Sound of linear switches for fun. English is kinda limiting so also threw in Hangul versions.
From left to right:
Notes:
Easing Into Linears status report:
I’m now using my Mauve board (205g0 + POM Plate + Tofu) most of the time.
When I try to use Tealios or Ink board, they now feel boring. And Cream now feels a little too clacky. C3 Tangerine R2 board is still getting some use when I get tired of Mauve thocks. While Mauve is very smooth, 205g0 nerfed the skating feel where this switch retains much of the skating feel despite being lubed the same way.
I think I’m going to put the Mauves in the Polaris when it finally gets here.
Just tried my first linear switch. I rebuilt my Koyu with Alpacas filmed with TX films, lubed housings and stems with 205g0 and bag lubed springs with Krytox 105. I will try it for the next week. It’s feels so weird so far.
Yeah, I will definitely be getting a batch of them. The main selling point for me is that they’re Alpacas with thicker top housings.
That sucks but not too harmful. In what ways, exactly, are the compositions of the JWK switches being misleading?
So I received my order of H1 linears from Vince at @ApexKeyboards the other day and put them in a hot swap board to break them in. My first impression: they’re awesome! Out of the bag, the switches were really smooth (noticeably smoother than other Durock/JWK switches, but I believe the H1s have some factory lube applied).
I’m typing on them now, and they’re so smooth, a person might consider not lubing them. (I plan to lube mine with 205g0 regardless). I’ll note that some of the top housings seem a bit loose, so I definitely think filming is worth doing. I can here a certain “clack” on the upstroke with a lot of them, which I think will go away with filming.
78g springs are on the heavier side for me, so I may swap the srpings when I lube and film them. I’ll report back in a few weeks once I’ve done a proper build with them lubed and filmed.
Anyway, I’m not sure if these switches have come up on some of the other sites yet, but I would definitely encourage other linear lovers to check them out!
Thank you for sharing your experience. I have been a long time lurker but I made this account just to join this conversation. So I take it at this point, Alpacas/Mauves are your favorite switches atm. Have you tried Cream stems in Alpaca housings? I’m still waiting for the next Creams restock on Novelkeys.
I know, I feel the same way. I think the solution for me might be heavier (or maybe even two stage) springs.
Isn’t that just tactile but a different way
Yes. The point is smooth tactility.
Nope. After using Mauves for a while, I needed a break from Mauves’ persistent hollowness. So I’m now back on Tealios and Black Inks boards, the new classics.
I did try Cream stem in Mauves as well as other switches but key travel loss was too much to offset the improvement in sound.
That’s what I figured as well. In the end, I plan to have at least a set of 70 switches for each of these top tier linears just so when the mood strikes… I just got in on the Creams restock today, the final piece for my collection.
On another topic, to retain the switch’s sound signature, I believe either a gasket mount or full soft plastic set-up (like full PC) is needed to minimize structure-borne resonance. However, with too much sound dampening like putting foam between the plate and PCB and between casing and PCB, it might just compress the signature too much and deaden it.
I think Tealios and Black Inks are pretty hard to beat.
Yup. Recent JWK switches are fine for hot-swap boards for occasions when I want something different but I think Tealios and Black Inks make more sense for Polaris.
Aren’t they the extreme ends of feel and sound? Tealios are smoother with high pitched, while Inks are scratchier with low pitched. I don’t have tealios yet.
I would say they definitely sound different but in terms of scratchiness, Inks are in the same ballpark as Tealios IMO, especially when lubed.
I’d say they are in the same Smooth Enough ballpark with Tealios on the smoother side. I use both because I like the softer feel and quieter sound of Tealios in the morning and firmer feel and louder sound of Inks in the evening. In between is where my lunch and power-nap goes.
My H1s arrived and I was able to try them a bit tonight.
They feel smooth and fairly creamy. Don’t necessarily feel 78 gr in weight to me, but I find that linears feel lighter than the tactiles I am used to.
Still, they are heavier than I prefer to type on. I think if these were weighted at 72 gr bottom-out, I would enjoy them more.
Sound wise, I have yet to do a direct comparison with the Alpacas. They are ‘slower’ in operation than the Alpacas for me, but that’s probably the weight, and maybe the lubricant.
On a hollow aluminum board, I can discern a little bit of spring noise. A kind of shuffling. This is something that would be addressed with hand-lubing.
Unlike the Alpacas, I find that GMK doesn’t feel quite as ‘smooth’ on these switches, although that’s very subjective. And the set I’m using is a little grainier than usual. They are doing alright with KBDFans Dolch PBT.
This is such a great thread. Thanks @donpark and everybody else for sharing your experiences.
I used to like MX tactiles, but now the only switches I enjoy are Topre and medium/heavy-weighted smooth linears. I was able to get a secondhand board with haphazardly lubed Creams, and I thought they were great. Until I got the H1s, my first smooth linear.
Holy hell are they smooth. I tried 205g0 (my preferred lube for sharp tactiles, both for its tactility reduction and deeper/dampened sound), 3204, and 3203 for the H1. I think I have to agree that adding any more lube to these already smooth switches makes them lose the “skating” feeling, and adds a bit more weight to each press. But lubing AND filming helps a lot with the sound.
I loved the sound I got from 205g0 but I felt that the switch lost too much of its character and springiness(?). 3203 was great, although I liked the deeper sound from the thicker 3204. Lubing the top housing, especially the part the slider hits on the upstroke, helps a lot with getting rid of the plasticky upstroke sound of JWK linears.
One week in with around 10 hours a day of use, my H1s don’t sound as deep as before, but in a good way – it’s as if they came to life. They don’t feel as heavy/buttery as when they were freshly lubed. I think breaking in also has had an effect, since some of the skating feeling has returned. I still hear the occasional spring crunch here and there, but it’s not loud and it usually gets drowned out by the bottom out and upstroke sounds during normal use. I think I overlubed some of them though.
In all, I think I’ll apply way less lube next time – maybe I’ll skip the stems and the sliders, and only apply lube to the housing and the bottom of the stem (for a deeper bottom out sound). I think it’s really hard to nail down a certain feel and sound combination, especially when time and use comes into play. Freshly lubed switches just don’t sound the same as broken in switches (broken in both in the switch and lube sense). This rabbit hole is a bottomless pit!
Is this the right move.
Cream stems in Sky housings for my loud linear build(fr4 plate/top mount). Put some Gateron stems in the Cream housings for my All POM build. And throw UHM stems in the leftover creamy Gat housings(polycarb plate/ alu top mount). I have Tangie v2s, tealios, and alpacas that I could also play with though…
