Cherry MX Brown MX2A vs Kailh Choc Brown V1
The Cherry MX Brown MX2A and the Kailh Choc Brown V1 do not fit the same keyboard, so this comparison starts with what you already own rather than with how either one sounds. Our switch library already points each of these at the other. Hear them back to back below with the trims matched before you read a single number.
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 Brown MX2A | Kailh Choc Brown V1 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 1.5 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 3 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | No |
| 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 two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because neither Cherry nor Kailh publishes a bottom-out figure. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
The Cherry MX Brown MX2A and the Kailh Choc Brown V1 are both tactiles, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. Check your board first: the Kailh Choc Brown V1 does not use an MX style stem, so the two are not interchangeable in the same keyboard. Weight is nearly even at actuation: 50 g for the Kailh Choc Brown V1 against 45 g, a gap most fingers will barely register. By use case, then: the Kailh Choc Brown V1 for gaming, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A for typing and a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh Choc Brown V1
- Typing pick
- Cherry MX Brown MX2A
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Brown MX2A
Force curves
Cherry MX Brown MX2A
Cherry 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.
Kailh Choc Brown V1
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 Brown MX2A or Kailh Choc Brown V1: the long answer
Before anything else, check that both of these will go into the board you own. The Kailh Choc Brown V1 is a low-profile switch and does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board and keycaps made for it and cannot go into a standard-height MX board alongside the other. Both are mid priced. Factory lube is on the Cherry MX Brown MX2A alone. Budget the extra time if you pick the Kailh Choc Brown V1 and want it at its best.
The specs are the smaller half of this pair, but they are not nothing. On distance the Kailh Choc Brown V1 registers at 1.5 mm against 2.0 mm, and the full stroke runs 4.0 mm on the Cherry MX Brown MX2A against 3.0 mm on the Kailh Choc Brown V1. The Kailh Choc Brown V1 carries the heavier spring at actuation, 50 g to 45 g. That is a real 5 g without being a change of bracket. Both are tactiles either way, so both give a finger something to aim at on the way down. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. Two different voices: soft, slightly sandy mid-pitch tap on the Cherry MX Brown MX2A, small sharp tick; compact tactile feedback on the Kailh Choc Brown V1. 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.
Answer the use case and the switch follows. Games point at the Kailh Choc Brown V1, because this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. Writing points at the Cherry MX Brown MX2A, since nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. A shared room points at the Cherry MX Brown MX2A, as it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. 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 Brown MX2A page and the Kailh Choc Brown V1 page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Cherry MX Brown MX2A or Kailh Choc Brown V1 for gaming?
We pick the Kailh Choc Brown V1 for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Is the Cherry MX Brown MX2A quieter than the Kailh Choc Brown V1?
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 Cherry MX Brown MX2A reading as soft, slightly sandy mid-pitch tap against small sharp tick; compact tactile feedback from the Kailh Choc Brown V1.
Cherry MX Brown MX2A vs Kailh Choc Brown V1: which one is the heavier press?
The Kailh Choc Brown V1 is heavier: 50 g against 45 g, both measured at actuation, so this is a fair like-for-like comparison.
Can the Cherry MX Brown MX2A and the Kailh Choc Brown V1 go in the same keyboard?
No. The Kailh Choc Brown V1 does not use an MX style stem and is low profile as well, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
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