They have a higher-pitched clack than any of my other linears; probably the closest I can think of in terms of sound is a Tangerine. Typing lightly on them with some plane-jane TaiHao caps, the sound reminds me just a little bit of the last little plink-plonk sounds from a rain stick as it slows down.
Very good question! My first linear switches were Cherry Silent Blacks, and I really didn’t like them. They were mushy and sandy, and indeed pretty boring. Almost as boring as an Aliaz.
However- as I continued my search for not-so-sucky silent switches, they started to become very interesting to me. I started collecting at least one example of every silent I could find - and I have found some that I like every bit as much as some of my favorite non-silent switches.
The most interesting are Gazzew’s lineup; they use a different dampening material and shape - making them softer on the bottom-out, and very quiet overall. In the right housing (such as the Boba, Panda, T1, or Blue Ink), his new U4 stems are very tactile and satisfying to use. He’ll also be bringing back a linear version, which makes for whisper-quiet switches. (I’ve got a small write-up on the linear ones vs a couple other silent stems here if you’re curious.)
Another interesting mid-range silent is the Kailh Box Silent Brown. It has a modest “negative” tactile bump at the top with a peak force stronger than the spring, meaning you’ll almost always bottom-out - making the switch feel more tactile in-use than when pushed slowly under close inspection. They’re a little inconsistent but very decent overall - I find them very enjoyable to use and I’m able to type very quickly on them with confidence.
My favorite so far, though, are Gateron Silent Inks. They’re smooth, and the muted sound they do make is quite pleasant to my ear. (They sound extra nice with some MDA caps on them.) I love the weighting and the bottom-out feel, which to me strikes a very good balance of crisp feel with dampening of the sound. The Silent Ink is probably one of my favorite switches overall.