Personally, this is the sound profile that I want to achieve with my custom keyboards, which is one of the reasons why I’m fond of the Cream switch. Granted, the Keycult itself is a nice, clacky board, but you can definitely hear the unique sound profile of the Cream in the sound test above, especially the loud upstroke of the switch. The keyboard was put together with Cream switches, and it sounds absolutely heavenly – well, to me anyway. Of course, we can’t talk about the sound signature of the Cream without mentioning (arguably) the most popular custom keyboard on the internet: Tfue’s very own Keycult No. While there are other clacky switches in the market too – such as the aforementioned SP-Star – the pitch of the Cream is more…well, unique. Both the downstroke and upstroke have a pleasant, high-pitched clack, which are quite loud to boot. While the Cobalt POM has more of a thocky, “poppy” sound profile, the Cream is a decidedly “clacky” switch. See, no other switches sound quite like it even the Cobalt POM – which also has an all-POM housing – does not have the same sound signature as the Cream. It may sound (excuse the pun) silly to some folks, but the unique sound profile of the Cream is really what I love the most about this linear switch. Out of all the linear switches I’ve tried throughout my time in this hobby, the Cream is still my favourite. However, even though it’s a scratchy, expensive switch, I always find myself coming back to the NovelKeys Cream. It sits in the same price range as other high-end switches like the Gazzew Boba U4T Thocky and SP-Star. In fact, it is arguably one of the scratchiest linear switches out of the box, and mind you, this is not an affordable switch either. Well, while the Cream definitely has some unique qualities, it is far from being a smooth switch. With a housing and stem made out of “self-lubricating” POM, it’s marketed as a smooth linear switch with a unique typing experience.

Anyone who’s been in the custom keyboard hobby long enough would’ve probably heard of the NovelKeys Cream switch.

Poppy keyboard