Switch Specifications:
Linear | 3.7mm | 60g actuation | Plate Mount| ~£0.80 per switch
A heavier ‘silent’ switch variant from Cherry, rivalling the Gateron Silent Black Ink, a tough, but a significantly more expensive opponent. Apart from that, it’s a Cherry MX Silent Red with a heavier spring and dark grey stem.
Here’s the video review if you prefer watching content:
Smoothness: 5/10
Unlike the MX Silent Red, the inconsistent scratch between the switches was far less noticeable. Though, it is just as smooth as its lighter brother. Average. It’s closest competitor, the Gateron Silent Black Ink trumps easily trumps it by a mile.
Weighting: 8/10
A switch that falls in my sweet spot for weighting. It’s basically almost perfect for my daily use. Typing wise anyway.
If the MX Silent Red was too light for your taste, this could be your new silent switch for office use. You may suffer from finger fatigue after a long gaming session though, something to bear in mind.
Cherry MX Silent Black disassembled
Sound: 5/10
It sounds just like its lighter brother. Then again, that’s not surprising given they use the same silencing mechanism.
I covered how the switch functions in my Cherry MX Silent Red , but in short, the switch is very quiet as it has dampeners on the side that absorbs both the upstroke and the downstroke. I like it, I think it’s pretty neat.
They do still produce sound though. They’re not exactly “silent” as the name would suggest. However, this makes silent switches hard to grade as being quiet is the whole point. Still, it gets a 5 in this regard as they don’t sound terrible, just like its lighter brother.
Cherry MX Silent Red (left) and Cherry MX Silent Black (right) stem
Typing Performance: 6/10
This could be a little biased as I now have a total of 4 weeks’ worth of experience with silent switches. I have definitely gotten used to them now, hence the higher score. Although, the mushy feeling still persists, preventing me from scoring it any higher.
My typing consistency also improved as the spring are heavier. I made less mistakes in comparison to its lighter brother which is another big contributor to the 6/10 scoring. Honestly, this is a great office switch more than anything. Consider it against the Gateron Silent Black Ink if you want to save $0.50 per switch according to NovelKeys.
Gaming Performance: 5/10
Yes, the reduction of noise from a loud keyboard during a late-night gaming session is a positive to many and a must for some, but with a heavy penalty on key feel which I’m not willing to sacrifice.
I was kind to its lighter brother giving it a 7/10 in this category, quite a high score for any switch. The shorter travel and the light 45g weighting were strong aspects I couldn’t ignore.
Although, the MX Silent Black has the same travel distance, its 60g weighting is a big downside for long gaming sessions. I’m a lover of heavy switches but using this for gaming became too exhausting after a few hours!
Final Score = 29/50 (58%)