Deskeys Topre Silencing Rings

Now being sold on kbdfans as well.

If you’ve held off on silencing on your topre board, I urge you to take the leap. It really is an easy mod, and it makes a world of difference.

I bought the #3 (thin) and installed them last night in my novatouch. HUGE improvement in sound. It sounds almost identical to my stock FC660c low noise board. Actually, it sounds even better, since I lubed the stabilizers while I was at it and I’m using thick MT3 caps. The accurate description would be quite, not silent. There still remains a nice thock like you would expect from topre.

They are super easy to put on, and you don’t have to deal with adhesive like the keyclack ones. I don’t notice any reduction in travel. No binding at all after hours of use. Nothing sticky. These are 5 star rings. Can’t wait until they get their sliders on the market.

I took my novatouch from a 6.5/10 to a 9.75/10. I’m in love all over again.

Also, I did another mod while I was at it. I’ve never seen anyone mention it, but the novatouch slider housings rattle in the steel plate. I didn’t notice it until I had the sliders out. So… I spent 2 hours removing all of the slider housings and added krytox 205g0 around all of the openings on the back of the plate. Reinstalled the housings and no more rattle at all!

Word of caution, you have to be careful not to damage the tabs that hold the slider housings in place. I found the best method was pressing on the tabs (first top, then bottom) with my thumbnail while prying the housing downward from the back of the plate for leverage. This is the only way I found to remove the housings without any damaging tabs that hold them in.

6 Likes

Nice to hear good about these. One question, do have other silencing rings to compare them to? If possible the very ones kbdfans silence X? I know they are around .15-.17 and was thinking if the .3 would be too much more, or something. And do you have a sound testing vid? Would love to hear it :smiley:

The only other rings I had were the keyclack ones, and I sold them after finding I didn’t like the reduction in travel. I’ll try to get a video sometime in the near future.

2 Likes

I got a pack of each to review, I’m hoping I can have a video out by this weekend now that Keycon is over :smiley:

2 Likes

Cool. I used the silence X, but needed a bit more dampening because of the weight I use. Went for keyclack V2, but they loose a bit of tactility if my senses are correct. And because of that was thinking about the deskeys one, but don’t know which size.

Hey @Manofinterests, did you have a chance to review them yet? I would love to know if they would silence my BKE domes better than Silence-X without too much more reduction in key travel. And if so, which thickness would be best.

Sounds like #4 would be right for you

Planning on having my review out this week

Got the .3. Will answer when I get it if they’re good for me :slight_smile:

The 4, & 5s are kinda interesting to me. I’d like to see if I could get a little more noise reduction on my 660C without sacrificing any tactility vs the KeyClack V1 rings I’m currently using with one or the other. Although now that I swapped BKE heavies into it, it has become a good bit quieter than it was with the extremes. I also have a bag of KC V2 rings, but think they may be too thick with the adhesive.

1 Like

Got the #3 and installed them last night on my FC660C. I don’t notice any reduced key travel at all, and I love how it sounds now. I heard the #3s make this sound more like the stock silenced FC660C, but I don’t have one to compare it to. I echo @pixelpusher’s sentiment, quiet but not silent while still thock-y.

Note: I’ve never tried any other silencing rings other than these before, but I’m definitely enjoying the experience so far.

1 Like

Tried Deskey #3 on my HHKB. It’s the better than Silence-X, KeyClack v1 and v2. Very effective padding without perceptible loss in key travel. Commendable.

For lube, I used 104 on sliders and 3204 on the slot rims.

3 Likes

Just ordered some #3s for the inescapable Heavy Grail…

4 Likes

Before I finally pull the trigger on some of these in order to resurrect my HHKB, what’s the difference between the silicon rings and the original rings?

That’s a good question and I can’t seem to find an answer. I even saw @anon81470386 ask the same thing in discord. Maybe time will get us a review.

I’ve had great experiences with all 4 of my boards using deskeys rings. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone. Very easy to install, good silencing results, easy to remove.

1 Like

@saylae is doing tests on both

2 Likes

@anon81470386

How did your tests go?

I’ve got the #3 rings, and I also bought the #3 gaskets as I didn’t want any decrease in travel. No matter how minimal.

Once the Norbauer case arrives, I intend to install, lube, and enjoy them immensely (or at least I hope)

I haven’t tested them myself but from what I’ve heard the silcon rings are louder than the foam ones.

1 Like