Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A vs Gateron Silent Black
Weight is the real gap here: 10 g between the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A and the Gateron Silent Black at bottom-out, which is enough to change how a long session ends. 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 Silent Black MX2A | Gateron Silent Black |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear (silent) | Linear (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 60 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | 80 g (our estimate) | 70 g |
| Pre-travel | 1.9 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.7 mm | 4 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 and Gateron both advertise an actuation force, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other. 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 Silent Black MX2A. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
Both the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A and the Gateron Silent Black are linears, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. There is a real weight gap too: 80 g against 70 g at bottom-out, so the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A asks noticeably more of your fingers over a long session. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure, so treat that 80 g as our estimate. The Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A also stops sooner, 3.7 mm of total travel against 4.0 mm. One pick, not three: the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A takes gaming and typing, and its pads make it the only one of the two an office tolerates. The Gateron Silent Black is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
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.
Gateron Silent Black
Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A or Gateron Silent Black: the long answer
Put the two side by side on paper before you trust your ears. The Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A carries the heavier spring at bottom-out, 80 g to 70 g. That is a real 10 g without being a change of bracket. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure, so treat that 80 g as our estimate. Type is not in play. Both are linears, and both give you spring resistance and nothing else. On distance the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A registers at 1.9 mm against 2.0 mm, and the full stroke runs 3.7 mm on the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A against 4.0 mm on the Gateron Silent Black. 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 Gateron Silent Black lands as muffled, deeper press; quiet with substance. Dampening pads are on both, which puts the whole comparison inside a narrow band of volume and moves it onto tone. Worth repeating: the audio here is a simulation built from specs and community descriptions, not a recording of either switch.
On what they cost to fill a board, both are mid priced. Both arrive lubed from the factory, which is one project you can skip either way.
Who buys which, then? One switch takes every axis we score: the Cherry MX Silent Black 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, the pads stop the bottom-out from traveling past your own desk. That leaves the Gateron Silent Black to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
There is more on both than a head-to-head can carry. Start with the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A page and the Gateron Silent Black page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A or the Gateron Silent Black?
We pick the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Which of the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A and the Gateron Silent Black is quieter in a shared room?
Neither, in any way you would hear across a room. Both carry dampening pads, so what is left of the noise comes from the case, the keycaps and your own typing force.
Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A vs Gateron Silent Black: which one is the heavier press?
The Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A on the figures this page carries, 80 g to 70 g at bottom-out, but the comparison is not manufacturer against manufacturer: Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure, so the 80 g we list for the Cherry MX Silent Black MX2A is our own derivation from the forces it does publish rather than a manufacturer rating.
More comparisons
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