Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A vs Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A
The Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A are separated mostly by spring weight, 15 g of it at actuation, with the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A the firmer press and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A the easier one to hold down. Our library of every switch we simulate puts these two on each other's shortlist, and the player below is the fastest way to settle it: match the volumes, then work down through the table and the verdict.
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 Silent Black MX2A | Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear (silent) | Linear (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 60 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 80 g (our estimate) | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 1.9 mm | 1.9 mm |
| Total travel | 3.7 mm | 3.7 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | 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. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for either of these, so the two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
Both the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A are linears, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. Weight separates them clearly: measured at actuation, the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A is 15 g heavier than the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A, which changes both fatigue and sound. Their voices split them more than their specs: the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A sounds like dampened and deeper; a muffled, weighty press, while the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A gives you rubber-cushioned thud, dampened in both directions. Where we land: the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A for gaming and typing, the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A for a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A
- Typing pick
- Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A
Force curves
Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 80 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 Silent Black MX2A or Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A: the long answer
Put the two side by side on paper before you trust your ears. The springs are a long way apart: 60 g against 45 g at actuation, so the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A asks noticeably more of your fingers across a long session. Type is not in play. Both are linears, and nothing sits between the top of either key and the bottom. The two stroke depths are identical, 1.9 mm to actuation inside 3.7 mm of total travel. With the stroke shared, that spring gap does most of the deciding here.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. Put them through the player above and the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A lands as dampened and deeper; a muffled, weighty press where the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A lands as rubber-cushioned thud, dampened in both directions. Dampening pads are on both, which puts the whole comparison inside a narrow band of volume and moves it onto tone. 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.
On price and practicality, both are mid priced. Both arrive lubed from the factory, which is one project you can skip either way.
Who buys which, then? Everything except noise points at the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A. For fast inputs, it wins on a lighter spring at actuation. Across a long writing session, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. Noise points the other way, to the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A, 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.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A page and the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A or Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A for gaming?
We pick the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A for gaming. The scoring gives it a lighter spring at actuation against the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A, and both of those show up in a fast game.
Which is quieter, the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A or the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A?
This is a tie at the quiet end. With two pad-dampened switches the case and the keycaps are louder than either one, and the choice between them is a choice of tone.
Which switch is heavier, the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A or the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A?
The Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 60 g to 45 g.
More comparisons
More vs Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.