AMBIENTS WILL START SELLING TUESDAY APRIL 23!!! This will be a constantly-stocked product, No group-buy or presale will occur. The two linears will be released first, followed by the tactile later this spring.
The Ambients are based on the original Kailh Choc V1 switch, but are a completely new design, having all their parts redesigned to accommodate the new components required to quieten the typical switch noise. Silicone bumpers have been strategically placed within the new design to buffer both the down and the up stroke of a keypress, all while not creating a mushy feeling while typing.
Not in North America? We have international vendors to help keep your shipping costs down!
- EU (NL) - splitkb.com
- EU (CZ) - 42.Keebs
- EU (DE) - Keycapsss
- EU (DE) - Keeb Supply
- EU (IL) - holy keebs
- UK - MechBoards
- AU/NZ - KEEBD
- JP - Yushakobo
- CN - Beekeeb
These are some of the best switches I've ever had the pleasure of typing with. I've had a long history of gaming keyboards with a variety of mx switches and only just gotten into custom keyboards.
In an effort to make my reds quieter, I took them apart and removed the bar from them, which certainly made them quieter and removed the rattle, though they were still quite tappity. Then I tried tape modding them, which removed more of the sound than I though it would but made them a bit too scratchy for my liking. I couldn't help but think that if I could just find some O-rings small enough to put around the tabs on the stem, that would be just the ticket. Obviously someone else had the same idea, and they are perfect, so much so that I've been looking for excuses to type. I was originally planning on getting a set of Sunset switches, but I think these might wind up staying on my board.
The Nocturnal and Twilight are aptly named. I can type late hours when everyone else is in bed, and bother no one. Among the quietest switch out of the box I’ve experienced.
But the lack of sound is just the beginning. The feel is sublime. Soft bottom out, but not mushy. No wobble, but still smooth. No scratchy break-in phase. As smooth as my Reds after 6 months of daily use.
To me, they feel better than the much vaunted Macbook scissors. With the DCC keycaps, mobile typing has nearly reached parity with desk
Twilights are smoother and obviously much quieter than the Kailh Choc Red switches I used previously. Definitely quiet enough for office use.
The Nocturnals are a little too light for me to rest my fingers on the keyboard without triggering keypresses; ymmv if you hover or use layers differently.
(ZSA Voyager)
By far the quietest "silent" switch I've ever used. Full size mx silent switches don't come close to this.
Very smooth action on both the twilights and the nocturnals. Stem wobble is highly improved over normal choc switches. There's barely any wobble even in 1.5u keycaps.
The feel of the bottom out is dampened, as is to be expected from silent switches. It doesn't have the sharp or harsh bottom out of normal switches but it doesn't feel mushy either. The difference in feel from a normal choc switch is about the same as a normal mx switch to most silent mx switches.
Just installed these in a ZSA Voyager this afternoon, and I'm pretty impressed. The "Nocturnals" I chose don't feel much lighter than the "Purpz" I had already gotten used to, and they're a ton quieter.
Between the near-lack of sound when typing and the slightly softer feeling at the bottom of the stem, it means I almost can't tell when I'm bottoming out v.s. ending a press mid-stroke. Definitely quiet and pleasant-feeling. Would recommend for most folks unless they really like louder typing noise.