Akko CS Silver vs Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A
Money is the honest first difference between the Akko CS Silver and the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A: one is budget friendly and the other mid priced, multiplied by a full board. 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 Silver | Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 43 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 50 g (our estimate) | 70 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 1 mm | 1.2 mm |
| Total travel | 3 mm | 3.4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Budget | Mid-range |
| 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. The two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because neither Akko nor Cherry publishes a bottom-out figure. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
This is a linear versus linear contest: the Akko CS Silver and the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. The Akko CS Silver is the cheaper board to fill by a full bracket, budget friendly against mid priced. Their springs sit close together, just 2 g apart at actuation, with the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A the marginally firmer press. Our picks: the Akko CS Silver for gaming and a shared office, the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A for typing.
- Gaming pick
- Akko CS Silver
- Typing pick
- Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A
- Office pick
- Akko CS Silver
Force curves
Akko CS Silver
Akko publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 50 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.
Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 70 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 Silver or Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A: the long answer
Start with what these cost to fill a board, because that is the widest gap between them. The Akko CS Silver is budget friendly, while the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A is mid priced. Both come factory lubed, so neither needs work out of the box.
The specs are the smaller half of this pair, but they are not nothing. Akko and Cherry are both selling you linears here, so both give you spring resistance and nothing else. Neither the trigger point nor the depth matches: 1.0 mm to actuation on the Akko CS Silver against 1.2 mm, and 3.0 mm of total travel on the Akko CS Silver against 3.4 mm. At actuation they sit 2 g apart, 45 g against 43 g, close enough that lube and housing will decide the feel before the spring does. Nothing here is decisive on its own, which is why the sound comparison matters more than usual on this pair.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. Two different voices: short bright tick, quick and shallow on the Akko CS Silver, short, tight clack that arrives early on the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A. 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.
All three questions get different answers on this pair. Fast inputs: the Akko CS Silver, because the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. A long draft: the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A, since it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. A room with other people in it: the Akko CS Silver, as it is the quieter of the two once the room is listening. Do the listening first. It costs nothing and it changes minds more often than a spec table does.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Akko CS Silver page and the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Akko CS Silver or the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A?
We pick the Akko CS Silver for gaming. This is close to a coin toss. The scoring hands it over by a margin you would not feel in a match.
Is the Akko CS Silver quieter than the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A?
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 Silver reading as short bright tick, quick and shallow against short, tight clack that arrives early from the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A.
Akko CS Silver vs Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A: which one is the heavier press?
The Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 45 g against 43 g an honest 2 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Akko CS Silver or the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A?
The Akko CS Silver sits in the budget friendly bracket and the Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A 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
More vs Akko CS Silver
More vs Cherry MX Speed Silver MX2A
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.