KeyslamLinear · sound test
Cherry MX Black sound test: a Leopold FC980M PD
Cherry MX Black switches in a Leopold FC980M PD, recorded in stereo by ujonathan and shared as CC0 in April 2022. Hear the heavy linear from a light tap to a slam, then set it against the lighter MX Red.
Updated
Short answer: Cherry MX Black is a heavy linear switch: no click, no bump, and a 60 cN spring where the MX Red has 45 cN. On this Leopold FC980M PD it sounds smooth and full-bodied, a solid bottom-out on every key, then a tap as the key comes back up. The pack is cut from ujonathan's CC0 recording on Freesound into 43 takes across four strength bands.
MX Black sound test
Each button plays real strikes from one strength band of this recording. Natural mix lets every key vary, like normal typing. Headphones help.
Press a band to hear “heavy linear” typed on MX Black strikes from that band, then type below.
About this recording
- Keyboard
- Leopold FC980M PD, 98 keys
- Switches
- Cherry MX Black, linear (60 cN)
- Keycaps
- Not stated (the PD model is sold with PBT double-shot caps)
- Recorded by
- ujonathan on Freesound
- Uploaded
- April 15, 2022
- Original file
- FLAC, 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, stereo, 0:35
- Microphone
- Not stated
- License
- CC0 1.0 (public domain)
- In Keyslam
- 43 takes, 4 of them key-up
“this is a recorder of the fantastic sound of my leopold fc980mpd with cherry mx black” — ujonathan, on the Freesound page (checked November 2, 2026)
MX Black vs MX Red: same stem, heavier spring
Cherry lists the MX Black as a linear switch without a click: 60 cN of force at the point where the key registers, 2 mm into 4 mm of travel. The MX Red has the same stem, the same 2 mm and the same 4 mm, with a 45 cN spring. So on paper the two differ in the spring, while the stem and housing, whose impacts make most of the noise, are the same. In both, the stem strikes the floor of the housing at the bottom and snaps back against the top on release.
Choosing a heavy linear is about feel first. Sixty centinewtons makes it harder for resting fingers to press a key by accident, and it asks for a firmer stroke before the key bottoms out. Some typists like that resistance; others prefer a lighter spring for long sessions. For how linear, tactile and clicky switches differ by ear, see the three kinds of mechanical keyboard sound.
Measured from the app's pack files
What the Cherry MX Black pack contains, band by band. Peak is the median take's loudest sample; audible length is how long it stays within 30 dB of that peak. Soft to slam spans 14.5 dB. How the bands are made.
| Band | Percentile of strikes | Regular-key takes | Space, Return, Delete | Median peak | Audible length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft | 8th–30th | 6 | 4 | −16.9 dBFS | 91 ms |
| Medium | 38th–62nd | 6 | 4 | −12.0 dBFS | 76 ms |
| Hard | 70th–88th | 6 | 4 | −7.7 dBFS | 81 ms |
| Slam | 92nd–100th | 6 | 3 | −2.4 dBFS | 61 ms |
The Leopold FC980M PD
Leopold, which also made the FC660M in another Keyslam pack, builds the FC980M as a compact board that keeps its number pad: 98 keys, with the numpad pulled in against the arrow keys so the whole board is narrower than a full-size layout. In Leopold's model names, PD stands for PBT double-shot keycaps, thick caps with their legends moulded in from a second shot of plastic.
The uploader doesn't say whether this board still wears its original caps, or whether anything inside has been changed. So the about box lists keycaps as not stated, and this page treats the sound as one FC980M PD as recorded, not a reference for every MX Black board.
35 seconds of quick typing, in stereo
ujonathan uploaded the session in April 2022 as a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo FLAC and called it “the fantastic sound” of their FC980M PD. The page is tagged mechanical-keyboard, field-recording and soundcheck, and carries a map pin in Montefalcone Appennino, Italy. No microphone is named.
The typing is quick, with the strokes close together. The slicer keeps only presses whose tails are free of the next keystroke, and the session still filled every regular-key band with six takes. Space, Return and Delete have 3–4 per band, and four key-up takes play on release. The slam band is a take short, since a recording this brief holds only so many of the dark, long-ringing strikes the builder reads as wide keys. From soft to slam the peaks rise 14.5 dB, the 3rd widest of the 15 packs. The MX Red pack spans 12.7 dB, so this one leaves more room between a light touch and a hard one.
MX Black next to MX Red and MX Brown
MX Black's lighter linear sibling, and a tactile pack that measures close to it in our spectrum comparisons.
- MX Red: the same Cherry stem and travel with a 45 cN spring, in a Corsair K95 recorded raw in mono. Play both and listen for how much of the gap is the board, not the spring.
- MX Brown: a tactile switch, yet one of the packs nearest to MX Black in our spectrum comparisons. Its bump makes little noise of its own, which may be why the two measure closer than the names suggest.
Who it suits
Pick MX Black if you want a linear with weight behind it: no click, no bump, a full bottom-out on every key. Its soft-to-slam range is the 3rd widest of the 15 packs, which suits force sensing on a MacBook.
Pick something else if you'd rather have a lighter, quicker linear (MX Red), a bump under your fingers (MX Brown) or a softer, rounder landing (Topre).
Cherry MX Black: questions
How heavy is a Cherry MX Black switch?
Cherry rates it at 60 cN where the key registers, 2 mm into 4 mm of travel; that's roughly 60 g. The MX Red needs 45 cN at the same point. Both are linear, with no bump and no click.
MX Black vs MX Red: what changes in the sound?
The two switches share their stem and travel, so the noise comes from the same two impacts: bottom-out and return. In Keyslam both packs also play at the same loudness. What separates these two packs is most likely the board and the recording: a Leopold FC980M PD recorded in stereo here, a Corsair K95 recorded in mono by someone else for the Red. From soft to slam this pack spans 14.5 dB and the Red pack 12.7 dB.
Is this the same Leopold as Keyslam's Leopold pack?
No. That pack is an FC660M, a compact 66-key board with MX Browns and a mix of enjoyPBT and GMK caps, from a different uploader. This one is an FC980M PD with MX Blacks. Same maker, different layout, switches and recording.
What does a heavy linear switch sound like?
Like any linear: a smooth stroke with no click or bump, then the bottom-out and the return. The heavier spring is mostly something you feel; the board, the keycaps and how hard you type shape most of the tone. On this Leopold it comes out smooth and full-bodied, and the medium takes stay within 30 dB of their peak for 76 ms.
Keep exploring
Hear Cherry MX Black on every keystroke.
$3.99 once after a 7-day free trial. On MacBooks with the motion sensor it follows how hard you type; on other Macs you pick the strength.