Akko CS Ocean Blue vs Outemu Brown
Weight is the real gap here: 14 g between the Outemu Brown and the Akko CS Ocean Blue at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our library of every switch we simulate links the two to each other for that reason. Play the A/B bursts below to hear them back to back, match the volumes, then read the spec table and the verdict.
Hear them back to back
simulated from real specssound loads on your first tapShortcuts: press A or B anywhere outside a text box to fire that burst. Use the volume trims to loudness-match the pair before judging which sounds better.
Spec by spec
| Spec | Akko CS Ocean Blue | Outemu Brown |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 36 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 1.9 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these at actuation, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis.
Verdict
This is a tactile versus tactile contest: the Akko CS Ocean Blue and the Outemu Brown share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. The springs are far apart, with the Outemu Brown at 50 g actuation versus 36 g for the Akko CS Ocean Blue, a gap you feel within a paragraph of typing. One of them is ready out of the bag: the Akko CS Ocean Blue is lubed at the factory and the other is not. The Akko CS Ocean Blue comes out ahead of the Outemu Brown for gaming and for typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room, so this comparison has one answer instead of a set of them.
- Overall pick
- Akko CS Ocean Blue
This pair does not split by use case: the Akko CS Ocean Blue comes out ahead of the Outemu Brown on all three, so there is one pick here rather than three.
Force curves
Akko CS Ocean Blue
Akko publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
Outemu Brown
Outemu publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
Akko CS Ocean Blue or Outemu Brown: the long answer
Read the spec sheet once, carefully, and most of this decision makes itself. The spread at actuation is 14 g, 50 g on the Outemu Brown against 36 g on the Akko CS Ocean Blue, which puts them in different weight brackets rather than two shades of one. Type is not in play. Both are tactiles, and both give a finger something to aim at on the way down. Same depth, different trigger point: 1.9 mm on the Akko CS Ocean Blue against 2.0 mm on the Outemu Brown, both inside 4.0 mm. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. The Akko CS Ocean Blue sits at soft rounded tap, gentle mid-pitch; the Outemu Brown answers with mid-pitched tap with a light rattle. Worth repeating: the audio here is a simulation built from specs and community descriptions, not a recording of either switch.
On cost and convenience, both are budget friendly. One of them has already been lubed for you and one has not, which is worth more than the price gap if you were not planning to open 70 switches.
So who should buy which? The same switch wins every way we score it: the Akko CS Ocean Blue is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, it wins on a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation. On typing feel, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. On noise, it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. That leaves the Outemu Brown to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. The player above is the cheapest part of this decision, so use it before your wallet is involved.
There is more on both than a head-to-head can carry. Start with the Akko CS Ocean Blue page and the Outemu Brown page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Akko CS Ocean Blue or the Outemu Brown the better gaming switch?
We pick the Akko CS Ocean Blue for gaming. Of the two it has the quicker, less intrusive stroke, winning on a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation.
Which is quieter, the Akko CS Ocean Blue or the Outemu Brown?
Nothing in either one is built to reduce noise, so on raw volume this is a tie decided by your keyboard rather than your switch. What you will actually hear is a difference of pitch and texture, which the player above shows better than a sentence can.
Is the Akko CS Ocean Blue heavier than the Outemu Brown?
The Outemu Brown, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 50 g to 36 g.
Do the Akko CS Ocean Blue and the Outemu Brown need lubing?
The Akko CS Ocean Blue arrives lubed from the factory, so it is usable straight out of the bag. The Outemu Brown does not, and on a full board that is an evening of work if you want it at its smoothest. Plenty of people run unlubed switches happily; it is a question of whether a slightly drier stroke bothers you.
More comparisons
More vs Akko CS Ocean Blue
More vs Outemu Brown
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.