Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A vs Zeal PC Healios V2
The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A and the Zeal PC Healios V2 sit in different price brackets, which across the 70-odd switches a board needs is a bigger difference than most of the spec sheet. Our library of every switch we simulate links the two to each other for that reason. Play the A/B bursts below to hear them back to back, match the volumes, then read the spec 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 Red MX2A | Zeal PC Healios V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear (silent) | Linear (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | 45 g | not published |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 63.5 g |
| Pre-travel | 1.9 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.7 mm | 3.8 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Premium |
| Street price | varies | ~$1.00 / switch |
Watch the "brand rates force at" row: these two makers do not measure at the same place, actuation for the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A and bottom-out for the Zeal PC Healios V2. Force numbers only compare within a row. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A, so the figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
Both the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A and the Zeal PC Healios V2 are linears, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. Price splits them too: the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A is the mid priced option while the Zeal PC Healios V2 sits in the premium priced bracket, which adds up across a 70 switch board. Their springs sit close together, just 3.5 g apart at bottom-out, with the Zeal PC Healios V2 the marginally firmer press. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure, so treat that 60 g as our estimate. The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A comes out ahead of the Zeal PC Healios V2 for gaming and for typing, and it is the dampened one, so a shared room is not an argument, so this comparison has one answer instead of a set of them.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A
No use case rescues the Zeal PC Healios V2 here. The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A wins gaming, typing and the office question alike, so the block collapses to one.
Force curves
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.
Zeal PC Healios V2
Zeal PC rates this switch at its bottom-out and publishes no actuation force, so the marked bottom-out is the spec and the dashed line into it is an illustration of the stroke, not measured data.
Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A or Zeal PC Healios V2: the long answer
Cost is the honest headline on this pair, so take it first. The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A is mid priced, while the Zeal PC Healios V2 is premium priced at roughly $1.00 per switch, about $70 for a typical 70 pack. One of them has already been lubed for you and one has not, which is worth more than the price gap if you were not planning to open 70 switches.
That leaves the stroke itself. The stroke is the same shape on both: both give you spring resistance and nothing else. That leaves the spec sheet to separate them. Spring weight barely separates them, 3.5 g at bottom-out with the Zeal PC Healios V2 on the firmer side, which most fingers will not register. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure, so treat that 60 g as our estimate. Travel differs at both ends, with the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A registering first at 1.9 mm and the Zeal PC Healios V2 running deepest at 3.8 mm. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. Through the A/B player above, the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A comes through as rubber-cushioned thud, dampened in both directions, while the Zeal PC Healios V2 reads as cushioned near-silence, softest of the silent linears. Both carry factory dampening, so this is a contest between two of the quieter switches you can buy rather than a loud one against a quiet one. These demos are synthesized from published specs and documented character rather than studio recordings, which every player on the site says plainly.
Who buys which, then? One switch takes every axis we score: the Cherry MX Silent Red 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, nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. On noise, the pads stop the bottom-out from traveling past your own desk. That leaves the Zeal PC Healios V2 to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. None of this beats hearing them yourself, which the player above lets you do in about a minute.
There is more on both than a head-to-head can carry. Start with the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A page and the Zeal PC Healios V2 page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A or the Zeal PC Healios V2?
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.
Is the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A quieter than the Zeal PC Healios V2?
Neither wins on volume, because both are silenced. What separates them is what is left after the pads: the pitch of the press and how muted the release feels.
Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A vs Zeal PC Healios V2: which one is the heavier press?
The Zeal PC Healios V2 on the figures this page carries, 63.5 g to 60 g at bottom-out, but the comparison is not manufacturer against manufacturer: Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure, so the 60 g we list for the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A is our own derivation from the forces it does publish rather than a manufacturer rating.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A or the Zeal PC Healios V2?
The Cherry MX Silent Red MX2A sits in the mid priced bracket and the Zeal PC Healios V2 in the premium priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
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