The switches on your keyboard play an essential part in your experience of typing. You can identify the best keyboard switches for the way you type based on your personal preferences with regard to pressure, feedback and sound. Find out more about some of the leading switches, including the quietest keyboard switches, to help you select the best keyboard components.
Orange Healio
Zeal Healio V2, also known as Orange Healio, is a popular mechanical keyboard switch design. These aftermarket silent linear switches have the advantage of being very quiet. A silencing bumper mutes both bottom up and upstroke sounds. The spring weight of these keyboard switches is rated at bottom out force rather than actuation. While Orange Healio switches allow for very quiet typing, some users remark that these switches tend to stick to the top of key housing.
Orange Healio switches are distinguished by a translucent orange silent stem and are otherwise transparent with a linear PCB mount. It is possible to modify these switches for plate mount setups by clipping two of the extra mounting legs. You will need to assemble a keyboard with Orange Healio switches yourself or order a custom build, as these components are not currently available in any pre-assembled keyboards.
Cherry MX Silent Red
Cherry MX Silent Red is another type of keyboard switch that has a positive reputation among mechanical keyboard enthusiasts. This linear switch without a pressure point features patented damping technology to reduce sound during and after keypresses. MX Silent Red switches have soft actuation and low spring force.
Some users find that silent switches do not feel as smooth as other designs. Cherry MX switches also have a characteristic shuffling sound due to the dampening mechanism. Your typing experience may also vary depending on the types of keycaps you pair with MX Silent Red switches. These switches are rated for at least 50 million keystrokes.
Topre
Topre keyboards are among the quietest keyboard switches and have a thicker sound than MX Silent Red switches. Unlike the preceding full mechanical switches, these switches are electrostatic and capacitive.
Topre switches feature a key switch plunger over a rubber dome with a spring above a printed circuit board. Electrical current actuates each keystroke, rather than the mechanical motion of a switch. These keyboard switches are also rated for approximately 50 million keypresses, or years of nonstop typing.
The Best Switches and Keycaps
Your typing preferences will determine which keyboard switches and keycaps you should choose for your next keyboard. Many mechanical keyboard users ultimately prefer the experience of typing on Topre keyboards. You can choose from Pro Classic, Professional HYBRID and Professional HYBRID Type-S models based on your preference for wireless connectivity or quiet use.
If you are looking for a quiet typing experience with enhanced keystroke precision and tactility, you should consider keyboards that have Topre switches and PBT keycaps. You can find the best keyboard by trying out different configurations to decide which switches and keycaps you prefer for various typing tasks.
