Silent MX-style tactiles

Learning and discussion Key switches
41

Heya. As a brown tactility kinda person I have been looking for silent tactiles for the office. Boba’s seem to bumpy for my taste so based on OP’s very nice graph I went for the Kaihl silent greys. Budget was also a factor, they’re dirt cheap.

I’ve noticed that the stock Kailh housing is just bad and since I use mill max the switches are slightly rotated without 5-pin support.

Have tried some various housings to put the stems in, right now they’re in retooled black housings but they still fill weird. Something about the silent grey stems is longer perhaps so a lot of housings are simply a no-go.

Anybody here that have tried them? And if so, what housings worked for you? My gut feeling is perhaps cream housings since those are a bit taller? I do have a batch of housings laying around so can try, but perhaps someone has other suggestions :slight_smile:

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42

I have not tried Silent Grey,

However, I am about to receive some OUTEMU Silent Lemon.

They are said to be a silent tactile, not as heavy as U4 Boba.

So they may be in the category of what you are looking for. They are also incredibly cheap. [90 for 36 CAD] However, I believe that they also use Kailh-style housings.

EDIT: Actually, the Silent Lemon use some kind of uncommon housing design found in China. That makes it worse than Kailh, in the sense that your switch openers might not work with it, and you’d have to use a knife or something to open it.

43

The Kailh silent grey you tried were those?:
qweq

Kailh’s switches have longer stem poles that in regular housings hit the bottom of the switch, in the Creams housing they should fit fine.

Mind you I barely have knowledge about silent tactiles (I’d rather get a rubber dome) but I did try TTC Silent brown (v2 IIRC) and the sample was pretty good.

Other than that the U4s are pretty heavy, a lot more tactile than Browns and different (large round bump at the top rather than a small bump mid way).

There’s also the TTC Bluish White, they’re fantastic, long drawn bump, heavier than the Silent Brown, but not as heavy as the U4, I think they should be around the same weight as the switches you got (assuming you got the one I sent).

Keep in mind Bluish White have 2 versions, one is only silenced on the bottom out, and the other is fully silent.

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44

My apologies, OUTEMU silent grey, not kaihl. They have kaihl housing hence why I said that.

And yeah, I can somewhat handle medium tactiles like Ceruleans but the bigger bump ones (comparable to holy panda, T1’s) are too tiresome for me.

These are the greys I have:

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45

Ah, okay. I have heard of the OUTEMU Silent Gray, but never got around to getting them.*

In terms of silent light tactiles, there are more options today than in the past.

There’s Gateron Silent Brown [which sux - they’re not that quiet, and the feel is mushy].

More recently, there’s Kailh BOX Silent Brown. These are interesting. Use the V2 housing, I think. So they can be used with North-facing PCBs and lighting. They are a medium-tactile, like a scaled down Zilent V2. About 50-75% of a Zilent V2. They’re a little sharp and heavy for my liking. But you can put the stem in a BOX Cream linear housing to make “Cookies and Cream.” You can look them up.

The main thing I don’t like about BOX Silent Brown is the reduced travel. It feels like 3.2mm or less, and I prefer at least 3.6mm in MX switches.

So in terms of full-travel, there’s Aliaz. Discounted rn at Flashquark, 49 cents. They are like Gateron Silent Brown, but may be built to a slightly higher spec [smoother?]. I find that you only need to lube stems on these switches. The stock springs are terrible, undermine the switch with their ping and their crunch. But with replacement TX springs, they are good. I like lubed 65 G 14mm TX with Aliaz.

Aliaz are really lacking in tactility, though. Like an old-style Gateron Brown.

*So what I’m typing on right now are OUTEMU Silent Sky stems. They are in MX Clear housings, 60 G TX 14mm spring, 3204 on stem and upper-housing. The Silent Sky / Silent Forest was the OUTEMU custom silent line before U4 Boba. They are explicitly meant to be silent Ergo Clears. So if you can just about tolerate a Cerulean, these are similar. Except you can run them at lower weights with lube, making them lighter. Mine are like a Silent Brown, kind of, or a silent CAP Brown.

The original Silent Sky / Forest housings were flawed, but you can just buy the stems from Gazzew and put them in something better. Cherry / TTC for lower tactility, or Huano Banana / AKKO CS Sponge for more. Boba housing for max. You can even make a light and poppy version in the Aliaz housing, 52 G OUTEMU springs, lubing only the stem + spring.

Silent Sky is a versatile stem that can be dialed up or down. And you have those other options. Kailh recently came out with so-called “Midnight” silent tactiles, which are affordable medium-tactiles. Beware, they may break ABS keycaps. And then there’s Silent Lemon, of course, which I receive in June.

So if Silent Grey doesn’t work out for you, it’s not a big deal. You have options now. I talked about Silent Sky because it is of a tactile intensity that might work for you.

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46

Hi all,

Just wanted to say how super helpful these relative comparisons are - love the chart!

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