Surface, plate, case, switches and keycaps material affects how a keyboard sounds and feels like. Also lubed and non-lubed switches/stabilizers definitely affects typing experience xD
@@kenji1366 More over the switch leaf can as well, the Panda and Zeal V2 switches have a very thick and angled leaf which makes for a much larger and rounded bump.
Yes, many keyboard enthusiasts especially in the Korean community have changed variables in a keyboard to alter the feel. The switches should all be the same but rather the plate & pcb material, mounting method and thickness will affect keyfeel. Some people prefer a softer more bouncy feel, and those people will prefer boards that are top mounted of gasket mounted as those allow for the most flex as well as using thinner plates with materials like FR4, Polycarb, Aluminium and Carbon fiber some plates have cuts to allow for more flex and some have gone to extremes making boards without plates, directly mounted to an extra thin 1.2mm PCB for the most flex. Others who prefer a more solid bottoming out may want a board with an integrated plate, sandwich or a bottom mount. And use materials such as Brass and Steel. A switch on a TGR Jane with a carbon fiber plate with flex cuts will feel a lot different from the same switch on a Zeal Zypher with a 5mm PVD brass plate. MX switches have many variations to them as well, you can put them into 4 main categories: 1) Vintage these are very smooth but are inconsistent between sources 2) Pre Retool these are very shitty switches very scratchy 3) Retooled retooling happend during 2016 and these switches are constantly smooth 4) post retool these switches have started to get more inconsistent and scrachier depending on the batch. Stabilisers play an important part, I usually use authentic cherry stabs with my builds which are rattly and mushy if unmodded. You should always clip and lube stabilisers with dielectric grease and 205g0 or some other equivalent. Bad stabilisers can ruin a board like it did with the K-type.
The sound and feel of the switch can be altered by the keycap, the keyboard construction, the material used and even batch to batch variations in the switch manufacturing. Edit: the keycap stabilization and lubrication also change the switch feel
Inserting foam on the case can also change the sound, and for loud switches like clicky blues, they help a lot. But a foam mod shines on thoccy, linear switches though.
True. I have a HyperX keyboard with Cherry MX red switches and some of my keycaps are custom rubbered. Normal ones feels more smooth and rubbered ones bring a bit of tension in the actuation point, this ones are a little more heavy compared with default keycaps, but I tend to press hard the keys when I play so for me it's ok.
The keyboard construction makes a huge difference. I tried a Ducky One 2 next to a Ducky Shine 7 with both the same switches. The feel and the sound was completely different. After a quick Google, it turns out the Shine 7 was a zinc alloy case which I didn’t even realise.
The most important difference here is that Cooler Master and HyperX are companies that make keyboards, whereas Ducky is a keyboard company. Also, yeah plates and switch housings and such can change the feeling of switches dramatically. I'm currently typing on an acrylic tofu, polycarb plate, tealios, gmk screw-in stabilizers, unlubed. Sounds and feels very different from my other boards with metal cases and plates.
@@FirstCllass Only very recently have they released a mouse and a chair to branch out a bit. For 10 years they only designed and manufactured keyboards. Typed on a Ducky Year of the Dog with Cherry MX Blacks. Go heavy or go home.
Cyortonic can’t comment for the newer ducky keyboards but they definitely lubed their stabs in the past from my experience with the ducky year of the snake, tuhaojin and year of the horse. Haven’t bought a ducky board since then but if they’re as consistent as the past I would say they’re the most premium aesthetic keyboard you can buy for a prebuilt
yes, keycap size, form, material and thickness make switches feel different. big news. then there's things like stem length, key travel, backplate mount, etc.
Knowing which switch you prefer is merely the starting point when it comes to finding your dream keyboard, there really are so many factors to consider. Before you know it you will have a collection of keyboards and love them all for different reasons. :)
oh hey! missed ya TastyPC! and yes the DIY PC community is so full of alternative switches to most are clones of cherry to some options most may not now of to all the PCB's frame's to material types out can get so many looks for your keyboard to fit your set up but oof RIP wallet lol
@@kjkardum Love clicky keyboards as well but I grew up with the model M type keyboards. Also clicky ones are great if you've used membrane keyboards for a long time as you'll more easily learn not to bottom out the keys but just stop at the tactile click. It makes typing so much more relaxing without the constant bumping to your fingers.
Aside from what others commented about difference being caused by keyboard/key cap materials, Cherry MX Switches are actually very well-known for having large production deviation, which is the most easily identified on the MX Blue; basically every production batch feels slightly different.
This definitely needs to be a series called "the road to an endgame custom keebs (for your needs)" where you go over keyboard parts (including hot swap PCB vs soldering and qmk vs 3rd party software) and what's right for your budget and typing feels.
Swap the keycaps, and that will tell you how much is related to the keycap, and how much is related to other factors. The way that the switches are mounted to the PCB will also have a significant effect, but that would be a lot harder to test. Also try a blind test, without the subject bottoming out the keypress (i.e., focusing on the tactile activation point). I had the pleasure of using a buckling-spring keyboard (rescued from an old server) a long time ago, that was the best feeling keyboard I've ever experienced. My co-workers weren't so happy thought (it was quite noisy). Just moved from an MX brown keyboard (which got killed by a spilled drink) to an MX blue keyboard (as of an hour ago) ... I'm liking it so far.
since you guys like browns sooo much, for that tactile feel, you should try Massdrop's Holy Panda switches and/or Zealio 67g switches. Then do a review on that, but that would also mean you would have to build your own keyboard...
Filco Majestouch 2 here - an absolutely heavyweight, rock-solid base for the Cherry Browns. Best keyboard I have ever used. Period. Great feel and action from the keys. Great for day-to-day work as well as gaming.
Went to buy Ducky One 2 TKL few weeks ago, since it was unavailable in the store, I bought HyperX Alloy FPS TKL. I thought both are Cherry MX Blue, I don't care about RGB and HyperX was actually cheaper so, it's fine. Now that I watched this video, I guess I should have went to some other store to look for Ducky One.
Great video. How about a video for the best and quietest keyboard for us keyboard button smashers. The noisiest thing is the key bottoming out and then when the key is released and snaps back up.
Everytime i watch a video on your channel, the first thing that pops up in my mind is " Wow the set and quality of video production is the best i have seen "
All browns. My Shine 3 TKL feels awful atm, Shine 6 feels okay, two zeros feel okay and Ducky One is by far and away the best feeling keyboard. Pretty nuts that within the same company different keyboard can have such an insane change when it comes to how it feels to type.
i totally agree, i am using both cherry brown on ducky one 2 mini and corsair k70 lux. ducky tends to be more smooth brown compared to k70 crunchy sound on cherry brown. well both are great quality. i prefer using ducky during rapid fire typing and assignment.
I also noticed my Ducky Shine 7 feels smoother and more premium than any of the Corsair, Cooler Master, and HyperX keyboards with Cherry switches that I own. Even comparing my Corsair K95P that also has linear switches, I instantly noticed the Ducky was smoother and quieter. It doesn't feel as scratchy if that makes sense. If Ducky are "binning" their switches that would explain some of it, but I guess the better overall quality of the build as well as better stabilisers and keycaps contribute as well.
@@potatoderp5814 cherry does not prelube their switches, and most manufacturer do not either as it yields very inconsistent results and wears out quick. It also requires large upfront costs for special tooling. Also almost every lube will destroy the tactility of Mx browns
@@potatoderp5814 I wondered about that too initially, but I don't think they do. I googled it and couldn't find anything to suggest it. They lube the stabs but it's unlikely that they lube the switches. I think the quality control of the switches they use, or "binning" as they said in the video could certainly be a factor.
Interesting video and concept to investigate, would have been very interested to see what you mentioned with a comparison between multiple of the same keyboard equipped with browns to see if there is consistency, or if there actually also some variance within keyboards of the same brand and model.
You guys are making it sound like the keyboard manufacturers are 'implementing' their own version of Cherry MX Browns. This is not true at all. Maybe Ducky has some QA going on - but that's it. This video is a bit misleading, and clearly you guys haven't realized that keyboards will have a completely different feel, depending on the back plate, keycaps, and other materials. However, I do not understand how you can say the tactile event occurs at different points (or changes in any way). That makes no sense. No matter what keycaps you are using, or the material of the board - the tactile event has to be at the same place. It could be that spacebars and other larger keys may have a different tactile feel, because there may be a difference in the stabilizers. It seems to me like you guys confused 'different feel' with 'different tactile event'. The only takeaway that viewers should have here, is that the materials in the keyboard and keycaps will effect how the keyboard feels, and sounds.
Ducky is well known for binning their switches which, in effect, allows them to control the feel and consistency of their switches. That means they're controlling the product which in effect makes the switches different (though without any design changes) from those of other manufacturers. Plus, from our understanding talking to Cherry, Ducky customizes the amount of lub they add into certain products.
Probably also due to how the ducky one was used quite a bit. The majority of the community say that retooled cherry black are good but terrible stock. Once you use the switch a lot, it smooths out. Thats the reason some vintage blacks are good while others are meh
I've made quite a few keyboards and always go back to zeal switches. They are probably the closes to topre feel you can get from cherry style switches. Also, good keycaps makes a big difference in sound and feel.
@@klae1441 Why get healios when you can get Gateron Inks for ⅔ of the price while having the same smoothness as Healios as well as having a better spring and sound profile? Healios and Tealios are worse than Inks and more expensive.
Love my Ducky One 2 Mini with Cherry red silents, but yeah feels very different to my Corsair Strafe with Cherry Red silents, definitely a more premium feel on the Ducky with a much more pleasant typing experience. I don't really get the desire to have a very loud or clicky keyboard tbh. If I could get a mechanical keyboard that sounds like a laptop keyboard, I would
THe entire point of standardized switches is that you know exactly what you get. If they are so different then how to are we supposed to know how the keyboard feels like.
Yes but no. The switch is standardized, but the individual keyboard's construction is not the same. So the same switch will feel different on different manufacturers keyboard. It is just down to the switch implementation and Ducky has did a great job.
my experience over a few years 1st keyboard - ducky shine mx brown: tactile feel, no spring sound, fairly loud (plasticy base and caps) 2nd keyboard - coolermaster cmstorm mx brown: same tactice feel, noticed alot of spring sound, but less sound from caps&base 3rd keyboard - varmilo mx pink: yes different switch but very smooth and not much sound from base or caps, very minority of keys has little bit of spring sound
The tactile event of a switch depends on the stem and the leaf. This will only change if you change either of these parts. All cherry browns will use the same parts for these components, so it's slightly misleading to say that they are different. This assumes you're using switches from the same tooling. We know that cherry retooled a few years ago, which has made their stems generally smoother, but if these keyboards are fairly new that shouldn't be a factor. The springs will be the same too, so any difference there is not down to the spring. There are three main things about the switches specifically that might explain the differences. 1. You have different housings. This will not affect tactility, but may change the sound or general feel of the switch. 2. If Ducky is carrying out their own QA on the switches, they may be removing some of the natural variation between switches, making a more consistent typing experience. 3. It's possible that one or more of the manufacturers are receiving pre-lubed switches from cherry, or (very unlikely) are lubing themselves. Maybe Ducky, for example, request lubed switches. This will reduce overall scratchiness and maybe tactility. The main point, though, is that keycap material, plate material, mounting style, case composition and PCB style can all greatly affect the sound and overall typing experience of a keyboard, even if the switches are the same. This is the important lesson here - when you're building or shopping for a board, you have to take all this into account as well as the switch type.
my very first mechanical keyboard was a Corsair k95 with Cherry MX Brown switches. I spent over $200 for that board. It felt mushy, the quality control felt bad, they didn't even send her the spring on the spacebar correctly, there was a pin missing, it was like this keyboard was made on a Friday night or something. I went back to my razor membrane keyboard, but I tried one more time to grab a mechanical keyboard. It is the one I currently use today, a g skill ripjaws with red backlighting and Cherry MX blues. Since then I got a reflective crimson red keycaps set for it, what shines beautifully with the bright red backlighting. casing a story, sometimes the more expensive keyboard aren't the best ones, and it's also very hard to shop for that keyboard that's right for you.
YES, just viewing the video we could see your fingers face the resistance on each one differently. We also could feel the midpoints on all of them. You guys did a great job showing the actions for each. On a side note I just bought my first mechanical keyboard from corsair. Looking forward to joining mechanical crew.
This really doesn't touch on the major factors that impact the feel. The keycap profile, the keycap material, the keycap thickness. O-rings on the caps, or not. PCB mounted switch vs plate mounted switch. Plate material. Frame material. That doesn't even get into the different companies making switches. I personally prefer gateron, and even outemu, brown switches over cherry switches. Gateron alone have standard stem vs box stem. The variety is insane. If you're coming off a rubber dome keyboard, anything mechanical in a brown or red switch is going to feel much better. You're a gamer, stick to the gaming brands. You're a typist/ programmer/ someone that spends a lot of time typing, go with a ducky, or das keyboard, etc.. Some of the cheap mech boards you can find on amazon are actually great for the money if you're going to stick some nice caps on them. I have a couple of mechanical eagle boards with keycap sets on them worth more than the board, and they're great. Lovely boards. One of them is a TKL or swappable switches. $30 for the board. $30 in gateron browns, and $80 for some thick SA caps, and it's one of my faves, and I come in cheaper than most TKL mechanical gaming boards, and I get a better keyboard. The biggest improvement on any mechanical keyboard is going to come from the keycaps. A thick PBT keycap in SA, XDA, or Cherry profiles, is going to feel so much better than thin shine through caps on most gaming boards, or cheaper boards. Adding o-rings on a standard stem switch also makes a lovely improvement to the switch. Where the switch comes into play is more based on the actuation force and linear vs tactile. Nothing beats a blue switch with o-rings and good caps. However, the sound they make can be a little antisocial. The keycaps and face plates explain the bulk of the difference in this video. I expect swapping caps between the boards would have really confused the conclusion here.
I have a cheap Velocifire keyboard with Outemu browns and it's not bad for $40. With the way they are describing the keyboards in the video, like tactile bump and noise, the HyperX sounds nearly identical to mine. I agree with you on keycaps and other build qualities around the keyboards. If they would have started switching keycaps they would have had a different experience.
EXACTLY. Well written response. :) If anything this goes to prove that the "bag" manufacturers are using Cherry more as a branding / marketing opportunity than anything else.
Throughout the past year I've had 4 different keyboards with cherry mx blues, and all four feel/sound vastly different based on quality of the board, materials used, keycaps, ect. Corsair K70 MK.2 < fnatic ministreak < IKBC CD 108 < Vortex Tab90M. I compare the feels of each board to piles of laundry. The Corsair is like a pile of dirty, sweaty, stinky laundry that's been left in a closet far too long. The fnatic is like clean laundry that's been left to line dry without any fabric softener, its stiff and rough. The IKBC is decent tumble dry. The Tab90M is like fresh, soft, clean laundry that you just want to roll around in. The Tab90M has become my daily driver for work, and my home/gaming keyboard I have and ALT & CTRL for hotswap, still trying to find my endgame switch.
Cooler Master, Corsair and Ducky is always on my list when seeking for a new keyboard. Sure, Ducky’s keyboard might not look as Gaming as other brands, nor have many promoted Gaming functions. BUT, Ducky never let me down on the quality it provides.
I have a Filco Majestouch 2 Full UK ISO with Cherry MX Blacks and Filco's own double shot spherical keycaps. Sounds and feels just like those linear mechanical keyboards from the early to mid '80s, with that satisfying deep thunk and slight metallic ring with reverb, similar to those on a BBC Micro Model B, or a Mac 512K/Plus during my childhood and adolescence. Some say the Cherry MX Blacks aren't as smooth as other linear switches or lubed ones, but personally I quite like the added tactility of the still smooth, but slightly sandy feel of the movement of the keys. Some also say that Cherry MX Blacks are too heavy and fatiguing, but then again I started with an ancient Imperial non-electric mechanical typewriter, so I'm one who still, even today, enjoys really hammering those keys two fingered style, instead of touch typing style, so more modern reds or browns that I've also tried are just far too light to me. Of course, Filco may have binned these switches to get the best examples of Cherry MX Blacks into their keyboards, especially for the premium price. However, as my experience of a variety of modern mechanical keyboards is quite limited (I was using keyboards of the "rubber dome menace" variety for years before finding out that there were better keyboards out there), I really don't know for sure.
Been using a CM Storm Quickfire TK brown switch for 6 years now, tried a Ducky Shine 7 a friend bought recently, it definitely feels different, the over all typing experience is a lot smoother and the sound is a lot more satisfying, despite being quieter than my TK. My spacebar also has a loud spring sound whenever i pressed it, doesn't feel nice to press at all compare to the Ducky. I'd imagine the over build quality has something to do with this, ABS vs PBT keycaps with thick walls, plastic housing vs aluminium housing etc, maybe the age of my switches has something to do with it as well. CM Storm Quickfire TK has served me well but it's gonna be replaced with a Ducky soon, maybe the Shine 7 or the Duck One 2.
The loud spring sound is known as "rattle" in custom keyboard world. It can be solved by lubing the stabilizers (not all the time). Sometimes after lubing, it would still have a little rattle which in that case, replacing the stabilizers might do the job.
I've been using the Logitech spectrum Orion with brown switches and I believe it's the best balance between tactile feedback and quiet sound. I don't want my keyboard to be completely silent, I prefer a slight click noise and I think Brown's provide that. It feels pretty smooth to me
I knew I was going crazy! I went from a Corsair k63 to a Ducky shine 3 and I swear the Reds felt different. But I had already gotten rid of my corsair at the time so I couldn't compare it side by side.
ducky stabs are prelubed, keycaps are thicker. if you lubed up the two gaming keyboard stabs and put some thicker keycaps they would sound very comparable. im using a custom built gk61 60% build with lubed gateron optical reds, and some thick 1.5mm xda profile caps. Makes the ducky sound loud and rough. A good rule of thumb is to not buy your keyboard form the same manufacturer as your case and RAM, stick to keyboard specialists and you will be much happier.
The browns on my Varmilo are completely different from the browns on my Drevo Calibur. It's almost a night and day difference. I prefer the Varmilo by about 60%.
It could also be cooler master might have stocked up on switches years ago. Cherry retooled their machines a few years ago. "retooled" cherry switches ARE smoother.
The materials used for the plunger and the housing on the keyswitch can greatly affect how a switch feels. The grinding you feel when typing is what made the Cherry line of switches outclassed by newer, better off-brand switches especially gateron. If you disassemble switches of Cherry and gateron and compare them, you'll see the Gateron have smoother plastic so there is less to no scratch when pressing down on the switches. Lubrication also plays an important part in the feel, thick lubrication tends to feel mushy, but thin, and equally applied lube smooths things out without ruining the feel.
YEARS AGO I bought two different Cherry MX Brown keyboards. The one I bought for my sister has RUBBER on the bottom which really mutes the sound. She prefers that. I have a Cooler Master Stealth tenkeyless that I really love the feel of. That's the extent of my knowledge beyond googling which TYPE of key to get for gaming vs typing etc.
(update: I meant rubber where the keys hit if not obvious. It was a Logitech G710+ and I got it because my sister TYPES a lot but didn't want too much noise either. So I decided NO for the blue keys. Then I found this keyboard with BROWN keys and the rubber to dampen noise further. Anyway, she really loves it but I don't like the rubber dampening. I also don't like the BLUE keys as it's too noisy so people really need to try several different keyboards in a store if possible)
Glad to see more people getting into the mechanical keyboards community! Can’t wait until you fall down the rabbit hole of switches, GMK keycap sets, etc.
The Ducky keyboard definitely has the best stabilizers, it doesn't have the springy sound that you get from most generic push-in stabs. All of my pre-built mech boards are Duckys, and they've been awesome, but it's the ones you build yourself that are the best.
lol, my friend bought a Filco Blue based on trying on my unit, got a completely different feel from his blue, exactly as you guys said here: "Muddy" Knowing Filco, they bin a lot switches too, I think this is a manufacturing issue. i.e. Cherry's not keep their QC as high as they used to be. btw, my friend bought the muddy filco 3 year ago, and mine is a bit over 5 years.
I did some research on the ducky stabilizers and if your ducky has the blue stabs, like what is in the one in the video, then those are actually clipped stabilizers which makes the spacebar, shift key etc. feel much more solid when they bottom out. I threw mine in an aluminum case and the ducky feels even more crisp. Mine has cherry mx reds. May look into lubing them in the future.
From my little time in the keyboard enthusiast community. They say Cherry are the worst or second worst out of MX switches. Outemu is the only brand that is worse or the same as Cherry. Kailh and Gateron are higher and from what I was told Gateron is higher. I’m not mention niche switches just the bigger names.
I build my own mx brown keyboard with just a pcb and a plate. It has no frame at all, just some blobs of hot glue / legs to hold it up from the ground. Because there is not really a good frame supporting everything the keys on the side have a more solid foundation than the ones in the middle. This crazily enough causes these switches to feel quite a bit different, but the switches that sit next to eachother feel the same. I think differences in the construction of the rest of the keyboards could be what is going on here.
I have a Cooler Master Quick Fire Rapid with CherryMX Brown. That Ducky is the Keyboard I've been eyeballing as my next keyboard. Good to hear that it's a great model
Been using the Ducky DS3 with MX blue since 2013. Been trying to get rid of it for sometime now, but alas... I can't think of an excuse to do so. It's still wroks perfectly. The quality is amazing on their keyboards.
This is definitely something i've encountered. I have a Coolermaster QuickFire XT keyboard with MX Browns and in comparison to my friends newer Coolermaster MasterKeys (which also has MX Browns). My brown switches have a much less pronounced tactile bump than his, if I didn't know they were both MX Browns i'd assume they were completely different switches.
I just spoiled myself with a Ducky One 2 TKL. Ducky knows how to make an insanely satisfying keyboard. I got Cherry MX Silent Reds, which not everyone is a fan of, but it is by far the nicest and cleanest looking keyboard I have ever owned.
There is a reason I'm loyal to ducky, the build quality and just the feeling of using it is premium. I have two duckies with red switches, and they feel pretty similar in terms of the switch. I've tried my cousin's corsair red switch, and it definitely feels muddier despite it still being linear. It felt totally different, and I even thought it could be a silent red switch as my cousin doesn't know as much about the switches.
All my couraair keyboards had scratchy cherry switches, switches over to a different brand and lubed switches made such a big difference. Definitely worth buying from other brands.
Even coming from the AP2, the ducky sounded a lot better and felt better coming from gateron browns. The stabilizers are also either greased or lubed when I checked - very surprising, but it feels and sounds awesome to type on.
The stablizers are different. The housings are different on all of them. The keycaps are made out of different material you’re not promised to get the same sound and feel on all of them maybe even the keyboards layout or amount of space inside the keyboards are different. There are many many elements that makes a keyboard sounds good or bad.
Yes! My Ducky Shine 3 with Blues feels waaay better than any other keyboard I've tried. It's like they aren't as flimsy maybe? And I don't bottom out as much on then as it seems like I have a better feel for the actuation point than on The old BlackWidow with blues or Cooler master or Turtle Beach. My Cooler Master with browns also feels different than my old Zowie did.
the HyperX gives you the most keyboard for your money though. While Ducky may feel the best, it has the fewest keys, and usually the pricing is slightly above the other two, so no wonder the quality is slightly better. If you like small form factors, it's great, but for work I chose the HyperX, as the number pad is basically a one giant dual layer bindings and macro pad at my disposal, and the feel is almost as good as the Ducky. Plus the lighting is cool, allows me to set precisely the tone of ~white~ backlight I want.
HardwareCanucks, can you do a "deaf" test/comparison - typing on those same keyboards, but without hearing keystrokes. Does it still *feel* different (if the switches are the same)?
I have to say out of all my boards, my iKBC New Poker II has the best implementation of MX Browns with good stabilizers, next is my CM Pro S (which I think with the newer series they've cut corners as I've noticed a difference in the newer CM boards). But the companies like Ducky are pre lubing their switches and using higher quality and binned components, and you see it in the end result.
4:52 OOF if you listen closely you can hear the metal ring from the switch presses. Grinds my ears. Nothing against Cooler Master; this is just a keyboard I won't get simply because the acoustics would drive me nuts.
@@jyjyjyc Whenever the switch is released I hear it; not sure if it's the spring or not (probably is), but it's very high pitched and for some reason that sound grinds my gears. I am currently looking for a keyboard to get in the future since I have used my Logitech K120 for 5 years, and it's about time for an upgrade. I am particularly interested in the mechanical keyboards with the Cherry MX Brown switches, since they felt comfortable whenever I tested one out while browsing at Best Buy. Trying to see now which companies are more likely to make a keyboard with switch acoustics that I won't mind.
@@JoshsTechWorkshop try Leopold they use a felt and foam dampener inside their keyboards. They also have the best keycaps you can get on a prebuilt. They use 1.5mm cherry profile double shot pure pbt caps.
There really aren't any keyboard manufacturers who do this. Gateron have some lube stock but these are Cherry switches. As said in the video, the case is probably just that they got a good batch of switches or they were cherry picked in the case of the ducky. Overall, Cherry switches are pretty hit or miss especially in regards to spring quality and smoothness.
im pretty sure the reason for this is outcourcing production. The switches probably get made in different locations and for costsaving measures use different Materials due to availiability. So ducky might care more to get their switches from company abc, which use better materials, whearas hyper X and coolert master might get cheaper ones from a different factory. However we may never know what kind of deals each company is making with cherry.
@@GershonBenYitzhak Found this on reddit: "Cherry MX switches are still manufactured in Germany. However, last year a new tooling process reportedly took place which changed the switch molds a bit. The result is a smoother switch which might feel a tad less tactile but a lot less scratchy as well. Browns aren’t a good place to look if you want a very tactile switch anyway." Sooo yeah, maybe just the older modells vs newer ones
Still. Ducky is a more premium brand with €100 and up. For some that's out of the their price range. For that price of course Ducky is only going to use the best switches out of the batch. However other brands tend to care less. And the price explains it. The HyperX board is about €50. So just take that into consideration.
This is like rounding up 3 random cars running the same engine and determining the best one .... the whole subject is very sensitive regarding the keycap size .. the type .. the backblate ... the coil in the switch ... etc..
@hardwarecanucks have you ever tried the bloody keyboards? I have a b640 which has lazer switches and they even put 20 rubber circles that you can fit under the key caps that helps reducing the noise. And there is like no resistance when you press the keys and also actuation point is very close to top. I mean just a little movement and it makes it happen, I can't express it as well as you can. I'm very pleased with it and believe that it's worth to check out. Maybe you can make a video on one which I think they have higher models with rgb etc. Great channel keep it up guys!
unfortunately, the option to try a peripheral before you buy is nonexistent here. so it's pretty much hit or miss when ordering. in fact, we'd be hard-pressed to find a mechanical keyboard here, as that $100 price can easily triple by the time it hits retail here. The ducky does sound nice though
I actually very much enjoyed this objective video despite owning the hyper x alloy and this video looking favourably upon the ducky and not so much the others.
I also noticed that the brown on my CM Brown is quite different (plastiky?) compared to more clicky Filco Browns. But I attribute that to the different back-plate material and stablizers (PCB mount vs plate-mount).
the ducky is the only "high profile" keyboard so it sounds bassier and imo better. But the black cherry housings are better than the clear and when lubed you can make a very good switch.
as my personal experience, I once had a Corsair K70 RGB with cherry MX brown switch, in 2 years of using that keyboard, I had return it 2 times (RMA) because of LED issues, so basically I have experienced 3 K70 RGBs and YES they all feel different, fisrt K70 as I remember have "normal" brown feeling, 2nd K70 have "Crisp, tactile, stiff spring", and the last one is the worst with "mushy" brown feeling and also having double click issue on many keys... so I ditched that keyboard and buy a cheap Chinese keyboard with gateron blue and it is the best so far, almost 2 years of using without any issue. sometimes "branding" as buying factor isn't a good choice.
Just had 2 keyboards in my life, first one is corsair strafe rgb cherry mx silent, then ducky one 2 tkl cherry mx speed silver. man, the difference is massive. I'll never go back to corsair ever again.
Just ask r/mechanicalkeyboards for explaination or an interview with some of the well known keyboard RUclipsr. They'll help you guy understand much more than just testing three keyboards side by side.
I have HyperX Alloy FPS Pro and Corsair K63 both TKL on Reds. Keys on HyperX feels slightly lighter and the body is much stiffer thanks to the aluminum plate. I prefer Alloy FPS Pro feel but it doesn't work well with mac. That's why I'm spending more time using K63 at work which works like a charm with mac.
Yes, I have thermaltake brown and ducky one 2 browns. They feel different and I love the ducky more. But both are good and I am mostly happy with both.
![FNAF vs TF2 - Episode 2 [SFM]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/z5b3V2-VLb0/mqdefault.jpg)
Surface, plate, case, switches and keycaps material affects how a keyboard sounds and feels like. Also lubed and non-lubed switches/stabilizers definitely affects typing experience xD
About to type this out. Also, even the switch housing affect the feel of each switches.
Exactly. You highlighted the point of the video perfectly. Like we said in the video, there's more to choosing a switch than just listening to it.
HardwareCanucks i'm glad you did a video about this ^^
Yeah, best way to choose one is to feel it.
@@kenji1366 More over the switch leaf can as well, the Panda and Zeal V2 switches have a very thick and angled leaf which makes for a much larger and rounded bump.
"something grinding in the keyboard" ah yes, cherry mx sand.
@David Whitfield if you get good silvers it's the the best switch imo, I have it in my ducky one 2 mini
II DeltaPure II Tealios will definitely beat cherry imo(unless compared to the old cherry mx black), try it out.
Go for one of the clone switches, they're higher quality.
@@iideltapureii3620 uhh no in terms of smoothness
@@xxxplode5999 tealios and inks are my loves
Yes, many keyboard enthusiasts especially in the Korean community have changed variables in a keyboard to alter the feel. The switches should all be the same but rather the plate & pcb material, mounting method and thickness will affect keyfeel. Some people prefer a softer more bouncy feel, and those people will prefer boards that are top mounted of gasket mounted as those allow for the most flex as well as using thinner plates with materials like FR4, Polycarb, Aluminium and Carbon fiber some plates have cuts to allow for more flex and some have gone to extremes making boards without plates, directly mounted to an extra thin 1.2mm PCB for the most flex. Others who prefer a more solid bottoming out may want a board with an integrated plate, sandwich or a bottom mount. And use materials such as Brass and Steel. A switch on a TGR Jane with a carbon fiber plate with flex cuts will feel a lot different from the same switch on a Zeal Zypher with a 5mm PVD brass plate. MX switches have many variations to them as well, you can put them into 4 main categories: 1) Vintage these are very smooth but are inconsistent between sources 2) Pre Retool these are very shitty switches very scratchy 3) Retooled retooling happend during 2016 and these switches are constantly smooth 4) post retool these switches have started to get more inconsistent and scrachier depending on the batch. Stabilisers play an important part, I usually use authentic cherry stabs with my builds which are rattly and mushy if unmodded. You should always clip and lube stabilisers with dielectric grease and 205g0 or some other equivalent. Bad stabilisers can ruin a board like it did with the K-type.
Gee how long did it take you to type that?
@@michaelkilla2930 considering he or she is obviously a keyboard enthusiast, not much
@@michaelkilla2930 dunno, but it probably was a hella experience with a fancy $250 keyboard 😂
@@danilodeklerk7422 😅
The sound and feel of the switch can be altered by the keycap, the keyboard construction, the material used and even batch to batch variations in the switch manufacturing.
Edit: the keycap stabilization and lubrication also change the switch feel
Inserting foam on the case can also change the sound, and for loud switches like clicky blues, they help a lot.
But a foam mod shines on thoccy, linear switches though.
Most important contributer to keyfeel is the plate mounting method, thickness and material.
True. I have a HyperX keyboard with Cherry MX red switches and some of my keycaps are custom rubbered. Normal ones feels more smooth and rubbered ones bring a bit of tension in the actuation point, this ones are a little more heavy compared with default keycaps, but I tend to press hard the keys when I play so for me it's ok.
The keyboard construction makes a huge difference.
I tried a Ducky One 2 next to a Ducky Shine 7 with both the same switches. The feel and the sound was completely different. After a quick Google, it turns out the Shine 7 was a zinc alloy case which I didn’t even realise.
The most important difference here is that Cooler Master and HyperX are companies that make keyboards, whereas Ducky is a keyboard company.
Also, yeah plates and switch housings and such can change the feeling of switches dramatically. I'm currently typing on an acrylic tofu, polycarb plate, tealios, gmk screw-in stabilizers, unlubed. Sounds and feels very different from my other boards with metal cases and plates.
@@FirstCllass Only very recently have they released a mouse and a chair to branch out a bit. For 10 years they only designed and manufactured keyboards.
Typed on a Ducky Year of the Dog with Cherry MX Blacks. Go heavy or go home.
The sound of the Ducky's spacebar is sublime.
The fuck is a "sublime*
Ducky actually sounds like they lube their stabilizers unlike the other two boards. I love it
Cyortonic can’t comment for the newer ducky keyboards but they definitely lubed their stabs in the past from my experience with the ducky year of the snake, tuhaojin and year of the horse. Haven’t bought a ducky board since then but if they’re as consistent as the past I would say they’re the most premium aesthetic keyboard you can buy for a prebuilt
I have the Blackwidow Chroma v2 and the space bar is horrible to use
@@Saltoulious Stabs suck on big named companies
yes, keycap size, form, material and thickness make switches feel different. big news. then there's things like stem length, key travel, backplate mount, etc.
Plate material, mounting method and thickness matters the most.
@@jyjyjyc ur mom
@@recreationalplutonium very funny
My old skool Siemens mechanical buckling spring keyboard is the best. They don't make them like that anymore.
Knowing which switch you prefer is merely the starting point when it comes to finding your dream keyboard, there really are so many factors to consider. Before you know it you will have a collection of keyboards and love them all for different reasons. :)
oh hey! missed ya TastyPC! and yes the DIY PC community is so full of alternative switches to most are clones of cherry to some options most may not now of to all the PCB's frame's to material types out can get so many looks for your keyboard to fit your set up but oof RIP wallet lol
I just bought brown because I couldn't bother trying the switches lol
Joke's on you, never tried a mechanical keyboard in my life
*Laughs(cries) in crappy laptop keyboards*
same, but I'm finally _probably_ switching to cherry MX Blue in a week
@@kjkardum mx blue sucks get something better
@@neilmehra_ very subjective but I agree that Mx blues and any other click jacket switch sucks.
@@neilmehra_ for typing, not gaming, I want some that are loud and tactile
@@kjkardum Love clicky keyboards as well but I grew up with the model M type keyboards. Also clicky ones are great if you've used membrane keyboards for a long time as you'll more easily learn not to bottom out the keys but just stop at the tactile click. It makes typing so much more relaxing without the constant bumping to your fingers.
I like how HardwareCanucks is slowly becoming aware of things that the mechanical keyboard community have been talking about for years...
We can all learn new things and then translate our learnings to our viewers....with the help of the community of course!
Cue: Chyrosran
Isn't ducky the most expensive one?? No wonder it's the best one
@@mangshu21 lol you need to look into the custom keyboard community.
Even RFP just got into making custom keyboards recently
Aside from what others commented about difference being caused by keyboard/key cap materials, Cherry MX Switches are actually very well-known for having large production deviation, which is the most easily identified on the MX Blue; basically every production batch feels slightly different.
Kahwen Hsiao I'm glad you told us this.
Ducky is always a joy to use, I have a Das Keyboard mostly for the media controls.
Once you go high quality mechanical, you never go back.
Hardware Canucks going down rabbit hole of the custom keyboard hobby.
This definitely needs to be a series called "the road to an endgame custom keebs (for your needs)" where you go over keyboard parts (including hot swap PCB vs soldering and qmk vs 3rd party software) and what's right for your budget and typing feels.
Swap the keycaps, and that will tell you how much is related to the keycap, and how much is related to other factors. The way that the switches are mounted to the PCB will also have a significant effect, but that would be a lot harder to test. Also try a blind test, without the subject bottoming out the keypress (i.e., focusing on the tactile activation point).
I had the pleasure of using a buckling-spring keyboard (rescued from an old server) a long time ago, that was the best feeling keyboard I've ever experienced. My co-workers weren't so happy thought (it was quite noisy).
Just moved from an MX brown keyboard (which got killed by a spilled drink) to an MX blue keyboard (as of an hour ago) ... I'm liking it so far.
since you guys like browns sooo much, for that tactile feel, you should try Massdrop's Holy Panda switches and/or Zealio 67g switches. Then do a review on that, but that would also mean you would have to build your own keyboard...
Filco Majestouch 2 here - an absolutely heavyweight, rock-solid base for the Cherry Browns.
Best keyboard I have ever used. Period.
Great feel and action from the keys. Great for day-to-day work as well as gaming.
Went to buy Ducky One 2 TKL few weeks ago, since it was unavailable in the store, I bought HyperX Alloy FPS TKL. I thought both are Cherry MX Blue, I don't care about RGB and HyperX was actually cheaper so, it's fine. Now that I watched this video, I guess I should have went to some other store to look for Ducky One.
Great video. How about a video for the best and quietest keyboard for us keyboard button smashers. The noisiest thing is the key bottoming out and then when the key is released and snaps back up.
Zilents feel really good and silent
Everytime i watch a video on your channel, the first thing that pops up in my mind is " Wow the set and quality of video production is the best i have seen "
All browns. My Shine 3 TKL feels awful atm, Shine 6 feels okay, two zeros feel okay and Ducky One is by far and away the best feeling keyboard. Pretty nuts that within the same company different keyboard can have such an insane change when it comes to how it feels to type.
JDSP My one 2 tkl with browns has trash stabilizers on the backspace and left shift which keeps me from using it a lot
i totally agree, i am using both cherry brown on ducky one 2 mini and corsair k70 lux. ducky tends to be more smooth brown compared to k70 crunchy sound on cherry brown. well both are great quality. i prefer using ducky during rapid fire typing and assignment.
I also noticed my Ducky Shine 7 feels smoother and more premium than any of the Corsair, Cooler Master, and HyperX keyboards with Cherry switches that I own. Even comparing my Corsair K95P that also has linear switches, I instantly noticed the Ducky was smoother and quieter. It doesn't feel as scratchy if that makes sense. If Ducky are "binning" their switches that would explain some of it, but I guess the better overall quality of the build as well as better stabilisers and keycaps contribute as well.
They most likely pre-lube their switches.
@@potatoderp5814 cherry does not prelube their switches, and most manufacturer do not either as it yields very inconsistent results and wears out quick. It also requires large upfront costs for special tooling. Also almost every lube will destroy the tactility of Mx browns
@@potatoderp5814 I wondered about that too initially, but I don't think they do. I googled it and couldn't find anything to suggest it. They lube the stabs but it's unlikely that they lube the switches. I think the quality control of the switches they use, or "binning" as they said in the video could certainly be a factor.
Thicker PBT keycaps. Better stabilisers that are pre-lubed.
Interesting video and concept to investigate, would have been very interested to see what you mentioned with a comparison between multiple of the same keyboard equipped with browns to see if there is consistency, or if there actually also some variance within keyboards of the same brand and model.
Love your Space Engineers videos man. Keep it up.
You guys are making it sound like the keyboard manufacturers are 'implementing' their own version of Cherry MX Browns. This is not true at all. Maybe Ducky has some QA going on - but that's it. This video is a bit misleading, and clearly you guys haven't realized that keyboards will have a completely different feel, depending on the back plate, keycaps, and other materials.
However, I do not understand how you can say the tactile event occurs at different points (or changes in any way). That makes no sense. No matter what keycaps you are using, or the material of the board - the tactile event has to be at the same place.
It could be that spacebars and other larger keys may have a different tactile feel, because there may be a difference in the stabilizers.
It seems to me like you guys confused 'different feel' with 'different tactile event'.
The only takeaway that viewers should have here, is that the materials in the keyboard and keycaps will effect how the keyboard feels, and sounds.
Ducky is well known for binning their switches which, in effect, allows them to control the feel and consistency of their switches. That means they're controlling the product which in effect makes the switches different (though without any design changes) from those of other manufacturers. Plus, from our understanding talking to Cherry, Ducky customizes the amount of lub they add into certain products.
Probably also due to how the ducky one was used quite a bit. The majority of the community say that retooled cherry black are good but terrible stock. Once you use the switch a lot, it smooths out. Thats the reason some vintage blacks are good while others are meh
I've made quite a few keyboards and always go back to zeal switches. They are probably the closes to topre feel you can get from cherry style switches. Also, good keycaps makes a big difference in sound and feel.
Healios are the best
@@klae1441 Why get healios when you can get Gateron Inks for ⅔ of the price while having the same smoothness as Healios as well as having a better spring and sound profile? Healios and Tealios are worse than Inks and more expensive.
Love my Ducky One 2 Mini with Cherry red silents, but yeah feels very different to my Corsair Strafe with Cherry Red silents, definitely a more premium feel on the Ducky with a much more pleasant typing experience. I don't really get the desire to have a very loud or clicky keyboard tbh. If I could get a mechanical keyboard that sounds like a laptop keyboard, I would
THe entire point of standardized switches is that you know exactly what you get. If they are so different then how to are we supposed to know how the keyboard feels like.
Yes but no. The switch is standardized, but the individual keyboard's construction is not the same. So the same switch will feel different on different manufacturers keyboard. It is just down to the switch implementation and Ducky has did a great job.
my experience over a few years
1st keyboard - ducky shine mx brown: tactile feel, no spring sound, fairly loud (plasticy base and caps)
2nd keyboard - coolermaster cmstorm mx brown: same tactice feel, noticed alot of spring sound, but less sound from caps&base
3rd keyboard - varmilo mx pink: yes different switch but very smooth and not much sound from base or caps, very minority of keys has little bit of spring sound
The tactile event of a switch depends on the stem and the leaf. This will only change if you change either of these parts. All cherry browns will use the same parts for these components, so it's slightly misleading to say that they are different. This assumes you're using switches from the same tooling. We know that cherry retooled a few years ago, which has made their stems generally smoother, but if these keyboards are fairly new that shouldn't be a factor. The springs will be the same too, so any difference there is not down to the spring.
There are three main things about the switches specifically that might explain the differences.
1. You have different housings. This will not affect tactility, but may change the sound or general feel of the switch.
2. If Ducky is carrying out their own QA on the switches, they may be removing some of the natural variation between switches, making a more consistent typing experience.
3. It's possible that one or more of the manufacturers are receiving pre-lubed switches from cherry, or (very unlikely) are lubing themselves. Maybe Ducky, for example, request lubed switches. This will reduce overall scratchiness and maybe tactility.
The main point, though, is that keycap material, plate material, mounting style, case composition and PCB style can all greatly affect the sound and overall typing experience of a keyboard, even if the switches are the same. This is the important lesson here - when you're building or shopping for a board, you have to take all this into account as well as the switch type.
my very first mechanical keyboard was a Corsair k95 with Cherry MX Brown switches. I spent over $200 for that board. It felt mushy, the quality control felt bad, they didn't even send her the spring on the spacebar correctly, there was a pin missing, it was like this keyboard was made on a Friday night or something. I went back to my razor membrane keyboard, but I tried one more time to grab a mechanical keyboard. It is the one I currently use today, a g skill ripjaws with red backlighting and Cherry MX blues. Since then I got a reflective crimson red keycaps set for it, what shines beautifully with the bright red backlighting. casing a story, sometimes the more expensive keyboard aren't the best ones, and it's also very hard to shop for that keyboard that's right for you.
YES, just viewing the video we could see your fingers face the resistance on each one differently. We also could feel the midpoints on all of them. You guys did a great job showing the actions for each. On a side note I just bought my first mechanical keyboard from corsair. Looking forward to joining mechanical crew.
Might be related to lubing the switches for smoother feel.
This really doesn't touch on the major factors that impact the feel. The keycap profile, the keycap material, the keycap thickness. O-rings on the caps, or not. PCB mounted switch vs plate mounted switch. Plate material. Frame material. That doesn't even get into the different companies making switches. I personally prefer gateron, and even outemu, brown switches over cherry switches. Gateron alone have standard stem vs box stem. The variety is insane.
If you're coming off a rubber dome keyboard, anything mechanical in a brown or red switch is going to feel much better. You're a gamer, stick to the gaming brands. You're a typist/ programmer/ someone that spends a lot of time typing, go with a ducky, or das keyboard, etc.. Some of the cheap mech boards you can find on amazon are actually great for the money if you're going to stick some nice caps on them. I have a couple of mechanical eagle boards with keycap sets on them worth more than the board, and they're great. Lovely boards. One of them is a TKL or swappable switches. $30 for the board. $30 in gateron browns, and $80 for some thick SA caps, and it's one of my faves, and I come in cheaper than most TKL mechanical gaming boards, and I get a better keyboard.
The biggest improvement on any mechanical keyboard is going to come from the keycaps. A thick PBT keycap in SA, XDA, or Cherry profiles, is going to feel so much better than thin shine through caps on most gaming boards, or cheaper boards. Adding o-rings on a standard stem switch also makes a lovely improvement to the switch. Where the switch comes into play is more based on the actuation force and linear vs tactile. Nothing beats a blue switch with o-rings and good caps. However, the sound they make can be a little antisocial.
The keycaps and face plates explain the bulk of the difference in this video. I expect swapping caps between the boards would have really confused the conclusion here.
I have a cheap Velocifire keyboard with Outemu browns and it's not bad for $40. With the way they are describing the keyboards in the video, like tactile bump and noise, the HyperX sounds nearly identical to mine. I agree with you on keycaps and other build qualities around the keyboards. If they would have started switching keycaps they would have had a different experience.
EXACTLY. Well written response. :) If anything this goes to prove that the "bag" manufacturers are using Cherry more as a branding / marketing opportunity than anything else.
Throughout the past year I've had 4 different keyboards with cherry mx blues, and all four feel/sound vastly different based on quality of the board, materials used, keycaps, ect. Corsair K70 MK.2 < fnatic ministreak < IKBC CD 108 < Vortex Tab90M. I compare the feels of each board to piles of laundry. The Corsair is like a pile of dirty, sweaty, stinky laundry that's been left in a closet far too long. The fnatic is like clean laundry that's been left to line dry without any fabric softener, its stiff and rough. The IKBC is decent tumble dry. The Tab90M is like fresh, soft, clean laundry that you just want to roll around in. The Tab90M has become my daily driver for work, and my home/gaming keyboard I have and ALT & CTRL for hotswap, still trying to find my endgame switch.
Yeah, this has been known for a while now. Nice to see someone in the mainstream talk about it. I love the direction your channel has taken lately.
Cooler Master, Corsair and Ducky is always on my list when seeking for a new keyboard. Sure, Ducky’s keyboard might not look as Gaming as other brands, nor have many promoted Gaming functions. BUT, Ducky never let me down on the quality it provides.
Do I need another keyboard? No. Do I want another keyboard, yes. Is this video helping me save my money? No.
I have a Filco Majestouch 2 Full UK ISO with Cherry MX Blacks and Filco's own double shot spherical keycaps. Sounds and feels just like those linear mechanical keyboards from the early to mid '80s, with that satisfying deep thunk and slight metallic ring with reverb, similar to those on a BBC Micro Model B, or a Mac 512K/Plus during my childhood and adolescence.
Some say the Cherry MX Blacks aren't as smooth as other linear switches or lubed ones, but personally I quite like the added tactility of the still smooth, but slightly sandy feel of the movement of the keys. Some also say that Cherry MX Blacks are too heavy and fatiguing, but then again I started with an ancient Imperial non-electric mechanical typewriter, so I'm one who still, even today, enjoys really hammering those keys two fingered style, instead of touch typing style, so more modern reds or browns that I've also tried are just far too light to me.
Of course, Filco may have binned these switches to get the best examples of Cherry MX Blacks into their keyboards, especially for the premium price. However, as my experience of a variety of modern mechanical keyboards is quite limited (I was using keyboards of the "rubber dome menace" variety for years before finding out that there were better keyboards out there), I really don't know for sure.
Been using a CM Storm Quickfire TK brown switch for 6 years now, tried a Ducky Shine 7 a friend bought recently, it definitely feels different, the over all typing experience is a lot smoother and the sound is a lot more satisfying, despite being quieter than my TK. My spacebar also has a loud spring sound whenever i pressed it, doesn't feel nice to press at all compare to the Ducky.
I'd imagine the over build quality has something to do with this, ABS vs PBT keycaps with thick walls, plastic housing vs aluminium housing etc, maybe the age of my switches has something to do with it as well. CM Storm Quickfire TK has served me well but it's gonna be replaced with a Ducky soon, maybe the Shine 7 or the Duck One 2.
The loud spring sound is known as "rattle" in custom keyboard world. It can be solved by lubing the stabilizers (not all the time). Sometimes after lubing, it would still have a little rattle which in that case, replacing the stabilizers might do the job.
@@GuitaristBoi9 May I ask what sort of lubricant should I use?
My entire life is a lie...why not my keyboard too
I've been using the Logitech spectrum Orion with brown switches and I believe it's the best balance between tactile feedback and quiet sound. I don't want my keyboard to be completely silent, I prefer a slight click noise and I think Brown's provide that. It feels pretty smooth to me
I knew I was going crazy! I went from a Corsair k63 to a Ducky shine 3 and I swear the Reds felt different. But I had already gotten rid of my corsair at the time so I couldn't compare it side by side.
ducky stabs are prelubed, keycaps are thicker. if you lubed up the two gaming keyboard stabs and put some thicker keycaps they would sound very comparable. im using a custom built gk61 60% build with lubed gateron optical reds, and some thick 1.5mm xda profile caps. Makes the ducky sound loud and rough. A good rule of thumb is to not buy your keyboard form the same manufacturer as your case and RAM, stick to keyboard specialists and you will be much happier.
The browns on my Varmilo are completely different from the browns on my Drevo Calibur. It's almost a night and day difference. I prefer the Varmilo by about 60%.
This is interesting to see guys. I wouldn’t mind trying different keyboards myself. Thank you.
We would like to see an extended review with other brand of switches other than Cherry MX. Topre, and many more.
all the tech youtubers doing custom mech keyboards now
It could also be cooler master might have stocked up on switches years ago. Cherry retooled their machines a few years ago. "retooled" cherry switches ARE smoother.
I love my Ducky Shine 7 and so does everyone who ever tried it. They provide a pristine experience
Yep. Don't go to the custom board. Will run u dry. Just stay there. I'm not even mocking. I give u a warning
I have the One 2 RGB, love it too :)
The materials used for the plunger and the housing on the keyswitch can greatly affect how a switch feels.
The grinding you feel when typing is what made the Cherry line of switches outclassed by newer, better off-brand switches especially gateron. If you disassemble switches of Cherry and gateron and compare them, you'll see the Gateron have smoother plastic so there is less to no scratch when pressing down on the switches.
Lubrication also plays an important part in the feel, thick lubrication tends to feel mushy, but thin, and equally applied lube smooths things out without ruining the feel.
Retooled cherry sliders are just as smooth as gaterons. They're both made out of POM plastic, what is most effecting smoothness are the housings.
The biggest difference is the mounting plate and if the keycaps are bottomed out. Some of them also lubricate their switches.
None of these boards are factory lubed.
YEARS AGO I bought two different Cherry MX Brown keyboards. The one I bought for my sister has RUBBER on the bottom which really mutes the sound. She prefers that. I have a Cooler Master Stealth tenkeyless that I really love the feel of. That's the extent of my knowledge beyond googling which TYPE of key to get for gaming vs typing etc.
(update: I meant rubber where the keys hit if not obvious. It was a Logitech G710+ and I got it because my sister TYPES a lot but didn't want too much noise either. So I decided NO for the blue keys. Then I found this keyboard with BROWN keys and the rubber to dampen noise further. Anyway, she really loves it but I don't like the rubber dampening. I also don't like the BLUE keys as it's too noisy so people really need to try several different keyboards in a store if possible)
Yes !!! Recently switched from my k70 MX BROWN to ducky browns and they feel completely different I thought I was losing it
0:52 You had one chance to say "Me and the boys" instead of "Me and the guys".
I know right
Dead meme.
I would like to see a cross section comparison and physical tear down of one key per keyboard to help better understand
Glad to see more people getting into the mechanical keyboards community! Can’t wait until you fall down the rabbit hole of switches, GMK keycap sets, etc.
The Ducky keyboard definitely has the best stabilizers, it doesn't have the springy sound that you get from most generic push-in stabs. All of my pre-built mech boards are Duckys, and they've been awesome, but it's the ones you build yourself that are the best.
lol, my friend bought a Filco Blue based on trying on my unit, got a completely different feel from his blue, exactly as you guys said here: "Muddy" Knowing Filco, they bin a lot switches too, I think this is a manufacturing issue. i.e. Cherry's not keep their QC as high as they used to be. btw, my friend bought the muddy filco 3 year ago, and mine is a bit over 5 years.
I did some research on the ducky stabilizers and if your ducky has the blue stabs, like what is in the one in the video, then those are actually clipped stabilizers which makes the spacebar, shift key etc. feel much more solid when they bottom out. I threw mine in an aluminum case and the ducky feels even more crisp. Mine has cherry mx reds. May look into lubing them in the future.
From my little time in the keyboard enthusiast community. They say Cherry are the worst or second worst out of MX switches. Outemu is the only brand that is worse or the same as Cherry. Kailh and Gateron are higher and from what I was told Gateron is higher. I’m not mention niche switches just the bigger names.
Differences can be from lube used if any, plate material, and keycap material
I build my own mx brown keyboard with just a pcb and a plate. It has no frame at all, just some blobs of hot glue / legs to hold it up from the ground. Because there is not really a good frame supporting everything the keys on the side have a more solid foundation than the ones in the middle. This crazily enough causes these switches to feel quite a bit different, but the switches that sit next to eachother feel the same. I think differences in the construction of the rest of the keyboards could be what is going on here.
I have a Cooler Master Quick Fire Rapid with CherryMX Brown. That Ducky is the Keyboard I've been eyeballing as my next keyboard. Good to hear that it's a great model
Noticed this as well, even between the same manufacturer. I have a vortex race, core, and vibe; all with blue switches, all feel different
Been using the Ducky DS3 with MX blue since 2013. Been trying to get rid of it for sometime now, but alas... I can't think of an excuse to do so. It's still wroks perfectly. The quality is amazing on their keyboards.
This is definitely something i've encountered. I have a Coolermaster QuickFire XT keyboard with MX Browns and in comparison to my friends newer Coolermaster MasterKeys (which also has MX Browns). My brown switches have a much less pronounced tactile bump than his, if I didn't know they were both MX Browns i'd assume they were completely different switches.
I just spoiled myself with a Ducky One 2 TKL. Ducky knows how to make an insanely satisfying keyboard. I got Cherry MX Silent Reds, which not everyone is a fan of, but it is by far the nicest and cleanest looking keyboard I have ever owned.
Ducky One 2 TKL with browns plus o-rings. My keyboard of choice for value, noise and typing comfort. Great vid guys.
Have the fullsize RGB, love it so far though I'm not sure if brown was the right choice for me
There is a reason I'm loyal to ducky, the build quality and just the feeling of using it is premium. I have two duckies with red switches, and they feel pretty similar in terms of the switch. I've tried my cousin's corsair red switch, and it definitely feels muddier despite it still being linear. It felt totally different, and I even thought it could be a silent red switch as my cousin doesn't know as much about the switches.
All my couraair keyboards had scratchy cherry switches, switches over to a different brand and lubed switches made such a big difference. Definitely worth buying from other brands.
Even coming from the AP2, the ducky sounded a lot better and felt better coming from gateron browns. The stabilizers are also either greased or lubed when I checked - very surprising, but it feels and sounds awesome to type on.
The stablizers are different. The housings are different on all of them. The keycaps are made out of different material you’re not promised to get the same sound and feel on all of them maybe even the keyboards layout or amount of space inside the keyboards are different. There are many many elements that makes a keyboard sounds good or bad.
Yes! My Ducky Shine 3 with Blues feels waaay better than any other keyboard I've tried. It's like they aren't as flimsy maybe? And I don't bottom out as much on then as it seems like I have a better feel for the actuation point than on The old BlackWidow with blues or Cooler master or Turtle Beach. My Cooler Master with browns also feels different than my old Zowie did.
the HyperX gives you the most keyboard for your money though. While Ducky may feel the best, it has the fewest keys, and usually the pricing is slightly above the other two, so no wonder the quality is slightly better. If you like small form factors, it's great, but for work I chose the HyperX, as the number pad is basically a one giant dual layer bindings and macro pad at my disposal, and the feel is almost as good as the Ducky. Plus the lighting is cool, allows me to set precisely the tone of ~white~ backlight I want.
HardwareCanucks, can you do a "deaf" test/comparison - typing on those same keyboards, but without hearing keystrokes. Does it still *feel* different (if the switches are the same)?
who would have thought that the brand that focuses on keyboards would have the better quality
I have to say out of all my boards, my iKBC New Poker II has the best implementation of MX Browns with good stabilizers, next is my CM Pro S (which I think with the newer series they've cut corners as I've noticed a difference in the newer CM boards). But the companies like Ducky are pre lubing their switches and using higher quality and binned components, and you see it in the end result.
4:52 OOF if you listen closely you can hear the metal ring from the switch presses. Grinds my ears. Nothing against Cooler Master; this is just a keyboard I won't get simply because the acoustics would drive me nuts.
What metal ring? Do you mean the spring? spring ping and leaf rattle are very common on crappy springs.
@@jyjyjyc Whenever the switch is released I hear it; not sure if it's the spring or not (probably is), but it's very high pitched and for some reason that sound grinds my gears. I am currently looking for a keyboard to get in the future since I have used my Logitech K120 for 5 years, and it's about time for an upgrade. I am particularly interested in the mechanical keyboards with the Cherry MX Brown switches, since they felt comfortable whenever I tested one out while browsing at Best Buy. Trying to see now which companies are more likely to make a keyboard with switch acoustics that I won't mind.
@@JoshsTechWorkshop try Leopold they use a felt and foam dampener inside their keyboards. They also have the best keycaps you can get on a prebuilt. They use 1.5mm cherry profile double shot pure pbt caps.
@@jyjyjyc Thanks, will check it out :)
Another difference could be lubrication added by the manufacturers added to the mx brown switches.
There really aren't any keyboard manufacturers who do this. Gateron have some lube stock but these are Cherry switches. As said in the video, the case is probably just that they got a good batch of switches or they were cherry picked in the case of the ducky. Overall, Cherry switches are pretty hit or miss especially in regards to spring quality and smoothness.
On my Ducky One 2 mini the Stabilizer of the Spacabar was Lubed
@@Dyto69 Talking about switches but ok
@@cinna7814 believe Kailh box and Zeal(technically gateron) have factory lube as well
@@mikel_zz kailh box does not come pre-lubed, the construction allows for amazing typing feel out of the box. they're inherently very smooth switches.
Zealios 67cN switches...tactile point is pronounced AF and heavy up front but soft afterwards. It's the perfect switch IMO
V1s or V2s? V2s are not very pronounced, but it's rather very rounded. The sharpest tactile switch would be a Box Royal.
@@jyjyjyc V2s and I have no issue with pronunciation
im pretty sure the reason for this is outcourcing production. The switches probably get made in different locations and for costsaving measures use different Materials due to availiability. So ducky might care more to get their switches from company abc, which use better materials, whearas hyper X and coolert master might get cheaper ones from a different factory. However we may never know what kind of deals each company is making with cherry.
I thought they call come from one manufacturer... Cherry...
@@GershonBenYitzhak Found this on reddit: "Cherry MX switches are still manufactured in Germany. However, last year a new tooling process reportedly took place which changed the switch molds a bit. The result is a smoother switch which might feel a tad less tactile but a lot less scratchy as well. Browns aren’t a good place to look if you want a very tactile switch anyway."
Sooo yeah, maybe just the older modells vs newer ones
Still. Ducky is a more premium brand with €100 and up. For some that's out of the their price range. For that price of course Ducky is only going to use the best switches out of the batch. However other brands tend to care less. And the price explains it. The HyperX board is about €50. So just take that into consideration.
This is like rounding up 3 random cars running the same engine and determining the best one .... the whole subject is very sensitive regarding the keycap size .. the type .. the backblate ... the coil in the switch ... etc..
@hardwarecanucks have you ever tried the bloody keyboards? I have a b640 which has lazer switches and they even put 20 rubber circles that you can fit under the key caps that helps reducing the noise. And there is like no resistance when you press the keys and also actuation point is very close to top. I mean just a little movement and it makes it happen, I can't express it as well as you can. I'm very pleased with it and believe that it's worth to check out. Maybe you can make a video on one which I think they have higher models with rgb etc. Great channel keep it up guys!
unfortunately, the option to try a peripheral before you buy is nonexistent here. so it's pretty much hit or miss when ordering.
in fact, we'd be hard-pressed to find a mechanical keyboard here, as that $100 price can easily triple by the time it hits retail here.
The ducky does sound nice though
Filco Ninja Majestouch 2 Tenkeyless MX Brown reporting in !
I actually very much enjoyed this objective video despite owning the hyper x alloy and this video looking favourably upon the ducky and not so much the others.
I also noticed that the brown on my CM Brown is quite different (plastiky?) compared to more clicky Filco Browns. But I attribute that to the different back-plate material and stablizers (PCB mount vs plate-mount).
the ducky is the only "high profile" keyboard so it sounds bassier and imo better. But the black cherry housings are better than the clear and when lubed you can make a very good switch.
as my personal experience, I once had a Corsair K70 RGB with cherry MX brown switch, in 2 years of using that keyboard, I had return it 2 times (RMA) because of LED issues, so basically I have experienced 3 K70 RGBs and YES they all feel different, fisrt K70 as I remember have "normal" brown feeling, 2nd K70 have "Crisp, tactile, stiff spring", and the last one is the worst with "mushy" brown feeling and also having double click issue on many keys... so I ditched that keyboard and buy a cheap Chinese keyboard with gateron blue and it is the best so far, almost 2 years of using without any issue. sometimes "branding" as buying factor isn't a good choice.
Which chinese keyboard are you using?
The plate and stabilizers lubed or non lubed, damping pad below the PCs can all change the factor on how the switches feel
I'm rocking a basic office HP keyboard and it's fucken awesome.
Everyone here speaking about mx switches and what not but I'm sitting here with my Outemu Blue Switches.
Custom mechanical keyboard enthusiasts are laughing so hard right now. 🤣
Not really. I mean a head shake sure, but I give them credit for being the only big channel I've seen talk about stuff to this level.
Just had 2 keyboards in my life, first one is corsair strafe rgb cherry mx silent, then ducky one 2 tkl cherry mx speed silver. man, the difference is massive. I'll never go back to corsair ever again.
Just ask r/mechanicalkeyboards for explaination or an interview with some of the well known keyboard RUclipsr. They'll help you guy understand much more than just testing three keyboards side by side.
I have HyperX Alloy FPS Pro and Corsair K63 both TKL on Reds. Keys on HyperX feels slightly lighter and the body is much stiffer thanks to the aluminum plate.
I prefer Alloy FPS Pro feel but it doesn't work well with mac. That's why I'm spending more time using K63 at work which works like a charm with mac.
Yes, I have thermaltake brown and ducky one 2 browns. They feel different and I love the ducky more. But both are good and I am mostly happy with both.
Mechanical keyboard freaks can't go to an internet café or they would implode.