Cherry MX Red MX2A vs Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A
Only one of these is dampened. The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A is a silent switch and the Cherry MX Red MX2A is not, which decides most rooms before the spec sheet gets a say. Our library of every switch we simulate 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 Red MX2A | Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 1.9 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 3.7 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | Yes |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Cherry advertises an actuation force for both of these, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other. The two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for either of these. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
The Cherry MX Red MX2A and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A are both linears, so nothing separates them at the fingertip. Only one of them is silenced. The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A has the pads, and in a room with other people in it that beats every other row here. Weight is a wash: the two are rated identically at actuation and at bottom-out. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those are our estimates. By use case, then: the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A for gaming and a shared office, the Cherry MX Red MX2A for typing.
- Gaming pick
- Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A
- Typing pick
- Cherry MX Red MX2A
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A
Force curves
Cherry MX Red 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.
Cherry MX Silent Red 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.
Cherry MX Red MX2A or Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A: the long answer
Noise is the headline on this pair, so start there. Put them through the player above and the Cherry MX Red MX2A lands as neutral mid-pitched clack with a faint scratch on the slide where the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A lands as rubber-cushioned thud, dampened in both directions. Only the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A is pad-dampened. That removes the top of the bottom-out entirely, which is a bigger change than any number in the table above, and it is why the Cherry MX Red MX2A is the one people hear through a wall. As everywhere on the site, these are simulations built from published specifications and documented character. Accurate enough to compare, not a recording.
Back to the mechanical side. The springs match at both published points, 45 g at actuation and 60 g at bottom-out, so weight is off the table entirely. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those are our estimates. Type is not in play. Both are linears, and nothing sits between the top of either key and the bottom. On distance the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A registers at 1.9 mm against 2.0 mm, and the full stroke runs 4.0 mm on the Cherry MX Red MX2A against 3.7 mm on the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A. With the stroke and the rated weight both matched, this comes down to sound and to how each one is built.
On what they cost to fill a board, both are mid priced. Both come factory lubed, so neither needs work out of the box.
This one genuinely splits. The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A for games, because the honest answer is that either would do, and it wins on a margin too small to feel. The Cherry MX Red MX2A for writing, since its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A for an office, as its dampening keeps the sound from carrying across the room. None of this beats hearing them yourself, which the player above lets you do in about a minute.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Cherry MX Red MX2A page and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Cherry MX Red MX2A or the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A?
We pick the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A 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 Red MX2A and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A is quieter in a shared room?
The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A is clearly quieter. It is a factory dampened silent switch, so both the bottom-out and the release are softened, while the Cherry MX Red MX2A produces a normal clack when you bottom out.
Which has the heavier spring, the Cherry MX Red MX2A or the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A?
Neither: they match at actuation and at bottom-out alike (45 g at actuation), so any difference in feel comes from the stroke rather than the spring. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those numbers are our own derivation from the forces it does publish.
Are the Cherry MX Red MX2A and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A the same switch?
Not the same, but the spec sheet cannot tell them apart on weight: they match at every published force figure. Both come from Cherry, so the difference is in the parts rather than the maker. Compare the travel rows and the two sound packs above, because that is where the difference actually lives.
More comparisons
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