CHERRY MX, the market leader and expert for mechanical switches in keyboards, unveils the MX Black Clear-Top, a new edition of a switch that was produced in the 1980s and is known in the community as "Nixie". Due to the characteristic exterior and the smooth switching feel with rich acoustics, this variant is considered an insider tip for fans of linear MX switches. Since the switch, which was specially manufactured for Nixdorf Computer AG at the time, was only produced for a few years, the original "Nixie" is highly sought after and is only available second-hand or can be found as an expensive rarity on various sales platforms. The now-introduced MX Black Clear-Top follows in the footsteps of this legend but is optimized by current manufacturing processes and materials. In addition, there are two different variants to cover the diverse needs of DIY enthusiasts and the switch community: one with first-class high-performance lubricant in perfect dosage, which was applied in a high-precision, automated process, and one without pre-lubrication.

The community name "Nixie" originates from a variant of the classic MX Black, which was specially adapted to the wishes of the former German company Nixdorf Computer AG: The requirement was a milky upper part of the housing, an increase in the actuating force from 60 to 63.5 centinewtons, as well as the relatively rare solution at the time of having a diode integrated into the switch for n-key rollover, or NKRO for short. The switch was mainly found in the "Nixdorf CT06-CT07/2 M Softkeys" keyboards for use on minicomputers, servers, or terminals. The production of these customer switches took place at CHERRY until the end of the 1980s, which makes the Nixie switch an absolute rarity these days, and even used ones are rarely found.