[samfriedman]

One thing I rarely see discussed in any detail in mechanical keyboard roundups is a noise comparison. For a tool for "coders", many mechanical keyboards can be pretty disruptive to your coworkers if you're using it in a workspace without a closed door.

My favorite switches for typing (and thus, coding) are MX blues. Unfortunately these are also the loudest, with a distinct click at each key activation. You can purchase small rubber rings that act as dampeners on each key, but this also changes the feel of the keyboard.

I'd pay well for a solution that lets me have both the tactile experience I enjoy and the sound level I need to use a mechanical keyboard at work. Until then it's bog-standard rubber domes for me.

[dsp1234]

Cherry MX come in a spectrum on both tactile and auditory (clicky) feedback.

MX Blues are tactile and clicky.

If you want tactile, but not clicky, then you would want an MX Brown. You can feel when the actuation happens, and as long as you don't bottom out the keys, they are silent. Many DasKeyboard models come with a choice of Blue/Brown, but other manufacturers have them as well.

Here is a site that has an explanation of the various colors:

http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/an-introduc...

[hfourm]

Brown + dampening rings should be plenty for an office environment

Edit: another thing that helps is having the keyboard on a oversized mousepad, to dampen the vibrations from keyboard -> desk

[bjpbakker]

Matias actually has a sound comparison on their website [1].

I had a keyboard with Matias quiet pro switches and I really loved them. Very tactile, about as much as Cherry blue. But with less snooze than browns.

Too bad that keyboard was the KBP V60 which after a few weeks gained lots of key chatter. I read that many more people suffered from that, their firmware is bad at preventing it.

[1] http://matias.ca/switches/quiet/

[peternicky]

Interesting anecdote from my experience using mechanical keyboards in open, corporate offices: people never stop me and complain about the noise. Rather, people usually are curious about my "retro" or "vintage" keyboards. I quickly tell them that these are new products and then they ask the price. Once they hear that I pay for "special" keyboards, their eyes usually roll and I feel the judgements coming :)

[BlackjackCF]

Yeah... I was so loud with my MX Greens at work that my job ended giving me the Matis Quiet Pro so that I wouldn't disturb others.

[vvanders]

I'm a fan of Das Keyboard Silent. The feel is slightly different from my clicky but it's still pretty solid.