Alps SKCM Cream Damped vs Matias Quiet Click
The Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Matias Quiet Click are separated mostly by spring weight, 10 g of it at actuation, with the Alps SKCM Cream Damped the firmer press and the Matias Quiet Click the easier one to hold down. Our switch library puts these two on each other's shortlist, and the player below is the fastest way to settle it: match the volumes, then work down through the 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 | Alps SKCM Cream Damped | Matias Quiet Click |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile (silent) | Tactile (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 70 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 2.2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 3.5 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | No | No |
| Price tier | Premium | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Alps and Matias 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.
Verdict
Alps and Matias are selling the same stroke here, so the Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Matias Quiet Click separate on spring, distance and voice instead. There is a real weight gap too: 70 g against 60 g at actuation, so the Alps SKCM Cream Damped asks noticeably more of your fingers over a long session. Price splits them too: the Matias Quiet Click is the mid priced option while the Alps SKCM Cream Damped sits in the premium priced bracket, which adds up across a 70 switch board. The Alps SKCM Cream Damped comes out ahead of the Matias Quiet Click for gaming and for typing, and its pads make it the only one of the two an office tolerates, so this comparison has one answer instead of a set of them.
- Overall pick
- Alps SKCM Cream Damped
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Alps SKCM Cream Damped, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
Alps SKCM Cream Damped
Alps 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.
Matias Quiet Click
Matias 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.
Alps SKCM Cream Damped or Matias Quiet Click: the long answer
Read the spec sheet once, carefully, and most of this decision makes itself. At actuation the Alps SKCM Cream Damped is the firmer press, 70 g against 60 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. The Alps SKCM Cream Damped registers earlier, 1.7 mm against 2.2 mm, inside the same 3.5 mm of total travel. These are two Alps / Matias tactiles, so both raise a bump close to the point the press registers. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
The ears usually get the last word here. Two different voices: rubber-cushioned thud both directions, 1980s proto-silent on the Alps SKCM Cream Damped, damped Alps-style thud, office-safe on the Matias Quiet Click. Dampening pads are on both, which puts the whole comparison inside a narrow band of volume and moves it onto tone. 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 Alps SKCM Cream Damped is premium priced, while the Matias Quiet Click is mid priced. Lube is on you with both of these, which is a real cost in time whichever one you order. Worth knowing before you order: neither of these uses an MX style stem, so neither will drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps, and they do not share a mount with each other either.
Who buys which, then? One switch takes every axis we score: the Alps SKCM Cream Damped is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. On typing feel, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. On noise, its dampening keeps the sound from carrying across the room. That leaves the Matias Quiet Click 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.
For either one on its own terms, read the Alps SKCM Cream Damped page and the Matias Quiet Click page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Alps SKCM Cream Damped or the Matias Quiet Click?
We pick the Alps SKCM Cream Damped for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Is the Alps SKCM Cream Damped quieter than the Matias Quiet Click?
This is a tie at the quiet end. With two pad-dampened switches the case and the keycaps are louder than either one, and the choice between them is a choice of tone.
Alps SKCM Cream Damped vs Matias Quiet Click: which one is the heavier press?
The Alps SKCM Cream Damped, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 70 g to 60 g.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Alps SKCM Cream Damped or the Matias Quiet Click?
The Matias Quiet Click sits in the mid priced bracket and the Alps SKCM Cream Damped in the premium priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
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