deskthority

Looking for the loudest switch ever made? Look no further than Kailh BOX Jade, the loudest modern switch. But what about vintage switches and keyboards? In this video, I've put together a sound comparison with a decibel meter, featuring 8 of the loudest switches and keyboards ranked from quietest to loudest. Watch as I put these switches to the test, both alone and while typing, and see if you can guess which one is the loudest.

Here are the switches and keyboards I tested:

Kailh BOX Jade - Skyloong GK96
IBM Buckling Spring - IBM Model M
IBM Capacitive Buckling Spring - IBM Model F XT
Futaba MA Clicky - Corel EAT-1010
Omron BG3-S Amber - Costar CSK-1101
IBM Beam Spring - IBM Displaywriter 6580
Alps SKCM Blue - Dataware MCU-101
ProWorld - PD-14C Unidentified

Every switch has been measured with a decibel meter at 10 cm for better comparison. Note that you can't compare these results to other switches decibel measures in my other videos since the way I recorded it was different, and the decibel meter is placed at 5 cm on regular sound tests.

It'd be really interesting to see a complete and inclusive comparison (or at least a part 2 with even more vintage clickies)

Thanks for sharing. The Corel sounds like rain on a tin roof.

I subscribed to your channel on youtube.

Thanks guys!! Yeah, maybe a part 2! Which switches would you see in there? Nec Oval?

Thanks very much for doing this video, hopefully people will finally stop asking me to do it xD . I was right about the result though! I always figured the F was the loudest ^^ .

I've shared your video on Twitter as well. Excellent production and editing btw!

That video is delightful.
Thank you very much.

Chyros wrote: ↑

30 Apr 2023, 12:05

Thanks very much for doing this video, hopefully people will finally stop asking me to do it xD . I was right about the result though! I always figured the F was the loudest ^^ .

I've shared your video on Twitter as well. Excellent production and editing btw!

Thanks Thomas! I'm so happy you liked it! It's like having the blessing of the best in the field... Love your channel! And thank you for sharing ! So much work and so hard to get visibility with vintage keyboards ...

If that video can save you some time, that's great!

Thanks again mate!
JS

clickandthock wrote: ↑

30 Apr 2023, 05:03

Thanks guys!! Yeah, maybe a part 2! Which switches would you see in there? Nec Oval?

Just for fun, throw a Selectric into round two. Those were technically converted to be used as keyboards on some early IBM terminals so they count.