to perfectly replicate the sound of one keyboard while using different hardware. Not impossible, but difficult.
Your videos got me to take the step into making my first board, and I have to say for my first board It’s come out really well and I’m very pleased, I just need to find some Keycaps in a color way I like
My Odin V1 is my board at work. I put Durock shrimps (tactile gang here) and I’m always amused when people told me it is quieter than my colleague’s membrane keyboard. For my next silent build. I’m going to join the Wind X r2 GB (I own r1 and man I like this board) with the southpaw version. I already bought the switches: Haimu Whisper, quite silent without the mushiness of the silicon dampeners, I love them.
I guess some people might make the association of "farm cats," you know, like fresh from the farm, but I still think a photo of kittens coming out of the HelloFresh box was just a poor, poor marketing decision.
Great video examples! I built my partner a v6 with the Keychron silents (she doesn't like loud keyboards) and everything but the spacebar is pretty dang quiet. Your vid is making me think of swapping hers with U4s though...
Autor can you please to help me to find out - is it possible to achieve from the Wooting Two He a sound comparable to the Wooting 80 HE or may beeven better with the help of modding?
from my own experience - lubed gateron sakurios on pc plate with full foams kit on any aluminium case iq quieter than anything you can possibly imagine , imagine hhkb fully lubed but as mx board .
I know the Kailh Midnight Pros weren't the most silent of the bunch, but I thought the typing sound from them was really good... With the other switches, you could almost hear a little squeak from the silicone, but the midnights had a lovely soft bottom out.
Bit of a late reply here but I recently picked up a set of these and they really are great.
I've been using the Boba U4's for over a year now in the build I bring into the office, and I couldn't recommend them more. Perfectly silent and smooth, never had a single complaint from those I work near. Thanks for this awesome video, Scott!
:) It's like the perfect medium I believe
Same
Do you think it's worth it to lube the Boba U4S?
In my opinion any silent switch that is manufactured by Outemu is by far the best option if you want absolute silence. I have an RK100 that I outfitted with Outemu silent Peach switches and there is more noise made my your fingers hitting the keycaps than the actual volume of the switch.
Ditto. I'm a big fan of Outemu's Silent Peach for linear switches and Silent Cream Yellow for tactile switches. Factory pre-lubed on both of these switches are incredibly silent. The tactile Cream Yellow have a slight spring noise, so maybe you can hear that in an absolutely silent room, but I prefer the tactile feeling over linear. I have two boards that I go back and forth on, even though the Silent Peach is probably less noisy, I find myself always reaching for the board with the Silent Cream yellows. If I could just fix my stabilizers.... :D
Try the Haimu switches, they are incredibly silent with their unique stem design. Ws switches are made by Haimu as well, super silent switches
😮😮😅
Maybe I should try them! I've had Outemu's blue switch and they suck really bad. But I feel like most blue switches do lmao
Haimu x geon might be louder by a bit but they definitely feel the best
Oh man, this was fun to see. Just a few weeks ago I was inspired by your Wind silent video to mod a keychron v6 to make it silent for in office typing. I used lubed/filmed silent cherry reds and used o rings for the tray mount, combining your old keychron mod with the silent switch mod. Turned out way quieter than I thought the kb could get with its lack of gaskets. Thanks for your videos, Scott!!
:) glad to hear that!
It's always cool to hear when someone makes up some of the maybe higher priced features with clever modding. Your build sounds pretty awesome.
do you like the feel of it? When I put o-rings on my keeb it just felt too much like membrane for me to justify using them.
@fundthementally I def like the results I'm working with. I don't think i notice any squish from the o rings themselves. And for office typing, it's super quiet even compared to my coworkers membrane kbs.
.
Primarily, the reason I used o rings was to isolate the steel plate from the standoffs for the mounting hardware. It didn't really affect how hard my bottom out was, more so the sound isolation. I guess technically there is a very small amount of give since the screws are compressing o rings very lightly, but not enough for me to feel a difference when typing. Plus, using silent cherry reds means I get a slight mushy bottom out anyways due to the elastomer dampeners on the stems.
These silent switches still use silicone dampeners, which to some can feel mushy and they don't like that. Switches made by Haimu, such as the Heartbeat and Whisper switches, or the WS silent tactile/linear use a new mechanism with a flex cut on the stem and holes in the bottom housing to kill sound. The result is a very nice silent with no mushiness.
Yup, the midnight pros are the same as well!
@@Keybored The Kalih Midnight Pros? They use a dampening pad in the housing. The Haimu Heartbeat/Whisper switches are different and don't use rubber or silicone pads at all. It's all plastic so less mushy but still silent. They also use the same stem design in the Skyloong Glacier switches as well.
When compared, the keychron silent switches still sounded louder than the other 2 switches, for budget option, I guess the Outemu Silent Lemon or the newer Haimu Whisper could be viable to the build
Yeah, the Keychron version is not as quiet as something like the gats or cherry. But even Vs. those it's cheaper, so I guess there is a trade off
I've been using Outemu silent grays! Those are nice as well and soo cheap
but for me the keychron silent is just makes me love it , its not totally muted , and also it still has a little bit sound left off
The new style silents out there that use relief cuts in the stem vs. silicone inserts seem really nice. Plus, no mushy feel on bottom-out. I've been meaning to get some.
If you need a more accessible version of the Haimus, the Wuque Studio switches are also made by Haimu and have silent linear and tactile versions!
the membrane keyboard was a jumpscare after how nice all the other boards sounded
Another option for silent switches are the newly released WS Switches from Wuque Studios! They have silent linear and tactiles that are crazy quiet from what I've heard, and I even order a set of the silent tactiles for my work keyboard.
Yup, WS silent tactile feel very 👍
For those that can't find those, try the Skyloong Glaciers/ Epomaker Icebergs (but the silent version ofc, since they use the same type of silencing on the stem, but with varied actuation points and spring weight)
@@lazybee4267not anywhere close to a hiamu heartbeat linear
I think the reason people say membrane is more quiet is because offices are synonymous with that sound so people learned to tune it out in some way. I’ve never seen someone bring a MK to the office yet so when a new sound is introduced people hyperfixate on it even if it isn’t loud. Loved the video!
I'd love to see you review the Haimu silent switches! I recently got some Haimu heartbeat and put them stock in a board with only one piece of bottom foam, and it's still alot quieter than my fully foamed up board with U4's. And not having that rubber dampening really helps with the feel of the switches, mind-blowing!
Now this is more my preference. The expensive one turned out very nice but it's cost is a bit much. Either way the concept can be applied to any board so great job showing us examples of what's possible, well done
Great video Scott! I previously owned (and broke) a Keychron K2 and waited months and months thinking of a replacement. When the holidays hit, I saw that the V1 was part of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale as were the Keychron silent switches (which I wasn't aware of) and one of their Cherry profile, double-shot PBT keycap sets. I am just blown away by the quality improvement relative to that early Kickstarter K2 and I'm glad you spotted this option for people as well. Great value if you want to get into keyboard/keycaps/silent linears. I don't want to become one of those people with 12 keyboards so at most, I may one day upgrade my switches to my original picks of Silent Alpacas but that's more than half the cost of my entire setup.
Those U4s sound pretty dang good! I'm in the middle of making a silent board for work so this video couldn't have come out at a more useful time
I call switches like the Midnight Pros, muted switches. Another example would be the Gateron Black Crystel Silent Reds. These switches are just in between silents and normal switches. I love them for their sound profile, truly recommend trying them out.
:) It's the perfect gateway switch
For my personal office board I actually use the Odin V2 myself with boba U4 silents lol. The only modding I did to the switches was I spring swapped my bobas to use 2 stage springs for the snappier feel.
Great video as always!
The best silent switches by far are the new Haimu Heartbeat silent linears. They are also sold under different names and look in different regions.
I haven't used a wide variety of silent switches, but I have both the Haimu Heartbeat and Haimu Whisper (the names are backwards IMO, heartbeat is a linear and whisper is the tactile?). Both are amazing, but I agree the heartbeat is the best. Definitely worth checking out for anyone who wants a silent board. The whispers are quiet as well, but they have a louder top out due to how the silencing is implemented with the relief cut only being on the bottom of the stem. Still good switches, but the heartbeats are better for noise
@@sneakytowelsuit the ingenuity in this design made my jaw drop. Such a clever implementation that I understand is much less mushy than most other silent linears
Just finished my Keychron K4 v2 with lubed+filmed durock dolphins. Also added a bigger battery and poron plate and case foam sheets. I was 100% inspired by your first silent keeb video! I love how quiet my keyboard is.
I know this may be a random loaded question to answer in the comments, but how do you go about planning the timeline/flow of your videos. Since you have made so many videos at this point in time does it come naturally or do you still plan out heavily what points you want to make and when in the video.
I still have to think about and plan pretty heavily :(
@@Keybored gotcha, thats 100% understandable as your videos are amazing and I have started to dabble into making videos and the production of them can be quite the process.
Back in the day the Dell Quietkey keyboards were pretty quiet, quieter than the membrane keyboard featured in this video. Additionally the Maxiswitch-built battleship keyboards like the Gateway 2000-branded Anykey, and the later Sun Microsystems keyboards were also pretty quiet. The Dell and Sun offerings were meant for computer labs and office environments specifically.
The thing I've learned about keyboards over more than 25 years in IT, the quality of a good rubber-dome can be far better than a bad mechanical. Of course that doesn't mean that I think all rubberdomes are better, most are very much not, but there are a lot of gimmicky low-end mechanicals that aren't especially good out of the box. Professional keyboards like those early VT terminal WYSE with Cherry MX Blacks were good, but there's been a lot of trading on simply being mechanical lately and then upfitting with bling.
I'm watching these because I was the guy in the office pounding away on an ancient IBM Model-M, and I'm looking for something with a good feel but exceedingly quiet. This and videos like it offer ideas, both for new builds and for taking an off the shelf mechanical and swapping the switches. It would be quite the solder-job for what I have, but it may be worthwhile if I can get what I want in the process.
Would be interested to see your thoughts on the Haimu Heatbeats or Whispers that don't use rubber dampeners to silence the switches.
Would be cool if he did one of the more technical explanations for how it works too!
That would be an interesting option! I'll have to really look into those!
Logitech has the worst and the loudest membrane keyboards.
There are so many quiet membrane keyboards.
The first time I was introduced to this channel was when I was searching how to make a silent keyboard and stumbled upon your video on the first silent keyboard build you did. It's really cool and fun on how you build keyboards and insert some science to the vid very creative!
Thank you so much! Will continue to see what I can do to help the community!
@@Keybored Honestly the mushiness wasn't what killed silicone-dampened switches for me - it's the silicone sticking onto the plastic housing (or vice-versa, for the Kailh Midnight Pros) that killed it for me
I like to rotate my switches once in a while and as long as you don't use them regularly they all stick to the top when you press, it's so bad I stopped using them
The Haimu switches can also be found called "WS Silent Tactile" or "WS Silent Linear" for the more generic versions, I think a genuine better stock silent keyboard you could compare to is against a silenced topre
OR you could get that Fold 2000 (nicknamed "Breast Implant") as well, since you literally just press on silicon on those xD
the bonus switches you threw in the end sound much better than the average silent switches but how do they feel compared to the others? i'm not to big on normal silent switches due to the squishy feeling when typing so i shy away from silent switches
I just "built" (assembled) my first keyboard but this video made me extremely impressed with what can really be achieved with readily available products. Thanks!
This is great!! I'm debating between getting the Haimu Whispers, the Wuque Studio Silent Tactiles, and the U4s
I keep the membrane keyboard provided for work in an office closet! I work on a Keychron Q6 + Durock Dolphin lubed silent switches + Keychron doubleshot PBT cherry MX keycaps! [and the same setup at home just diffent colour keycaps] 😁
I would love to hear your opinion on Haimu switches. I've been using heartbeat linears for a little while now and they are great. Haimu makes silent linears and tactiles for Wuque studios and Geon Works. Keep up the great content.
Typing tests:
8:23 - Pro Red (not silent)
8:39 - Silent Pro
8:56 - boba
9:13 - MX zilents
9:31 - Generic Memrbane
11:15 - Kailh Midnight Pros
11:27 - Boba u4s
11:31 - Kailh Midnight Pros
This was an excellent ' rebuttal ' video, Scott!
Well, rebuttal isn't quite the right word... But excellent revisit on the topic, with more options!
Nice^^ I started using zilents because I felt like my zealios were a little too loud at my office (no one ever said anything) but after trying them on different boards I think maybe lubed zelios are even quieter / nicer to type on.
@Keybored As a newbie to this, do I need to purchase anything extra when you say you've used the "silencing pads" as well as the "silicon wire dampeners" ? Does this come with the set of Owlabs Owlstabs? Cheers.
a silent keyboard for around 200 is a splitkb kyria, with silver choc switches (linear, about 40g of force) that are lubed and tapemodded, 3dprinted plates and some foam for bottom of chair feet (sliced up) invetween plates and pcb for sound dampening. yes it requires a bit of effort to set up and the kyria is a split keyboard, but ive had it for iver a year and it's really comfy and also super quiet
Been using the Boba U4 for a very long time too. One of the most satisfying tactile yet silent switches I ever use.
i would love to see a silent switch comparison video, there are so few out there, especially fewer that are up to date
I built a color matching mechanisk urskog build with blue macaws. Theyre not as quiet as u4s are, but I kind of see that as a plus as it is quiet enough to be used in lectures while still having a reduced "mush" when bottoming out
Check out the haimu heartbeat switches. They use a brand new, innovative mold type with no rubber silencer so they are less mushy, factory lubed (inconsistent but not bad), and pretty cheap!
I love that the easy Odin build sounded a bit like muffled rainfall.
Really nice,
But dang... That ultimat silent build crushes the other two in terms of audibility.
i was hoping you'd revisit the quiet keyboard! those frankenswitches was too much for me, so I hoped you'd look at other silent types switches!
:) the Boba u4 and bobagums are the best alternative!
Honestly I find most silent builds not sounding that great, you hear all the little squeaks and rubbings since there is nothing to drown those sounds out, at least, that's what I assume what is going on... BUT, that Kailh Midnight Pro Silent build is one heck of a different story! That thing sounds good!
you are right. i just built my first keeb (tray mount, plastic case) with silent switches and it sounds more muted than both Logitech Silent Touch and K380.
As a programmer, I don't want to hear my keyboard when I'm working (in the office or at home) and I honestly don't think keyboards sound "good". I use silent switches but it'd be great to know some hacks to make it even quieter.
Thing is, I get you but I personally think there is always a non silent keyboard to you that sounds good.
cover your walls with sound deadening foam. maybe that'll help lol
You mentioned silicone wire dampeners for your stabs. Did you make them yourself, or buy them online? If you bought them, do you have a link? Ty!
Quiet = less distracting. Most people use keyboards to type, not examining how good it sounds.
yes, most people use keyboards to type. hence most people use membrare keyboards. most people who use mechanical keyboards do care about sound, typing experience and the likes. hence load mechanical keyboards are popular among them.
Instead of the Keychron Silent K Pro, can I buy the Keychron V5 Keyboard and just as easily use the Boba U4S Silent Tactile Switches?
The Kaihl aren’t as quiet as the Boba but I think I like the sound better. I’m using the Kaihl Silent Pinks and absolutely love everything about them from their feel to their sound.
1:54 As much as im not a fan of non-standard full size layouts, this is really not bad!
thanks so much. I'm just starting to put together my first custom keyboard, which will be used in an office environment, so going down the silent route. This video is concise and informative. Thank you very much!
i've been lookin for this kinda video all day. Great advice! it confirms all my questions about keyboards, switches and brands.
Would also love to see these compared to the most silent topre build possible! The membrane keyboard is so rattley but a well tuned topre just sounds delightful
Ope also highly recommend ttc silent bluish whites for another silent tactile option! It's not as quiet as the U4S, but it's a very satisfying tactility!
I want to use TKL ISO layout with hot swap switches, so my keyboard options are currently as follows:
(1) GMMK TKL ISO
(2) ???
Add Boba U4 switches and PBT keycaps and it should cost around $170. You may need to tune the stabs if you want really silent.
that Odin setup was insane. Love your vids.
I'm kind of curious how the boba's would sound on the keychron keyboard and vice versa with the odin and keychron keys. In other words between the two builds, is it the switches or the keyboard itself causing the sound difference. Based on the kaihl/boba comparison, I'm thinking its the switches.
And yes, I highly recommend the Boba U4's as I'm using them and they are quite silent; while still tactile.
When I got my Ducky 1|0 Edition with Roselios silent linear switches, I expected it to be really quiet, but due to the plastic case and no foam in back, it echoed horribly and the switches were pretty scratchy! I resolved this with clear gorilla tape mod (to keep the LEDs shining through) and lubed the switches from the top with 205G0. Huge improvement, but still not as good as these boards!
Thank you for reviewing our switches (I am Gazzew) - just want to communicate, the switches are U4 (not U4S). I've sent a message to Milktooth to make sure he's labeling them correctly. Thank you again for your review -- Tao
Akko's going to release a budget silent switch, can't wait to try those for my first silent build.
I work in an office and I use a leopold keyboard that I modified with boba u4 switches and I have by far the most silent keyboard. membrane keyboard clack and most importantly, they creak in a very obnoxious way, especially when people type heavily on them. The only membrane keyboard that is truly quiet is one with topre silent switches.
You found the loudest membrane keyboard for this video 😂
Nope, not even close
If you want another silent budget switch, Akko just released their Haze Pink silent switches at 14 bucks for 45. Another great option in the silent switch space.
Thanks for the advice! But I decided not to work with Akko anymore. Not in alignment with their practices as of late :(
@@Keybored I'm out of the loop, what have they done recently?
would love to hear how these compare with the haimu heartbeat switches.
I would like to find something similar to my old Keytronic KT-2001 keyboard from back in the days. It's a rubber dome keyboard i know. But the sound and feel when typing was epic. What keyboard or/and switches would be a good starting point? Typing sounds are available on UA-cam if you search the model.
My goal is to use it on my works desk. Doesn't matter if it's wired or wireless or both. Preferable if it's USB-C if it's wired. Will be connected to my laptop dock.
I have looked at keychron keyboards but there are not supermany to choose from since I need Nordic/Swedish keycaps/layout.
Preferable would be to have all those number keys aswell on the side but not really required.
Super nice video man, thanks and keep it up! Liked the kailh midnights a lot, silent but also has that subtle pop to it, really nice
Thank you so much! I appreciate the support!
What I have seen from me running a Iris with Silent Dolphins inside. Is that first of course it's not making no sound. Mine has a nice bass sound (peaking at 76 hz) and the most fun is that depending of the table the sound it different! My favorite is at my parents house where they have a marble table. Feels so good
Honestly, can't come back from it!
The only issue I'd have with the Keychron is that the spacebar still sounds a bit loud. Other than that, yeah the Odin sounds better, but not 5x the cost better.
Yeah, the Keychron silent K pro is not as quiet for sure... especially the larger keys
@@Keybored I think the biggest thing is getting high quality stabs. I'm still on my old Ducky Shine 2 and the stabs are rattly AF. Have a Keychron V1 and Gateron Silent Blacks in the mail...
I love the “marble-y” or thock sounds. I watch the silent videos because I also love the science behind it all.
I want a tkl layout. Does it make sense to go with the keychron v3?
And can I use custom keycaps on it after changing to silent switches?
What about using the nice switches on the keychron? How much of the difference in sound is the switches versus the rest of the board?
Ha cool, I built an Odin V1 with Boba U4S for a former friend :D
It really is exceptionally quiet. The skin brushing against the keycaps is louder than the switches.
I still haven't lubed my MX Zilents tho 😭
I was supposed to get that done months ago
I wounder how the middle of the road sounds: combining the Boba U4S and the Keychron V5
I would love to see a review of the new haimu silents. Or the wuque studio silents, since those use the same mechanism.
THANK you for covering silent switches. Thoughts on silent alpacas? They're my favorite silent switch. My keyboard broke and I got the keychron k2 pro with silent alpacas as a temp standin, and I love it a lot.
ive made a quieter frankenswitch
top- milky
bottom- gateron north pole 2.0 yellow
stem- black ink with the foam bits of a silent alpaca or silent red or any which you find quiet
spring- any non crunchy spring
Membranes suck bro, can't believe I used them, bro. Thank you for the hard work, bro! ^^ Got a Keychron Q5 for work and productivity, gonna be modding it soon bro.
Keychron V1, GK Gamakay Phoenix Linear Switch , and your choice of key caps. I feel is comparable to the highend in this video. I think i will be checking out Boba U4S switches soon though.
What if you used the NK Cream+ switches with the silicone stem? How does that compare to the rest?
Exactly my question. Guess we'll find out in R3 of silent keybored.
I might just not be a foam person but wouldn't the PE foam increase some of the sound of the Boba U4's? From my experience it usually makes everything louder and poppier.
But as I said. I'm not a foam person so I don't know too much about this.
Well, PE is making the midrange freq sound louder by suppressing the lows and highs.
Is the case of a silent switch though, there is not much to suppress nor amplify, so my bet is that there is not much of a difference.
Hmm I see that you chose the loudest membrane you could find. Lol.
most membranes are definitely not even close to 42 db like the most silent keyboard from the previous video. plus bad typing experience, plus thhey wont last anywhere near as long.
Which weight of the U4s did you use? I can’t figure out which one would be best for me.
this time you're getting fired because your boss thinks you're not actually working
for the kailh midnight pros did you go with linear or tactile?
Do you think the Keychron board would have the same result with the U4S switches? I'm pretty new to all of this and don't know how much the board itself might affect the noise.
I'm going to be trying this experiment out at some point as I've currently got the V5 with boba U4T's in it but am also curious how it'll sound once I can get the silent switches.
To directly answer your question, it's possible to closely approach the same sound with the same switches, however different factors such as the shape of the case housing, the plate material, and even the keycaps can alter the sound of a keyboard, so it's difficult to perfectly replicate the sound of one keyboard while using different hardware. Not impossible, but difficult.
Your videos got me to take the step into making my first board, and I have to say for my first board It’s come out really well and I’m very pleased, I just need to find some Keycaps in a color way I like
The extra step of showing us the midnights was awesome! Thanks for that...
Absolutely amazing engineering crash course 😂
I just use a niz plum with o rings and some tape. Not dead silent but it's amazing and feels so good. I just wish I could replace the stabilizers.
My man did it again, twice! I was waiting for this one!
:) Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the support!
iam a bit newbie with mechanical keyboards, you used the K Pro just for simplicity right? I could use MX Zilent as well (for keychron)?
That Odin board is so clean. Wish I could afford to rock something that 🔥. Great build and great video!
My Odin V1 is my board at work. I put Durock shrimps (tactile gang here) and I’m always amused when people told me it is quieter than my colleague’s membrane keyboard.
For my next silent build. I’m going to join the Wind X r2 GB (I own r1 and man I like this board) with the southpaw version. I already bought the switches: Haimu Whisper, quite silent without the mushiness of the silicon dampeners, I love them.
:) The power of silent switches in mechs!
I guess some people might make the association of "farm cats," you know, like fresh from the farm, but I still think a photo of kittens coming out of the HelloFresh box was just a poor, poor marketing decision.
I love your channel the science behind keyboards is so interesting
Thank you so much! Glad to be of help!
the haimu heartbeat switches are truly silent and don't use silicon dampeners.
I just built a board with Boba U4 silent. It's really a quiet switch. Great for office setting and late night gaming sessions.
Great video examples! I built my partner a v6 with the Keychron silents (she doesn't like loud keyboards) and everything but the spacebar is pretty dang quiet. Your vid is making me think of swapping hers with U4s though...
:) You can also grab some U4s and put them in the larger keys only as well :)
whats the keyboard in the top left at 9:20? I really like the look of it but want to research it more and dont know the name of it.
Instead of the Keychron V5, go for the recently release K4 Pro. Same layout but with the added Bluetooth wireless and still QMK
Autor can you please to help me to find out - is it possible to achieve from the Wooting Two He a sound comparable to the Wooting 80 HE or may beeven better with the help of modding?
I've been looking for a video like this for a little while.
from my own experience - lubed gateron sakurios on pc plate with full foams kit on any aluminium case iq quieter than anything you can possibly imagine , imagine hhkb fully lubed but as mx board .
it depends on the type of office job... but a lot of the times you actually would want to have a loud keyboard so they know you're doing something
Is there a build guide for the Odin V2?