BSUN Roche Limit: Review by Vere

Volume	Slightly above average volume for a long-pole, not as hard hitting as some other BSUNs but it isn't quiet for sure.
Pitch	Medium pitch and bordering on Medium-Low, it is to be expected considering the usage of LY+PTFE for the stem. It isn't completely deep thanks to the modifications made to the housing, and the LY portion should still provide some clackiness. (They became deeper after spring swapping)
Sound Profile	As mentioned in previous reviews, LY and PTFE both have a very specific sound profile that they lean towards. When mixed, this switch exhibits a subdued and rounded sound with a slight pop. When combined with the modified bottom housing, the sound profile is slightly thin but isn't sharp at all even with the fiberglass.
Stock	Extremely smooth travel due to the LY+PTFE mix, it is actually noticeable despite most switches being smooth these days. The only issue here would be that these switches could use a slightly stronger lubricant on the leaf or spring to prevent any transient noise from occurring, but these issues can be fixed unlike some other switches.
Design	Almost standard BSUN design with a soft stem material combined with firmer bottom housing, however I think that the usage of PTFE here was unexpected, there is definitely a lot of experimentation going on with the modifications.
Other	This switch shares many traits with HMX, especially with the PTFE + Fiberglass combination.

Stock Experience:

The BSUN Roche Limit utilizes BSUN's lighter pre-lubrication, with a mix of Krytox 205 and GPL 105 over the bottom-housing railings and stem rails. They use a dry-film lube on the spring and stem legs. These switches also use BSUN's nickel-plated springs.

 

(Light coating on stem faces and rails)

(Dry-film lube on legs)

Similarly to the other new releases, these switches have fairly solid wobble control, with only extremely minor movement in the north and south directions.

(Slightly less lube on the leaf compared to other BSUNs, this could be the origin of the leaf tick)

Opening up the housing, I noticed that the springs seem to be double-stage instead of the rated single-stage, but I found this type of spring to also appear in the various Grain Gold switches I've reviewed as well as a few other BSUNs. These thin double-stage springs are a lot weaker than the double-stages that I know of because they almost perform just like single-stage springs. The main issue that I find is that double-stage or triple-stage springs are more prone to spring noise which is evident in these switches.

The BSUN Usagi did not use these double-stage springs and I found them to have almost no spring noise.

(The gifted springs on the left actually perform better than the stock springs)

Would I re-lube them? Yes, I think that the dry-film lubricant on the leaf and spring could be considered slightly lacking as a few switches do have some sort of extra noise. These are fixable switches at the very least, and I can tell that BSUN's stock leaf has improved a lot. I mentioned it on the HMX Su Color review that dry-film lubricant is usually not strong enough for springs.

 

LY + PTFE Mix (BSUN Version):

The BSUN Roche Limit's stem is comprised of LY and PTFE, LY being a mix of POM and UPE which leads towards a denser and moderately soft material, and PTFE being an extremely soft/malleable material on its own.

This means that we can expect the material to produce a thinner sound profile that is slightly on the higher pitch due to the LY portion. The PTFE will also cause the sound to be slightly plasticky as I've found that PTFE has a strong effect on the sound profile.

Something I wish to bring up is the direct comparison against HMX's past releases that also happen to utilize PTFE and LY at the same time.

HMX's P series utilizes PTFE in a blend with fiberglass on nylon to create the glassy and thin HMX sound profile that we are used to. A few of those releases such as the HMX Cloud or Blue Topaz also used LY in the stem which would result in a similar sound profile to these Roche Limits. I can attest that the materials used here definitely take more control over the sound profile as opposed to the manufacturer's molding.

The overall sound here is slightly mellow compared to HMX's sharpness, it is likely due to the composition being slightly different and the material being in the stem instead of the housing. I personally prefer it to be this way as it is more comfortable for everyday use.

 

Quick mold comparison:

Almost all of BSUN's recent releases have not included the LED diffuser inside of the housing since the Milk Tea v2 and SSW v2.

The BSUN Tuzi happened to utilize a unique mold for the stem and housing so that one doesn't have an LED diffuser either. If we compare to the other recent releases, the Roche Limit is consistent when we look at the stem and pre-lubing, but only the diffuser is the outlier.

 

(Tuzi, Roche Limit, Usagi, Ragdoll)

(Note that the Usagi and Ragdoll are coded 6-1 and Roche is coded 7-D)

Something to keep in mind is that a few of the "new" BSUN switches apparently do not have the new mold despite releasing later as it could be dependent on the period of time for their designing. Some of the LED diffuser molds are also "new" so it is hard to tell for certain if this switch actually does have the new mold.

(The "new" molds were for top housings, yet this is almost identical with the Milk Tea v2)

Based on my experience with the Roche Limit, they definitely feel newer in terms of feel and sound, but I cannot say for certain as I am not privy to behind-the-scenes info from BSUN.

 

Overall Design:

The BSUN Roche Limit are excellent, but do not exactly give me a new or refreshing experience in use. They simply remind me of HMX's countless releases but in BSUN's flavor.

The usage of LY and PTFE in the stem is interesting for certain, but when combined with the modified(fiberglass?) PA66 bottom housing, we don't exactly fall far from the HMX tree. These sounded exactly like how I expected when reading the material composition.

Keep in mind that this isn't Blackberry Studio's fault, it just so happened that HMX released numerous switches with a similar composition which slightly watered down my expectations. If you are someone who really loves HMX's sound profile, then you would love these as well.

Simply put, you can expect a super smooth, soft, and glassy long-pole linear with a bit of thinness. At 3.6mm travel it feels just right and isn't particularly harsh on the bottom-out, especially with the stem materials. The LED diffuser is a nice touch if you happen to use RGB, but most enthusiast keyboards don't come with per-key RGB.

 

Smoothness: Phenomenal

As mentioned, these switches are on par with HMX's smoothness and slightly exceed some other switches due to the stem material. The gifted springs also perform excellently without any lubricant, but I would add some oil on them to help combat any possible pinging.

Comparing against BSUN, these are slightly smoother than the other recent BSUN releases.

 

Sound Profile:

As mentioned above, the BSUN Roche Limit have a moderate and clean sound profile with a tone that is mostly rounded. These are super similar to the Huano Caramel Lattes with their inoffensiveness.

The overall volume and sharpness is slightly reduced due to the LY+PTFE stem, but isn't deadened thanks to the modified PA66 bottom housing. The top-out sound isn't particularly audible thanks to the modifications made to the PC top and BSUN seems to use PC tops very often to achieve this.

Though the PTFE material on its own may lead towards a weaker or plasticky sound profile, the addition of the fiberglass helps prevents this switch from being muted or quiet. 

Rounded refers to having a balanced sound profile that isn't too quiet or loud, nor deep or sharp.

Clean refers to a sound profile that is mostly one-note or consolidated, lacking excess noise from factors like scratch or having a top-out that is much quieter than the bottom-out.

Inoffensive refers to the overall moderate and contained volume of the switch, despite being long-pole and using fiberglass.

Overall, when I compare it to most BSUNs out there, it is not as muted as some other releases which are quieter in terms of sound, but it doesn't hit as firmly as the notable releases. I would say it is definitely softer than the Ragdoll and Usagi, but brighter than stuff like the Sakura and Tuzi.

 

Direct Comparisons to other linears:

HMX Cloud (PA12/PA2.0(PTFE+Fiberglass)/LY Stem) 3.7mm Travel

• These switches share a similar composition and sound profile.
• The Cloud is slightly louder.
• They share similar stock experiences. (Slight leaf noise)
• The Cloud is higher pitched.
• The Cloud has slightly more vertical wobble.
• They share similar smoothness stock.
• They share a similar thinness.
• The Cloud has a slightly firmer bottom-out.

Huano Caramel Latte (POK/PA66(Fiberglass)/POM Stem) 3.6mm Travel

• These switches share a similar composition and sound profile.
• They share similar volume.
• The Caramel Latte has a slightly better stock form. (Less leaf noise)
• The Caramel Latte is barely lower pitched.
• The Roche Limit has slightly more vertical wobble.
• They share similar smoothness stock.
• The Caramel Latte is slightly fuller in sound.
• The Caramel Latte has a firmer bottom-out.

BSUN Ragdoll (Nylon/Mod. Nylon(Fiberglass)/Y3) 3.8mm Travel

• These switches share a similar composition and sound profile, they also share the same manufacturer.
• The Ragdoll is slightly louder.
• The Ragdoll has a slightly better stock experience. (Less leaf noise)
• The Roche Limit has a slightly lower pitch.
• They share similar wobble control. (Great control)
• They share similar smoothness stock.
• The Ragdoll is slightly fuller in sound.
• The Ragdoll has a slightly firmer bottom-out.

 

Flaws:

The only noticeable flaws would be the minor noise from the leaf or spring, which seems to be entirely due to the weaker dry-film lubricant.

Dry-film lubricant is more static and doesn't have the risk of pooling or causing issues later down the line, but it is certainly less effective than Krytox 205 or GPL 105.

When I actually swapped out the stock springs for the gifted springs, most of the spring noise disappeared since the gifted springs are single-stage.

In most cases, if your batch happens to be slightly dissatisfactory in terms of stock sound then I would recommend a light touch of lube on the leaf or spring.

 

PERSONAL BUILD RECOMMENDATIONS: (PREFERENCE/OPINION BASED)

I tested these switches on a Carbon Fiber Gasket-mounted build to try and balance the soft and soothing sound with a slightly noisier and firmer plate.

The results were surprisingly great, as I usually don't like using thinner switches on a plate that can cause thinner sounds, but the Carbon Fiber did a great job at accentuating the charm of these switches.

In that same note, I would also consider POM or PP as these switches have a deeper pop to them which would sound excellent on most plastic plates.

With their rounded tone, you already know that I'm going to recommend it as a foam-viable option as they would mesh well together with different foam builds depending on the board.

I'd stick to gasket mount for this one to make use of the soothing sound profile and type-feel, but a firmer top-mount would probably be fine if you wanted some stiffness.

 

Closing Summary:

BSUN brings us another switch in their new series of linears that come modified with a bit of fiberglass.

For $0.35 per switch, we get a BSUN switch that somewhat resembles the Huano Caramel Latte and a few of HMX's LY releases.

The Roche Limit has a clean and simplistic sound profile, with a contained top-out sound and soft but clear bottom-out. It is rounded in tone and leaning towards the moderate end of volume. It is a long-pole linear that takes advantage of the strength of long-poles but produces a soothing sound.

The slightly imperfect stock experience might be a deal-breaker for some, but technically HMX has had similar issues previously, so we can't just have double standards here.

These switches teeter the limit very well when it comes to balancing the sound profile to ensure it doesn't sound dead and doesn't sound like every other fiberglass switch out there. 

If you've been looking for a long-pole linear with a medium tone and soothing clack, but don't want to go too far into the deep end, then look no further than the BSUN Roche Limit.

 

FINAL SCORING: 8.6/10