Alpaca Switch
Smooth Linear
Switch sounds
These are the switches in the tester. Pick one above and listen, then type a chapter of Alice in Wonderland or Dracula.
Cherry MX Brown is a light tactile switch: a small bump at the actuation point, and no click jacket. The sound is a soft thud, quieter than a Blue and less empty than a linear. It is the usual comparison when you want feedback without a loud click.
Cherry MX Blue is the standard clicky switch. A click jacket snaps on the way down, separate from the bottom-out, so the recording is sharp and high. When people say “mechanical keyboard sound,” this click is usually what they mean.
Cherry MX Red is a light linear: no bump, no click, about 45 grams, just smooth travel and a soft bottom-out. This tester has no Cherry Red recording. Play Gateron Red Ink to hear that light-linear family.
Cherry MX Black is the heavier classic linear, around 60 grams. Travel is as smooth as a Red, with a deeper bottom-out. The Cherry MX Black sample in the picker is this switch.
Topre is a rubber dome with an electrostatic sensor, not a Cherry stem. The sound is round and cushioned, a soft thock with the bump in the dome. It is the switch in this list that does not sound like a plastic click.
Holy Panda is a tactile switch with a long, sharp bump and a deep bottom-out. It is louder and more defined than Cherry MX Brown, which is why sound tests treat it as its own category.
Gateron Black Ink is a deep linear in a Gateron Ink housing. It is heavier and fuller than a stock Cherry linear, with the low thock people record when they want a quiet, dense keypress.
Gateron Red Ink is the light linear in that same Ink housing. The weight sits near a Cherry MX Red, with a smoother, fuller sound than a dry Cherry red. It is the red-style press you can play here.
NK Cream is a linear switch in a POM housing. Stock, the sound is a higher clack; broken in, it gets smoother. In the picker it is the buttery linear.
Alpaca is a smooth linear, and the housing half of a Holy Panda build. On its own it is quieter than a clicky switch and less sharp than Box Navy, a clean linear for a long chapter.
Box Navy is a heavy clicky switch with a thick click bar. It is louder and stiffer than Cherry MX Blue, with a sharp crack on each press. In the picker it is the heavy clicky.
Blue Alps is a vintage clicky switch, not a Cherry MX mount. The click is more complex than MX Blue: brighter, with a tactile tick that sounds older than a modern click jacket.
Turquoise Tealios is a premium linear known for smooth, clean travel. The sound is quieter and less bass-heavy than a Gateron Ink, a precise linear rather than a thock sample.
