Previously, I had SA Chocolatier on this keeb - and it looked amazing. It sounded⌠rough:
What a difference! The heavy tactiles with bad stabs and chunky keys were just too overwhelming a cacophony for this enclosure and aluminum plate. It looks great, but makes a dreadful din.
The Frozen Silents are some of the most quiet switches I own, but I think they actually sound fantastic when amplified by the BBOX. I really like this new config a lot more than I expected to. It even looks better than I thought it would:
Are you sure itâs the stabilizer? The noise you described is something that Iâve found often comes from the switch in the space bar when pressed at hard angles.
How does one make a half-decent recording? I tried to record the new switches in the Cozy75 as I was reasonably pleased with the muted/mellow sound, but neither voice memo nor video recording on my iPhone sounded even vaguely like what I was hearing irlâŚ
I do have a Yeti microphone at home but that seemed like overkill for a quick recording?
Iâm 99% sure itâs the stab because the switch is an EV-01 switch with a very good stem wobble and itâs filmed and lubed, but Iâll check this later to make sure, IIRC you tested it by putting a switch without a top housing right?
If thatâs happen to be the, whatâs the solution?
Lube is the only solution Iâve found. Im not positive, but it seems the ticking is often caused by the stem rattling against the walls of the switch. My black lotus switches did that on some 1u switches until I lubed them. Theyâve remained quiet since, except for the space bar. That switch still does it if I wobble the space bar up and down at sharp angles.
The stem stays out about 0.5mm when fully pressed. There is some wobble up/down, less to the sides due to the box stem. I do really like the feel of them even stock, but they are a little bit on the scratchy side. The only time I noticed that was right beneath my ear, so thatâs ok imho. A bit of a downside, they go really hard in some plates, especially with Alu/FR4
Yellow stock-type polycarb plate with standoff screws omitted
TX AP stabs - with too little too thin grease, apparently; I do stab keys and others separate after the normal typing so you can parse the switch sound from my garbo stab tuning
Double-shot ABS keys in DCX profile (similar but not identical to Cherry)
Same TX AP stabs as above post; wongle sound less obvious with these switches and caps
NovelKeysâ PBT Cherry profile
First impressions of the Melodics
My first impression of these is that they remind me both of Zeal Clickiez and NK_ Thick Clicks, but arenât exactly like either. Closer to the Clickiez for obvious reasons, though maybe even more close than I expected given how much smaller the leaf is. Of course these are way less over-the-top, but for me personally theyâre still a little much in terms of peak tactility - at least for typing. So satisfying, though. If you donât have delicate nerve-damaged fingers like mine, these might be perfectly viable for long, delicious typing sessions.
I love the clean sound and feel these switches have, and I also appreciate the fairly unique tactile experience these have even if itâs not my favorite. Like click-bar switches, these donât have audible rattle, and that goes a long way for me in enjoying a clicky switch.
I really want to encourage Gateron to keep playing with these leaves, as there are things about this switch I really do prefer over some of my other favorite clickies in the BOX line. Namely: none of the characteristic BOX twist, no wondering if itâs really okay to put your nice caps on them, and darn if they arenât otherwise really smooth. Like BOX clickies, these can be linearized by removing the click spring - in this case a small leaf, in BOXes a torsion spring - but these make much better linears than those BOXes do, IMO. I think thatâs a nice cherry on top helping their performance as clickies.
TL;DR: if youâre an enjoyer of clickies on the heavy side or are generally curious about novel switch designs in the MX space, I think these are worth considering. If youâre accustomed to clickies in the âBlueâ universe or prefer BOX Whites, for example, these might be a little tiresome for your fingers. On the other hand, if youâre accustomed to Navies or even Clickiez, youâll breeze right through these and likely appreciate their crunchy-yet-crisp feedback.
I dont think you really need a dedicated mic unless that is something you are interested in diving into. Capturing general background noise with a cellphone mic instead of isolating the keyboard can capture a more ârealisticâ sound test, which is perfectly fine in my opinion. Obviously big difference if someone was using a mic where all you hear is the AC unit, then probably would be good to use something else lol.
The AL71 I finished modding last night; deep and punchy, just how I like it.
Hard to believe this platform is so well-executed while being so affordable. Even the inside is well thought-out. I was concerned it wouldnât sound as good after deviating from the stock configuration - happy to be wrong about that.
Yunzii AL71 (recolored with cured engine enamel)
Moondrop Tessence Tactile switches modded with HG Clear tops and diffusers
PBT OEM shine thru caps
Otherwise stock
Side rant
about unannounced switch revisions: The keen-eared among you may be able to hear some metallic sounds in the mix; thatâs the new leaves in the Tessence switches, unfortunately.
In-practice itâs not too bad, but in-context itâs a disappointment, because this switch model used to be very clean sounding from the factory and now it isnât. Iâd mistakenly identified the sound as coming from the springs at first, but after generously oiling them all in 105 and finding no change in the sound until I put some sideways pressure on the pins, I realized the true culprits.
These silver-pin versions are still great switches, but now require careful tuning to sound as clean as the original copper-pin versions. I donât know if lubing the leaves alone would eliminate the noise, but I am confident itâs possible. Iâm not confident itâs worth it, however - better to just get a switch with less problematic leaves.
will have to wait until Iâm back home then 
