Cherry MX Brown MX2A vs Outemu Brown
Money is the honest first difference between the Cherry MX Brown MX2A and the Outemu Brown: one is budget friendly and the other mid priced, multiplied by a full board. 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 | Outemu Brown |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | not published |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Budget |
| 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 Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for the Cherry MX Brown MX2A. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
This is a tactile versus tactile contest: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A and the Outemu Brown share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. Price splits them too: the Outemu Brown is the budget friendly option while the Cherry MX Brown MX2A sits in the mid priced bracket, which adds up across a 70 switch board. Weight is nearly even at actuation: 50 g for the Outemu Brown against 45 g, a gap most fingers will barely register. One pick, not three: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A takes gaming and typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room. The Outemu Brown is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Brown MX2A
No use case rescues the Outemu Brown here. The Cherry MX Brown MX2A wins gaming, typing and the office question alike, so the block collapses to one.
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.
Outemu Brown
Outemu 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.
Cherry MX Brown MX2A or Outemu Brown: the long answer
Money separates these two more cleanly than any spec does. The Cherry MX Brown MX2A is mid priced, while the Outemu Brown is budget friendly. Only the Cherry MX Brown MX2A comes factory lubed, so the Outemu Brown asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke.
That leaves the stroke itself. The Outemu Brown carries the heavier spring at actuation, 50 g to 45 g. That is a real 5 g without being a change of bracket. Type is not in play. Both are tactiles, and both give a finger something to aim at on the way down. Distance is not the difference: both register at 2.0 mm and stop at 4.0 mm. Neither one out-feels the other on type, so the small differences in the table are where the decision lives.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. Through the A/B player above, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A comes through as soft, slightly sandy mid-pitch tap, while the Outemu Brown reads as mid-pitched tap with a light rattle. 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.
That leaves an unusually simple answer, because one switch wins on all three counts: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the honest answer is that either would do, and it wins on a margin too small to feel. 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 Outemu Brown to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Match the trims above, play both, and trust whichever one you keep replaying.
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 Outemu Brown page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Cherry MX Brown MX2A or Outemu Brown for gaming?
We pick the Cherry MX Brown MX2A for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Cherry MX Brown MX2A or Outemu Brown: which one is quieter?
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 mid-pitched tap with a light rattle from the Outemu Brown.
Which switch is heavier, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A or the Outemu Brown?
The Outemu Brown. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 50 g against 45 g an honest 5 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A or the Outemu Brown?
The Outemu Brown sits in the budget friendly bracket and the Cherry MX Brown 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
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Or browse every switch comparison on the site.