My 2 cents: out of the few spec-x bearings I tried, NONE were quiet. FOr 10 balls, they sure are noisy.
I’m seeing ‘smooth’ ‘vibe’ and ‘noise’ loosely interchanged in this thread.
One definitely does not equal the other. I’m running a Spec X in my Avant Garde ever since I got it, and although it’s not my quietest bearing (it hisses rather than rattles, mind you!) it’s a smooth bearing.
Will definitely be giving the CTX a try.