Cherry MX Low Profile Red vs Cherry MX Low Profile Speed
The Cherry MX Low Profile Red and the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed register at different depths, 0.2 mm apart, which is the kind of difference you feel in a game long before you notice it in a spec table. 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 Low Profile Red | Cherry MX Low Profile Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 1.2 mm | 1 mm |
| Total travel | 3.2 mm | 3.2 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 of these are rated 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.
Verdict
Both the Cherry MX Low Profile Red and the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed are linears, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. Actuation is the only row with a figure for each of them, and both figures read 45 g. The Cherry MX Low Profile Speed also actuates earlier, 1.0 mm of pre-travel against 1.2 mm, which fast players tend to notice. Our picks: the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed for gaming, the Cherry MX Low Profile Red for typing and a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Cherry MX Low Profile Speed
- Typing pick
- Cherry MX Low Profile Red
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Low Profile Red
Force curves
Cherry MX Low Profile Red
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.
Cherry MX Low Profile Speed
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.
Cherry MX Low Profile Red or Cherry MX Low Profile Speed: the long answer
Specs first, since the feel gap is what you notice in the first minute of typing. Both are linears, so nothing sits between the top of either key and the bottom and the argument moves to the numbers. Weight looks like a tie, 45 g each at actuation, but without a bottom-out figure for each of them there is nothing to check it against. The Cherry MX Low Profile Speed registers earlier, 1.0 mm against 1.2 mm, inside the same 3.2 mm of total travel. Neither one out-feels the other on type, so the small differences in the table are where the decision lives.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Two different voices: shallow, brighter clack with little body on the Cherry MX Low Profile Red, shallow and fast; a quick, clipped tick on the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed. One caveat we repeat wherever a player appears: no studio recording sits behind either of these. They are built from what each maker publishes and what the community reports.
On what they cost to fill a board, both are mid priced. Neither is factory lubed, so enthusiasts often hand lube both for the smoothest result.
Who buys which, then? Gaming goes to the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed, because the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. Writing goes to the Cherry MX Low Profile Red, since its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. A shared room goes to the Cherry MX Low Profile Red, as it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. None of this beats hearing them yourself, which the player above lets you do in about a minute.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Cherry MX Low Profile Red page and the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Cherry MX Low Profile Red or Cherry MX Low Profile Speed for gaming?
We pick the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Which of the Cherry MX Low Profile Red and the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed is quieter in a shared room?
Nothing in either one is built to reduce noise, so on raw volume this is a tie decided by your keyboard rather than your switch. What you will actually hear is a difference of pitch and texture, which the player above shows better than a sentence can.
Which switch is heavier, the Cherry MX Low Profile Red or the Cherry MX Low Profile Speed?
Neither, as far as the published numbers go: both are rated 45 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
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