Akko CS Rose Red vs TTC Flame Red
The Akko CS Rose Red and the TTC Flame Red swap places on weight depending on where you measure, which is exactly the kind of thing a spec table hides and a comparison page should not. Our switch library cross-links them because this matchup keeps coming up. Start with the A/B bursts below, then take the spec table and the picks in order.
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 Rose Red | TTC Flame Red |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 43 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 55 g (our estimate) | 54 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 1.9 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Budget | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Akko and TTC both advertise an actuation force, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other. The two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because neither Akko nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
Both the Akko CS Rose Red and the TTC Flame Red are linears, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. Weight depends on where you measure: the TTC Flame Red is the firmer press at actuation by 2 g, while the Akko CS Rose Red is the heavier one at bottom-out by 1 g. Neither Akko nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. Price splits them too: the Akko CS Rose Red is the budget friendly option while the TTC Flame Red sits in the mid priced bracket, which adds up across a 70 switch board. One pick, not three: the Akko CS Rose Red takes gaming and typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room. The TTC Flame Red is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Akko CS Rose Red
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Akko CS Rose Red, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
Akko CS Rose Red
Akko publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 55 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
TTC Flame Red
TTC publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 54 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
Akko CS Rose Red or TTC Flame Red: the long answer
Specs first, since the feel gap is what you notice in the first minute of typing. These springs cross over, which is why no sentence here calls either one the heavier switch: the TTC Flame Red is firmer at actuation, the Akko CS Rose Red at bottom-out, and how far you press decides which you feel. Neither Akko nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. Travel differs at both ends, with the Akko CS Rose Red registering first at 1.9 mm and the TTC Flame Red running deepest at 4.0 mm. Both are linears either way, so neither one puts a bump or a click in the way of the press. Nothing here is decisive on its own, which is why the sound comparison matters more than usual on this pair.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. The Akko CS Rose Red sits at soft light patter, easygoing and unobtrusive; the TTC Flame Red answers with smooth light glide, gentle bottom-out. Both packs are synthesized rather than recorded, so read the comparison as a faithful sketch of each voice and not as a measurement of it.
On cost and convenience, the Akko CS Rose Red is budget friendly, while the TTC Flame Red is mid priced. Both come factory lubed, so neither needs work out of the box.
That leaves an unusually simple answer, because one switch wins on all three counts: the Akko CS Rose Red is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. On typing feel, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. On noise, it is the quieter of the two once the room is listening. That leaves the TTC Flame Red 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.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Akko CS Rose Red page and the TTC Flame Red page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Akko CS Rose Red or TTC Flame Red for gaming?
We pick the Akko CS Rose Red for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Which of the Akko CS Rose Red and the TTC Flame Red is quieter in a shared room?
Volume is roughly a wash: no dampening and no click mechanism on either, so your typing force and your case decide the level. The character is not a wash, with the Akko CS Rose Red reading as soft light patter, easygoing and unobtrusive against smooth light glide, gentle bottom-out from the TTC Flame Red.
Which has the heavier spring, the Akko CS Rose Red or the TTC Flame Red?
That depends on where you measure, because these two cross over. The TTC Flame Red is the firmer press at actuation, 45 g against 43 g, but that reverses at bottom-out, where the Akko CS Rose Red is the heavier of the two at 55 g against 54 g. Both of these are advertised at actuation, so the actuation figures are the ones the makers stand behind. Neither Akko nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those numbers are our own derivation from the forces they do publish.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Akko CS Rose Red or the TTC Flame Red?
The Akko CS Rose Red sits in the budget friendly bracket and the TTC Flame Red in the mid priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
More comparisons
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