The Ultimate Guide to Choosing HMX Switches

Preface

Hi guys, this is Dashan from Unikeys. It has been a while since I wanted to start a new blog section which provides more direct sugesstions and guides to people who are in a conundrum in choosing among the OCEAN of switches. As more and more switch manufacturers, materials, re-colors, and marketing gimmicks appear, making a decision is simply getting harder; Under the WeeKeebpedia blog section, I will try my best to break down "secrets" about each switch manufacturer, their molding changes and improvements, and decrypt the weird names of switch materials. I hope this would make it easier for people to understand what the switch specs mean and what should you expect once you hit the purchase button. We will leave out all the professional stuff such as the chemical and material related knowledge and use plain language for a quick guidance that is easy to read. If you are interested in the more professional content on switches, please stay tuned to Vere's switch reviews. He is the expert.

HMX Switch Choosing Guide

Let's cut to the chase. When choosing among the different HMX switches, you would want to pick the one that fits your preference in switch sound and typing feel. How about let's start with categorizing switch sound first:

HMX Switch Sound:

 

1. Pitch and Volume: We will use a simple quadrant graph to demonstrate them.

2. Fullness: 

Please note that these two graphs are made based on my personal experience with a reference to Mr. Keeb Taro's HMX Sound Chart. If you would like to take a listen to how these switches sound and draw up an imaginary comparison in your head, feel free to watch Keebtaro's sound tests here: https://www.youtube.com/@KeebTaro

what to expect before you could listen to the switches in person

Sound tests and comparison graphs created by others do have some referencing value, but each switch sounds different to each person, and nothing much could help you fully grasp the in person switch sound before you have them in hands. But don't worry, now here is another method that could help you better "imagine" how these switches would sound TO YOU.

Such method is anticipating sound based on it's housing and stem materials. Here is a list of the materials HMX has:

1. Housing Materials from soft to hard: PA66, PA12, P4, PC, P3, PA3.0, PA2.0, P2

2. Stem Materials from soft to hard: T5, T4, UPE, T3, T2, HPE, POK, Nylon, LY, POM,

The formula for clacky: If a switch comes with a hard stem and a hard housing, it will be loud and clacky. Examples include HMX Cheese, Cloud, Xinhai, Sunset Gleam, Emo etc. They either have a POM or LY stem and a P2 or PA2.0 bottom housing to make that signature HMX bottom-out sound.

The formula for Poppy: It requires either the stem or housing material to be a little bit softer. In this case, we have switches such as jammy, FJ400, Purple Dawn; Jammies have a hard POM stem but a softer P4 bottom housing to make the bottom-out sound less harsh and more rounded. Both FJ400 and Purple Dawn have a softer stem and a harder bottom housing to achieve the same poppy sound signature.

The formula for thocky (or deep but not dead): Whenever you see a HMX switch that comes with a T series stem with the following bottom housing materials, you know it's deep and thocky: PA66 and PA12. T5, T4, and UPE stems make the deepest HMX switches when paired with a relatively soft bottom housing.

Top housing material matters too; Most switch designs would go with a top housing material that is either similar to or softer than the bottom housing so it wouldn't sound "weird". When a top housing is harder than the bottom housing, the switch would sound louder and shrill on its top out. Such sound is very counterintuitive because most people would expect the bottom-out to be louder and more expressed. 

How different molds affect HMX switches' sound and feel.

Another very important thing that affects how switches feel and sound is the molds. 

Overall, HMX has two generations of molds so far. One of them is the OG HMX mold set and the other is the newest HMX mold set;

OG HMX mold set:

1. Switches made with: Xinhai, Cloud, Cheese, Sunset Gleam, Purple dawn, Canglan V2 etc.

2. How they feel in general: The OG mold comes with top notch stem wobble control; Stems are really sturdy with nearly zero wobble. Bottom out feels super firm and solid. Some of the very early batches might come with sluggish keystroke because the stems were sitting too tight in the housing but such problem has been solved after March 2024.

3. How they sound in general: OG mold makes switches sound louder and more clacky and maybe thinner depends on materials.

New HMX mold set:

1. Switches made with: KD200, FJ400, Game 1989, Guava, Mist, Monochrome

2. How they feel in general: Compared to the OG mold, switches made with new mold come with a slight bit more stem wobble for improved smoothness. Bottom-out is still very firm and solid, and there is no sluggish feeling at all. New mold also allows HMX to explore more new switch materials such HDPE.

3. How they sound in general: Besides the influence of materials, the new mold makes switches sound fuller in comparison to switches made with the OG mold. One great example is the KD200 switches; They have the same materials as HMX Cheese switches and a similar travel distance, but KD200 switches sound drastically fuller. Otherwise, switches made with the new mold are still very loud and clacky.

Which mold is better?

Both the OG mold and the new mold are very sophisticated at the moment. Both of them come with unique features, and you could choose based on your preference; If you like the OG HMX super clacky sound, go with switches made with the OG mold and harder plastics. If you like your switches sounding full, go with switches made with the new mold.

Updates on HMX's leaf ticking issue

Leaf ticking existed among some HMX switches manufactured between May 2024 and July 2024. The cause was that HMX changed the leaf supplier to a new one. After the change, switches started ticking. After recognizing the problem, HMX switched back to the previous leaf supplier and such issue was resolved.

Conclusion

HMX switches' sound and feel are pretty easy to anticipate based on the methods we provided above. Plus, we have a bunch of great content creators who regularly post sound tests and reviews videos on new releases. I would say when deciding on a HMX switch, first refer to the sound profile chart, secondly look at the specs and mold, and finally refer to a sound test if there is one; After these three steps, you should have a pretty good idea of how a switch is going to be like. It would be even better if you already have some HMX switches as references. Also, when you are having a hard time deciding which switch to get, always feel free to ask in the Unikeys discord server, and we will provide you with some advice ;)