Topre · Enthusiast and custom · sound
HHKB Type-S
prueba de sonido.
Topre with the noise deliberately engineered out, in a layout that people either reorganise their whole workflow around or never touch again. Press play below.
Press play
What a HHKB Type-S
sounds like.
Each button plays a short phrase typed on that switch family, so you are comparing rhythm rather than a single tap. Play two in a row — that is where the difference actually shows up.
These are recordings of the switch family, not of this exact keyboard. That is the honest way to do it — the family is what dominates the sound, and switch options move between model years and regions. Check the listing before buying on the strength of a match here.
Lo que estás oyendo
How it
en realidad.
The HHKB is a Topre board, so it starts from the muted dome-over-spring sound already. The Type-S versions add silencing on top of that: dampening material that absorbs both the top and the bottom of the travel, removing the two remaining points where anything knocks.
What is left is remarkably soft — a low, padded press with essentially no attack and no return noise. It is among the quietest keyboards you can buy that anyone would describe as premium, and it is a genuinely different experience from a quiet mechanical switch, which is quiet by having less happen rather than by absorbing what does.
The non-Type-S HHKB is louder and closer to a standard Realforce. If you are comparing the two, the silencing is the whole difference and it is substantial.
Por qué suena así
The build
que hay detrás del ruido.
Topre electrocapacitive switches, usually 45 g, with Type-S silencing dampers at both ends of the travel, in a compact 60% layout with no arrow keys, no function row, and Control where Caps Lock normally sits. Made by PFU under licence rather than by Topre directly. The Hybrid models add Bluetooth for up to four devices and DIP switches for layout changes.
- Mechanism
- Topre electrocapacitive, silenced
- Weight
- 45 g typical
- Layout
- 60%, no arrows or function row
- Connectivity
- USB and Bluetooth on Hybrid
Same brand
More from
Topre.
El Topre keyboard sound hub collects them on one page.
Same category
Other keyboards
in this category.
Or read the full round-up of 51 popular keyboards matched to a sound, and open the laboratorio de sonido de teclado to play all eight packs on a keyboard you can type on.
By switch
Or shop
by switch.
If you already know which switch you are choosing between, the switch pages go deeper than any single keyboard page can — the same recordings with Cherry's published specifications, what the mechanism is actually doing, and who each one suits.
Llévatelo contigo
Want this sound
en tu Mac?
Esta página solo hace sonido mientras la pestaña está activa. TypeLouder plays the same recordings system-wide — in your editor, your terminal, your email — on whatever keyboard you already own, through your speakers or privately through headphones.
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Buenas preguntas
HHKB Type-S
en preguntas.
Is the HHKB Type-S quiet enough for an open office?
It is about as quiet as a full-travel keyboard gets. The Topre dome already absorbs the bottom of the keystroke, and the Type-S dampers take out what remains at both ends of the travel. It is quieter than any silent mechanical switch and quieter than most laptop keyboards. If noise is the constraint, this is close to the end of the road.
What is the difference between the HHKB and a Realforce?
Both are Topre boards, and the mechanism is the same. The HHKB is a 60% layout with no arrow keys or function row, Control in place of Caps Lock, and a compact case — a deliberately opinionated design aimed at people who never leave the home row. The Realforce is a conventional full-size or tenkeyless layout. The HHKB Type-S is also silenced, which most Realforce models are not.
Why is the HHKB so expensive?
Topre switches are expensive to make, the boards are produced in small numbers, and there is no volume competition for them. That said, a large part of the price is that people who want an HHKB generally want an HHKB specifically — the layout, the silencing, and the mechanism together have no real substitute, so there is no cheaper equivalent putting pressure on it.
The audio on this page comes from community-recorded sound packs, used under the licencia MIT. They are recordings of the switch family, not of a HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S specifically. All product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.