Cherry MX Blue MX2A vs Kailh Speed Gold
The Cherry MX Blue MX2A and the Kailh Speed Gold are both clicky, but they do not click the same way, and that is where the whole difference lives. 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 | Cherry MX Blue MX2A | Kailh Speed Gold |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 50 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2.2 mm | 1.4 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 3.5 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | 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 figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure for the Kailh Speed Gold. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
Both the Cherry MX Blue MX2A and the Kailh Speed Gold are clickies, but they are not the same click: the two use different mechanisms, and that is where most of the difference lives. They also click differently: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Cherry MX Blue MX2A against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh Speed Gold. Weight is hard to separate here: each is rated 50 g at actuation, and that is the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Split by use: the Kailh Speed Gold for gaming, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A for typing and a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the Cherry MX Blue MX2A clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh Speed Gold
- Typing pick
- Cherry MX Blue MX2A
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Blue MX2A
Force curves
Cherry MX Blue MX2A
Cherry 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.
Kailh Speed Gold
Kailh publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 60 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 Blue MX2A or Kailh Speed Gold: the long answer
Noise is the headline on this pair, so start there. Two different voices: high-pitched two-part click with a faint upstroke rattle on the Cherry MX Blue MX2A, crisp double click high in the stroke on the Kailh Speed Gold. They do not even click the same way: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Cherry MX Blue MX2A against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh Speed Gold, which is most of the tonal difference you are hearing. A click you love at your own desk can still be the loudest thing in someone else’s meeting. These demos are synthesized from published specs and documented character rather than studio recordings, which every player on the site says plainly.
Back to the mechanical side. Neither the trigger point nor the depth matches: 1.4 mm to actuation on the Kailh Speed Gold against 2.2 mm, and 3.5 mm of total travel on the Kailh Speed Gold against 4.0 mm. Type is not in play. Both are clickies, and both stack a click mechanism on a bump you already feel. They land on the same 50 g at actuation. That is the only measuring point with a figure for each of them, and bottom-out is exactly where two switches matched at actuation tend to separate. Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure, so treat that 60 g as our estimate. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
On the practical side, both are mid priced. Neither ships lubed, so budget an evening with a brush if you want either at its best.
Answer the use case and the switch follows. Games point at the Kailh Speed Gold, because a shorter distance to actuation goes its way. Writing points at the Cherry MX Blue MX2A, since the click is a metronome for a long draft, which some writers will not give up. A shared room points at the Cherry MX Blue MX2A, as neither of these belongs in a quiet shared room, and this is only the less punishing of the two clicks. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Cherry MX Blue MX2A page and the Kailh Speed Gold page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Cherry MX Blue MX2A or Kailh Speed Gold for gaming?
We pick the Kailh Speed Gold for gaming. The scoring gives it a shorter distance to actuation against the Cherry MX Blue MX2A, and both of those show up in a fast game.
Which of the Cherry MX Blue MX2A and the Kailh Speed Gold is quieter in a shared room?
Neither, honestly. Both are clicky switches that announce every keystroke, so neither belongs in a quiet shared space. If noise is the deciding factor, a silent tactile is the better direction entirely.
Which has the heavier spring, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A or the Kailh Speed Gold?
Neither, as far as the published numbers go: both are rated 50 g at actuation, the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Bottom-out is where two switches matched at actuation often diverge, but neither switch here has a published bottom-out figure at all. Treat this as a tie on the spec sheet rather than a proven match in the hand.
More comparisons
More vs Cherry MX Blue MX2A
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