Topre and Cherry MX are the two switch names you'll see most on used enthusiast keyboards. Topre boards are sold under Japanese and Korean names like HHKB, Realforce and Leopold. Cherry MX switches ended up in boards from almost every maker. They work in completely different ways, and that changes how they feel, how they sound, and what can go wrong on a board someone else has used for years. This guide explains both so you can pick a side before you pick a listing.
How a Cherry MX switch works
Cherry introduced the MX switch in November 1983. Each MX switch is a separate part soldered to the circuit board, or pushed into a socket on hot-swap boards. Inside, a plastic stem presses on a metal leaf, and the key registers when two metal contacts touch. The spring and the stem shape decide the feel, which is why one family covers so many types.
- MX Red is linear, meaning smooth all the way down with no bump, at 45 cN.
- MX Brown is tactile, with a small bump, at 55 cN in Deskthority's table.
- MX Blue is tactile and clicky, at 60 cN.
- MX Black is a heavier linear at 60 cN, and Silent Red is a Red with dampers moulded into the stem.
Cherry has changed the switch several times. It moved to new contacts in November 2019 and rated the linear switches and Browns for 100 million presses in 2020. A revision called MX2A, with a new barrel-shaped spring and factory lubrication, was announced in August 2023. So two boards with MX Browns can feel a little different depending on when they were built.
How a Topre switch works
Topre switches are made by Topre Corporation in Japan. A slider sits on a rubber dome, the dome sits on a cone-shaped spring, and the spring sits on the circuit board. Nothing touches to make a contact. The board senses the change in capacitance as the spring compresses, and it registers the press partway down. The rubber dome gives most of the resistance and all of the bump. The spring adds only about 5 cN and is there mostly to be sensed.
The domes come in sheets, so there's no switch to solder. Topre switches have been made at 30, 35, 45 and 55 cN. Some Realforce boards are variably weighted, with lighter keys for the little fingers. The first Realforce 106 in 2001 used 45g for the main keys and 30g for the keys you press with your little finger.
How they feel and sound
Deskthority describes Topre as feeling at first like a refined rubber dome. There's a bump near the top of the stroke, then the resistance stays nearly flat, so most people bottom out. It finishes with a low thock and makes a similar sound on the way back up. Most users find it quieter than mechanical switches.
An MX switch feels the way its color says. A Red has no bump. A Brown has a small one that you feel just before the key registers. A Blue adds a sharp click you'll hear across the room. Compared with Topre, MX switches give you far more choice of feel, and the sound depends a lot on the case and keycaps around them.
Both have quieter versions. The silenced Topre boards are the HHKB Type-S models and Realforce's silent models. Realforce's silencing parts work mostly as the key comes back up, so how hard you type still decides most of the noise. On the Cherry side, Silent Red adds dampers at both ends of the stroke.
What each one means for keycaps and repairs
MX stems are the standard cross shape, so almost any aftermarket keycap set fits an MX board. Most Topre boards use their own stem shape, and standard MX keycaps won't fit. Deskthority credits the Cooler Master NovaTouch with the first Topre switch made to take MX keycaps, so check before you buy a keycap set for a Topre board.
Swapping is different too. On a hot-swap MX board you pull a switch out and push another in. On a soldered MX board you need to desolder it. A Topre board has no separate switches to swap. Changing the feel means opening the board and changing domes, and you can't fit MX switches in a Topre board at all.
What goes wrong on a used board
The classic MX fault is chatter, where one press types a letter twice. Deskthority explains that metal contacts always bounce a little, and the keyboard filters that out. A worn or faulty switch, or a cracked solder joint, can bounce for longer than the filter allows. On a hot-swap board you replace the switch. On a soldered board, a bad switch means desoldering.
Topre has no metal contacts to bounce, so contact chatter isn't its failure. What changes with use is the rubber. Domes wear and feel can drift from key to key on a heavily used board. HHKB sliders are moulded into the housing, so only the plunger comes out. On a Realforce the whole switch housing lifts out of the plate.
Same case, different switch
If you want to feel the difference without other variables, Leopold makes the comparison easy. The FC660C is a Topre board and the FC660M uses Cherry MX, and from outside they look almost identical. Our FC660C vs FC660M guide shows how to tell them apart. For a full Topre board with modern features, the Realforce R3 from 2021 adds Bluetooth, and its APC versions let you change the point where a key registers. For classic Cherry MX, a Filco Majestouch 2 TKL is about as plain and solid as it gets.
There's a third family to know about. NIZ and Varmilo make their own electrostatic capacitive switches. The NIZ Atom68 uses a rubber dome, slider and spring like Topre, at 35g or 45g. They work on the same principle under their own names.
Which we'd pick
If you type all day and like a soft, rounded, quiet keystroke, try Topre. A used HHKB or Realforce is the usual way in. If you want to change the feel later, fit your own keycaps, or try a different switch every few months, buy a hot-swap MX-style board. If you've never typed on Topre, try one before you commit. The feel is distinctive, and some people love it while others find the flat stroke odd. Either way, check the listing with our used keyboard inspection guide.
