After spending a fair amount of time with the KTT x 80Retros GAME 1989 Orange, I figured it was about time to take a closer look at the HMX-side of the 80Retros catalogue. The 80Retros x HMX Monochrome have been with me for a while, ever since I picked them up back in Seoul. The switches stand out from the rest of the 80Retros lineup as they don’t ship in a film canister, and they have a fairly boring black and white colorway.

The 80Retros x HMX collaboration comprises of a handful of linear switches, amongst others the KD200 (a Kodak-yellow homage), the FJ400 (a Fujifilm-green homage), the GAME 1989 Classic (a Game Boy DMG-grey homage with pink stems), the Joker (a green/white/purple character homage), and the Monochrome, which arrived as one of the later releases. While most other 80Retros switches ship in oversized film-canister packaging, which is probably half the reason people bought into the lineup in the first place, the Monochrome, however, break that pattern, as they come in a plain sealed pack. 80Retros have framed this as a practical decision, since a sealed bag preserves the factory lube better than a (non-airtight) film canister.

The Monochrome have a white top housing, a black stem, and a black bottom housing. There’s no nostalgia, just basically a clean, modern industrial look. It’s probably one of the few switches in the lineup that would feel at home on a build that’s trying to look new rather than old.

Specs

The interesting thing here is that the Monochrome seem to be materially identical to the KD200, at least from the information I was able to dig up on them. It seems like they use the same PA12 top housing, same LY stem, same 13.55mm stem length, and the same HMX P2 bottom housing. The only spec that appears to be different on paper is the spring, that is a 42g on the Monochrome versus a 45g on the KD200. The Monochrome seem to basically be a KD200 in different clothes with a lighter spring. Therefor it seems like most of the KD200-flavoured tendencies show up here too.

Feel

The first thing you notice is just how light they are. 42g is on the gentle end of the linear spectrum these days, and even coming from the GAME 1989 Orange at 40g actuation, the Monochrome feels softer, probably because the PA12 top, HMX P2 bottom, and LY stem combo doesn’t have the same dry, gritty character the KT2 stem gives the Orange. There’s no audible texture in the travel here. It’s just smooth from top to bottom.

Stock smoothness is very good. HMX’s factory lube is well applied, with visible coverage on the stem sides and along the spring contact points. Slow-pressing a single switch at ear level reveals nothing worth complaining about, as there’s no scratch, no spring ping, and no leaf chatter. This means you can just install them and stop thinking about them, which, for a stock switch, is probably what most people would want.

Wobble seems to be in line with the rest of HMX’s newer-mold output. There’s a touch of north-south play and a touch of east-west, neither of which are distracting in normal typing.

Sound profile

The Monochrome has a sound profile that’s noticeably soft, light, and, for lack of a better word, swooshier. The Korean reviewer who teardown-photographed the whole 80Retros x HMX lineup described it as a “wave-like” sound. There’s still a clean tonk on the bottom-out, but it sits lower in the mix and the upper harmonics that make for a louder pop are largely absent.

Volume-wise, the Monochrome is on the quieter side. Not silent, not Volume 0-quiet, but noticeably more restrained than e.g. the GAME 1989 Orange. On softer builds (gasket-mount, Poron-foamed, that sort of thing), it leans firmly into muted thock territory. On more rigid aluminium builds I’d expect it to open up slightly, but my own testing has been on softer cases, so take that with a grain of salt.

In short, where the Orange has audible character, the Monochrome is doing something quieter and a little more uniform. If you enjoy the Orange’s pop you’re probably be slightly disappointed with the Monochrome.

Other notes

As for the factory lubing, it is competently done. I peeked into a few switches and the application is consistent enough that I didn’t feel any particular urge to retune them. If you’re someone who lubes everything regardless, maybe be sparing here, as otherwise you’ll smother what little articulation the switch already has.

The switches accept films, like everything else in the lineup, and films do their usual job of tightening housing tolerances and compressing the sound profile slightly. Given how restrained the Monochrome already sounds, I’d hesitate to film them unless the build absolutely needs it. You’d mostly be removing what little air is left in the sound.

Verdict

The 80Retros x HMX Monochrome are soft and gently-weighted linears with very few rough edges and they are relatively quiet in volume. Whether that’s the switch you want depends entirely on what you’re trying to build.

If you want acoustic complexity, the GAME 1989 Orange is definitely more interesting. If, however, you want a low-effort and low-noise linear that disappears into the build, the Monochrome fit that role pretty well.

I wouldn’t call it an exciting switch, but I would, however, call it a sort of grown-up switch.

Disclaimer: I’m not a switch scientist. I don’t own a force curve rig, I can’t tell you the exact durometer of the KT2 blend, and my ears are probably not calibrated to the standards of someone like ThereminGoat. This review is based on my personal experience typing on these switches across a few different boards and ultimately actively using them on my primary keyboard. Your mileage may vary based on your plate material, case, keycaps, and other factors. Take everything here as one person’s experience and use it as a starting point for your own.