| Switch Type: | Linear |
| Mount Type: | PCB Mount |
| Travel Distance: | 1.9mm Actuation | 3.5mm Total |
| Force: | 48g Operating | 53g Bottom-out |
| Price: | €16.99 (45 pieces) on Akko |
The Akko CS Piano is a light linear switch hand-lubed from factory – a unique trait not many switches have.
TL;DR
Their smoothness is unmatched! These are the smoothest contact-based switch I’ve ever tried. It rivals even the best optical and hall-effect switches on the market!
So, if you’re looking for an ultra-smooth, light linear switch with a reasonable price tag (€0.38 per switch), then I’d suggest taking a look at these. Plus, as a bonus, these are hand-lubed from factory.
Smoothness: 9/10
On-centre keypresses are ultra-smooth. There are no hints of scratchiness. Just pure 100% smoothness.
Off-centre keypresses show very minor scratchiness at extremely slow keypresses, but even then, they’re not very super noticeable. And I certainly didn’t feel them when typing at speed.
Overall, these are ‘up there’ as a contact-based switch, and they can hang with the one of the best hall-effect switches such as the SteelSeries OmniPoint. Hand-lubing made a huge difference here.
Akko CS Piano switch disassembled.
Weighting: 4/10
According to Akko, these switches have actuation force of 48g at 1.9mm with a bottom-out force of 53g at 3.5mm.
Yes, you read that right, there’s only a 5g difference from when the switch actuates and when it bottoms-out. My first (obvious) guess would be because of the light spring, but secondly, it might be down to the 3.5mm travel. It may have bottom-out closer to 60g if the switch had at 4mm travel.
However, in the real world, the 0.5mm difference isn’t noticeable (at least not for me). Akko really made this feel like a full-travel switch. Additionally, I’m glad Akko decided to make these switches actuate at 1.9mm instead of a higher 1 – 1.3mm found in many switches designed for gaming. A high actuation and a light weighting usually do not bode well with me.
Now, in terms of switch consistency, it should shouldn’t surprise you hear that these switches are extremely consistent. It’s an Akko switch after all. Plus, these are hand-lubed (at least that’s what Akko says anyway).
Overall, even with its upsides, it’s still a light switch and I’m not a fan of lightly weighted linear switches. If these were heavier, perhaps in the 55-65g actuation, I’d rate them a little higher. Not this time ‘round though.
Sound: 10/10
Since these were hand-lubed, I expected them to sound thockier than usual for an Akko switch. But to my surprise, these may be the clackiest sounding switch of all time! I certainly didn’t hear it coming.
I guess even if Akko tried, ‘clacky’ switches are what they’re going to be known for. I love clacky switches anyway, hence the 10/10 score. Now you all know what a perfect sounding switch sounds like to my ears. The recording doesn’t do it justice!
Overall, extremely clack – that’s the Akko CS Piano switch. As a side note: I’d be interested to hear what they sound like without the lube.
Typing Performance: 5/10
The good points first.
Consistency. Akko is highly regarded for their switch consistency and that is true here too as well. I’d even go as far as to say that they’ve improved their already amazing consistency with the CS Piano since these are hand-lubed from factory. That’s some top-tier stuff from Akko!
Smoothness. These can easily rival modern non-contact-based switches like the SteelSeries OmniPoint, the Corsair OPX and the Razer Optical. And given that these are contact-based switches, that’s mighty impressive.
Now for the BIG downside.
The weighting. Light linear switches with a high actuation are my least favourite class of switches out there. Thankfully, these have a more normal 1.9mm actuation. However, they are still extremely light for my tastes and typing on them isn’t very comfortable nor convenient as I tend to mis press keys when typing at speed. This leads to decreased accuracy and wasted time over the long period.
Overall, as smooth and consistent they are, it wouldn’t be my top pick for typing. The typos I made during testing just isn’t worth the upsides it brings to the table.
Gaming Performance: 6/10
I’ve mentioned a few times that consistency is one of most important factors for any switch in a gaming environment (especially a linear one). And these switches easily pass that. The same goes with smoothness.
Where things take a turn is in the weighting department. These switches performed quite poorly in both slow and fast-paced games as I accidentally actuated keys when leaning on them. This led to many frustrating mistakes that could’ve been avoided or lessened if the spring was on the heavier side.
Overall, it isn’t for me. However, its smoothness and consistency are the real winners here. I would encourage you to further look into this switch if you think the weighting will suit you… because it’s a damn good gaming switch otherwise.
Final Score = 34/50 (68%)
