also my first time trying linears (everglide water king / aqua king v3 62g). had to, because different boba tactiles were causing issues (ghost keypresses) for my grid650. wanted to try alpacas but out of stock at local retailer. anyway, i was surprised by the smoothness of these linears, im glad i tried a top-rated one like aqua king instead of compromising. smooth and thocky when bottoming out
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One justification that makes sense to me is that they continue to sell well at premium price range. Can’t argue with demand.
Another may be that Chinese switch makers, led by JWK, have adopted boutique-approach to manufacturing, with limited design-focused production runs. Boutique-model typically requires higher price than Cherry and Gateron’s mass production model to stay in business.
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100% spot on, that’s why Cherry won’t cater to the enthusiast market at all & Gateron only kinda does. Zambumon has been proding Cherry on a daily basis to remake Nixies, but they just give meme replies to the ideal. 
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Only just now noticed SMS shipping message from Heebie Keebies, where I ordered 205g0 from, was sent from same phone number as SwitchMod.
Could be just a SMS service number being reused but, if not, any concerns about getting the legit 205g0 can be put to rest. 
And this is the biggest jar of the stuff. Next biggest sells 20ml jars at higher price.
Checked the jar of 205g0 I got a few days ago to see if they started separating. Nope. Looks like it’s the OG, not a 205g2+105 mix.
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That’s impressive. Even the stuff I get from krelbit has some separation usually.
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The jar is from Heebie Keebies which just happens to use the same SMS originating number as SwitchMod 
so maybe 205g0 quality has improved.
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After having used both retooled blacks and Hyperglides side by side for a while, I’m now fully in Hyperglides camp. Difference is hard to tell individually but it becomes apparent on a board during use. Sound is deeper yet brighter.
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Been wondering what factors led to sharp rise in keyboard switch smoothness. Off-hand, it could be:
- Cheaper molds (3D-printing?)
- Limiting production batch size.
- New post-production process for smoothing.
- New technique to restore molds to mint condition.
Maybe all of the above but I think combination of 1) and 2) are key drivers (3D-printed molds maybe too brittle to make millions of switches per mold but sufficient for small boutique-level production runs) while only JWK currently has 3) and 4) is unlikely.
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Does anyone know more about these Tecsee Diamond Linear (Diamond Linear Switches – bespoke.keys)? Appears to have UHMWPE in both stem and housing, and also some sort of two stage spring. Might order some…for…science. I can’t find much more information on these other than the store page and comments from a sound test.
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I haven’t heard of them up until I just saw your post, but they do look very interesting to me also! The few batches of linears I have from recent Tecsee runs are very nice, so if they can keep the PE to those spec these should be very very nice switches. Think I might pre-order a batch LOL!
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It’s pretty interesting to read the comments in their typing test. The uploader mentions that they do not feel as smooth as tangies, but it’s a deeper sound. The price isn’t bad so I might give em a go!
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Just a random thought: How would placing a thin sheet of adhesive ceramic or resin on a switch (inside, outside, above or under) affect switch sound and feel? We know QMX placed on top housing silences so the idea is not way out there.
Tealios sounds surprisingly loud and lively in Polaris with distinct likable tone. I was very happy with the switch but was not happy with franken-stabilizers (still can’t believe I didn’t notice the unbearable wobble when I built it). Before desoldering the switches to replace the stab, I wanted to try a couple of polished Cherry blacks to see how they might sound in Polaris.
Conclusion: Both Hyperglide and retooled black sounded very muted and flat. I’m going to do the same test with FR4 half-plate version but Tealios will stay on the full brass plate version. Disappointing.
UPDATE: Tested Cherry blacks in FR4 half-plate build. Better result: they sounded better than Gateron black inks. Like aluminum Tofu, retooled sounded more pleasant than Hyperglide. The later was making loud inconsistent clacks. I’ve no idea why retooled blacks would sound better on aluminum case while Hyperglides sound better on acrylic, at least to me. So looks like I’m going to be desoldering two boards. Oy.
In case you’re wondering, polished blacks I tested with felt just as smooth as Gateron Black Inks and very slightly less smooth than Tealios.
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Reviving this thread to ask for some opinions/recommendations on long stemmed/pole linears. Love the sound profile, but I didn’t know if there was a consensus on what was smoothest/best value. I only know of a couple myself…
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I’ve tried only two long-stem linears: Cream, and Kailh Pro Burgundy. Of the two, I prefer Cream. Hallmark signature of long stems is the clack but it’s a bit too sharp for my taste so I’m using Tape Mod to round out the sound a bit. As to value, Cream value is moderate.
I think JWK recently made some long-stem switches. Can’t recall their names but I’m sure others on this board can help you out with that.
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Are you still feeling the same these days? The thread is too long for me find out 
but at the end, it does seem like you are using only linear switches curently?
Nope. I’m now firmly in the linear camp. I do keep a clicky board with Jade switches and a tactile board with Holy Cherry frankenswitches but rest of the boards are linears. And the linear switch I like the most is Cherry blacks because they sound the best. They’re not smooth stock so I had to come up with a solution. You can find the long thread on that below.
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Haha, I have a similar progression, getting tired of tactile. But not quite there yet with linear - I don’t like the heavier bottom out feel on linear switches. Super light tactile are my jam, my current favor are hyperglide cherry browns 
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You should give light linears a try then. Heavy tactile switches were my jam when I first got into the hobby & for awhile past that. Then I started messing around with linears & now 50g to 63.5 linears are my fav. I’ve been experimenting with even lower weightings & have liked the results also.
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