Great discussion and insights, especially @HungerMechanic. I’m currently evaluating V2 cap golden brown vs. pro brown and waiting for V2 cap crystal browns to arrive.
The golden has flipped the post/tube structure, putting the tube on the stem and the post in the bottom case, which is really just a thinner tube closed on one end with a hole in it.
The tube on the stem is a significant diameter so the golden has a wider diameter spring. It’s a kinda freaky unique switch, a switch you cannot franken-switch with different stems or lower casings. And swapping in springs seem to be hit/miss. Some of mine aren’t large enough diameter and some coils fully compress before bottom out.
The golden’s unique air-escape hole that lets air in & out of the bottom case during switch operation impacts the sound, especially on return “clack” as the stem slams into the upper case, something others describe as a “deeper” sound. I hear it as a quieter return clack.
I’ve been comparing tactility, and though operation force (whatever that is) is the same, the larger tactile bump has to compress the clip more, so activation feels like it takes more effort to get past the bump, which makes falloff feel greater as well. Maybe that’s what comes with greater tactility.
I’ll skip the other details (lube, clip & spring sound, tactile legs, etc) and summarize that the V2 cap golden feels more tactile (larger bump), seems to bottom out less and has more return velocity (likely features of the longer spring), and is quieter on return because of it’s design, making for a quieter switch overall. These are subtle but noticeable differences.
Golden vs. Pro comes down to the golden’s overall tactility and typing effort, with more tactility and slightly more typing effort, noticeable even with thicker PBT keycaps.
I may eventually like that about the golden, but for now after some hours comparing, I tend to prefer the lower effort and more gentle tactility and fall-off of the pro brown. If there was a progressive spring that preserved what I like about the pro while reducing bottom out, that would be nice.
I’ll keep comparing as I wait for V2 cap crystal browns to arrive. I have a feeling I’ll end up on pro browns with that nice cap crystal top case swapped in.