StormILM
Charter Member
Well, I have had my X-55 for over 2 years now with zero issues other than my recent minor issue with intermittently losing control of the POV Hat switch on the stick portion of my unit. I first thought I had cured that issue by tightening a protruding screw within the electrical contactor pin plug/mating area between the stick and stick base/shaft but apparently the issue is a short in the stick's rotating Z Axis switch wiring or the switch itself. Apparently twisting the stick for Yaw/Rudder Control aggravates to problem when twisting right but is cured by counter-twisting to the left. I temporarily alleviated the issue by deleting the stick's Z axis in both FSX and DCS and re-assigning the rudder control to one of my throttle quadrant's Z axis rotating switches. As things stand, my use of the X-55 is unimpeded for my normal usage but I decided to begin looking for other stick options as well as contacting Mad Catz customer service about getting my stick repaired. I heard back from them pretty quickly and much to my surprise, they are going to replace my entire X-55 with a new one as a one time only good will gesture. While I wait for that to be processed, I am looking at other stick options. I am fairly well spoiled to the convenience of a HOTAS controller but I still feel the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog is overpriced but I also believe it is in general a much better piece of hardware than the X-55. I am leaving that option open but I am also looking at the new VKB Gladiator Pro Stick as an alternate option. Granted, the latter is not a HOTAS system but I hear it is an exceptionally good and robust design I can integrate it with any good throttle quadrant at some point. Whatever I end up going with, I am going ahead and planning on setting aside the money needed for buying up to a Warthog and I may go ahead and buy the VKB Gladiator Pro just to keep on hand and use along side a new Warthog. I figure the replacement X-55 will tie me over until I'm ready to fund/buy whatever replacement I decide on.
As far as the X-55, I still like the feel and functionality of it but I do agree with hardware experts that Mad Catz's handling and quality control of the Saitek brand is disappointing to say the least. My old X-45 and X-52 units were well made and long lasting but the X-55's wiring and parts are cheap and prone to high wear rates and thus various function failures. Some folks might get long trouble free use out of their X-55 and some may not but the risk with the quality control with the X-55 is still the same. BTW, the new X-56 HOTAS supposedly has higher quality parts and refinement but one reviewer I saw on video stated that internally, little has changed, especially with the wiring harnesses. The recommendation I got was to not buy the X-56. At some point down the road when I have a new controller, I may gut my X-55 and rewire & custom rebuild it using high end parts which are available. I have seen some good examples but I will explore that in due time.
As far as the X-55, I still like the feel and functionality of it but I do agree with hardware experts that Mad Catz's handling and quality control of the Saitek brand is disappointing to say the least. My old X-45 and X-52 units were well made and long lasting but the X-55's wiring and parts are cheap and prone to high wear rates and thus various function failures. Some folks might get long trouble free use out of their X-55 and some may not but the risk with the quality control with the X-55 is still the same. BTW, the new X-56 HOTAS supposedly has higher quality parts and refinement but one reviewer I saw on video stated that internally, little has changed, especially with the wiring harnesses. The recommendation I got was to not buy the X-56. At some point down the road when I have a new controller, I may gut my X-55 and rewire & custom rebuild it using high end parts which are available. I have seen some good examples but I will explore that in due time.
