Posted on Wednesday, May 15 2013 @ 15:48 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Bit Tech
informs us that Das Keyboard has introduced a Quiet edition of its Model S Professional mechanical keyboard. The new model uses Cherry MX Red keys, which lack the company's iconic clicky experience in favor of a more silent typing experience. The Model S Pro with Cherry MX Red costs $149, $10 more than its predecessors.
The finger-feel comes at a cost, however: noise. When Das Keyboard describes its primary product as 'the mechanical keyboard that clicks,' it isn't merely referring to how the keyboard feels during use but to the clattering noise that each switch makes as it is depressed and released. For a fast typist, a clicky keyboard can rapidly turn into a torrent of noise like hail on a tin roof - something that makes them ill-suited for use in an office environment.
Das Keyboard's answer, like so many other mechanical keyboard creators before it, is a switch of keys: while the previous Model S Professional uses either Cherry MX Blue - audible click, firm resistance - or Cherry MX Brown - somewhat less audible click, soft resistance - microswitches, the new Model S Professional Quiet opts for Cherry MX Red switches. Designed for near-silent use, the MX Red switches provide much of the finger-feel of their clicky equivalents but at a significantly reduced volume.
