I agree, all the HN clones that come up are usually just a ton of JavaScript that slow everything down. I've been using my own minimal clone[0]. It uses the firebase websocket API and focuses on speed and readability. The source is here[1] if anyone wants to fork it and create their own experience.

[0] https://hxn.kbl.io/ [1] https://github.com/blopker/HXN