thanks youtube recommendation for finally providing an honest (and actually the best) product review.. i was considering falling in the trap but after finally having actual footage with the problems (and more importantly some never ever mentioned) no possibility going for this one... amazing review!
I've been researching sticks for a few weeks now, and I can honestly say that I've seen more videos bashing Logitech than praising them, so I have no idea what fantasy world you're living in.
@@DiggitySlice I live on planet Earth in the same universe as you. And just because I’m not part of a majority doesn’t mean I live in another universe smartass
it actually took quite some time for me to get the noise on the yaw axis, some never get it at all, but I think that´s the most common issue everyone gets
If a squeak is the most common problem I _really_ don't understand the hate this stick gets. If it's the price, then the X56 is still the cheapest in it's category if you want a decent number of buttons
@Dusty Rhodes I honestly prefer the X52 joystick, better ergonomics, but the X56 throttle is great! Weirdly enough, the X56 would benefit from having 1 less hat in the thumb, having the mini-stick next to the 2 mini hat sticks is not that comfortable, only 1 would be good enough
To fix the ghosting you need to plug the joystick and Throttle into high-power USB ports, preferably each one into a different USB controller/hub, they are extremely power-hungry.
Hello, I've a Saitek X-56, same thing. I don't know why you are having so many problems but I didn't have any of them so far. About the software I'm not using it because I don't find it good except if you want to change the led colors. If the game let me use modifiers then I use the Mode switch as modifier otherwise no, that is the only thing doesn't work properly neither I spent time to use it. My thrust lever doesn't move by itself neither the stick when twisted makes such weird sound. About to apply lubricant I think is acceptable but after long time which is normal in all mechanical parts of every kind of product, for sure shouldn't come out already with such problem.
I just got the x56 for Xmas. All is good with the stock but the throttle keeps doing random commands. Ended up blowing up my ship twice in ED. It decided to boost me while I was going through the letter box and second time it turned off my shields and wouldn't let me turn them back on. I've had random galaxy map opening loads of times as well as trying to FSD jump randomly.
@@Forgetthehorrorhere1 that's ghost button presses because they didn't even bother to fix the inside electronics. My VIRPIL which uses way more power has 0 ghosting.
I've had similar issues when I used the X55 for a while. Also, it seems to have been designed for someone with giant hands and excessively long fingers and thumbs. From what I can gather the same issue applies to the X56.
Nice video and I sympathise. I owned an X36, then an X52. Gave the X52 to my son and bought myself an X56. It's been really disappointing. Throttle friction knob is broken. Put in a replacement request to Logitech in late March and I'm still awaiting the replacement unit - they keep having stock issues. Not good. In the meantime I've tried to make do with it but I get ghosting all the time on the switches. I've got it on a separate powered hub too - a good TP-Link 7 port powered USB3 hub. I then tried an Orico 7 port PCI-E USB3 powered card - same ghosting issue. Really annoying when you're flying an F-14 and the gear keeps popping down, flaps go down and the wing sweep activates automatically. Or you're on a bombing run in the F/A-18 and the gear comes down. Anyway I wish I never got rid of the old X36. If Logitech had replaced my unit quickly I'd be happy but it's been about 2 to 3 months for me so far - very frustrating. ETA for my replacement is late July. I'm considering opening mine up as I can solder and have a bunch of ferrite rings to try out as I have heard that the ghosting issue with the switches is caused by some sort of electrical interference which ferrite rings may help remedy... we'll see. I agree though, you shouldn't have to do that.
surprisingly, the X52 has less issues or none at all, haha, and the stick seems to fit better in Elite Dangerous, you lose ergonomics with the X56, plus, the lower price tag fitting for the product you get I prefer the cool feeling touch of the *Fire* button spring-loaded latch over the extra POV hat Only thing that is worth it is the throttle part of the X56, never disappoints, and at least I never seen or had the moving-by-itself issue, I´m gonna guess it´s partly user handling and partly how the stiffness is setup with the dial on the side probably the throttle is too lose on the dial, combined with a long session, weight makes it move like that on it´s own then you can probably get a virpil or other brands more fitting, but the difficult part is both having them on stock and it actually being available to get sent to your country, that´s why people are still getting both the X52 and X56
Thanks for the video, I'm looking to upgrade my setup and this HOTAS was among the candidates. As I see, it seems this unit has quite some problems. So I'd better look for something else.
I can look past the squeaky but the friction joint on the throttle not being able to hold its own weight is a major issue. Throw in the key binding issue, I'm probably getting something else. Thanks Jell-o
Warning to potential buyers: I bought the x56 (against all recommendations) because I thought these issues would have been solved by now. Unfortunately I was wrong and I'm exeriencing all of the issues included in this video plus a few more: * Squeaky twist. * Yaw left NEVER reaches full yaw and it can be physically felt. Yaw right is fine. * Throttle physically moving to 100% on it's own. * Ghosting in full-powered ports. I was willing to overlook a few key issues but the missing twist range and physical throttle movement are more than enough to turn me off this product. I have returned mine and I highly suggest any potential buyers avoid this particular HOTAS. Get something like the Gladiator MKII + T16 throttle combo for around the same price. Hell, even an x52 would probably be better.
My only issue currently is the squeaky rudder or "twist" for the right side. When did you experience these issues since I'm quite worried about experiencing it myself, I've owned this for like 2 years now.
I must have been lucky because mine doesn't have the issues mentioned. But I have 3 different ones: - Throttle too stiff, even on lower tension settings. - Yaw is too stiff. Hard to do combined maneuvers. Cannot play with hat switches while YAWing because need a full grip to YAW. - Yaw calibrating is offset on the right. Cannot go full left. Could easily be fixed with software calibration, but somehow, there is no axis calibration for the X56 and neither in the app. or am I missing something?
Thats why I still have my X52pro... it has its issues too -, but it didnt cost 270 €. Logitech claimed to solved the Saitek problems on the X56 but its not the case as it seems, sad that they have an insufficient quality control.
X52 Pro has a shitty mini-din cable which was an issue for me. It loses reliability over time. Way too easy to cause a connectivity issue. I've had the same problem with two X52 Pros.
I will stick to my X52 Pro for now .. I did consider “Upgrading” to the X56 V2 but the shear amount of negative reviews/feedbacks on the X56 are insane!!
I am thinking of buying an X52 Pro. I was going to save up to buy the X56 but all negative reviews have put me off. I am interested in x-Plane and I am hoping that the X52 Pro will prove reliable. My current setup is the Logitech 3D Pro which has worked well.
basically....if you want a HOTAS....you can either get a cheap one and feel the cheapness, or you have no choice but go to $500 for a Thrustmaster Warthog with Pedals. as you MUST have yaw for space flight.
@@Langlache Virpil for around the same??? Is there a particular model? I went to their website and it looked around $100-$200 more than the Warthog, I'd consider a warthog but thats the max price, do you recommend any in USD that can be at $500 for HOTAS and Pedals?
honestly comes down to preference. A lot of people talk about how pitch, yaw and roll are important. but when I'm in combat I rarely use that much roll, so little that I have it set to be extremely sensitive so I can flick into position. A simple thumbstick or even buttons can be used in my case, and a lot of others play the same. A better way around midrange risks is to just get 2 midrange joysticks and play twin-stick. It's around the same price as a full HOTAS but you get more than enough axis and buttons for all your controls. Playstyle is slightly different but just as viable.
Damn near bought this to 'upgrade' from my X52. saw this and other reviews, splurged a bit and i have a Winwing Orion 2 Hotas setup on the way, all up including shipping for LESS than the cost of a Thrustmaster Warthog, and it should be here Monday
I read all the bad reviews and still got it. I made a huge mistake because the ghosting is really bad and throttle drift when I’m dogfighting in DCS. It’s unusable
Found another video that said set the lighting to red11 rest 0 and that seemed to fix the ghost buttons but then the 0.0002$ China made yaw return spring broke. Bought another used stick and it has a won’t yaw to the left problem. Pretty junk.
I think you might have gotten a bad unit. I got my X56 about a year ago and never had any of the problems you mentioned. But I can only imagine how frustrating this must be. Logitech definitely needs to look into their quality control, I've heard of other people having similar problems, and the solution shouldn't be that the customer has to open up the stick and lube things up or resolder any wires. That being said, my X56 works pretty flawless. The stick has some wobble around the mid position and some buttons aren't great. But then again, it's way cheaper than a TM Warthog or like a VKB or Virpil stick. Hope you got yours returned / fixed.
@@nelsonh.9651 when i bought it the warthog was 340€ and the x-56 260€. thats 80 bucks for a product thats 10 times better. If you are looking for an alternative, the VKB Gladiator NXT (canadian company) is the best bang for your buck and tons better than an x-56. Combine it with a TWCS throttle or wait a bit, VKB will bring to market their own throttle soon.
@@CyberPrussian lol ended up i straight up cancelled my order of X56 after you recommended the gladiator ones, kinda pity that they don't have a throttle yet
I think that right now the best configuration for a 250 dollars hotas configuration is to take a VKB NXT Evo plus a throttle of your choice between the thrustmaster one or if you want to spend a little bit more buy the warthog throttle separately
Hey grate video I just buy my self one for Christmas and my pitch and Y-axses is not working I can’t pull nose of ship up or down and will return product soon and save money for Vriple and hope haven nice game enjoyment....
I was considering this one. The Thrustmaster 16000M HOTAS is the same damn way and I have had 2 of them. Started with moving without input on the stick and the second one the rudder is "stuck" in the starboard position. Why do we have to pay so damn much for quality these days? We should start a class action against these companies to try and up their game. I guess I will just wait on VKB Gunfighter II to go on sale and their TECS throttle system to finish development...Thanks for the heads up!
Mine will arrive tommorow, so will see if it has the same issues, tho the squeaking isnt really a problem for me since i wear noise cancelling headphones but the ghosting and throttle moving yeah thats gonna be a problem if it happens.
I totally agree. For the money I also expect a better product. I had a $89 Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and it lasted 10+ years. While I didn't have the out-of-the-box failures you report, I'm getting multiple button failures after about 2 years. A new problem that showed up recently is that all of the buttons on the stick fail intermitantly at the same time. It's getting to be unusable.
I'm here because I'm taking a second look at this controller after initially dismissing it from reading all the bad reviews. You probably should have also, but thanks for presenting a convincing reason not to buy one. The problem is there seems to be no middle ground in the range of controllers available. You either have cheap at a cheap price, cheap at an expensive price, and the premium sticks that not everyone can justify spending 4-600 bucks on for a hobby. I have kind of narrowed my choices to the Thrustmaster T160000 FCS, or the VKB gladiator stand alone. the FCS for 120 bucks, I can forgive some issues. But both have Hall sensor technology. I'm tired of replacing sticks because of crappy pots.
I am looking to upgrade my thrustmaster t16000 hotas mainly because i dropped my joystick and now i have to program a dead zone on the twist but its mot that bad. I’ll probably just get another thrustmaster and have dual stick and throttle setup. But i might go to the x52. But yo are right there is no mid tier hotas. I dont care about the split throttle it seems gimmicky for serious increase in price. Just give me that front paddle like the thrustmaster throttle and all is good.
It's almost like flight sims are a super niche hobby and most controller manufacturers can't justify investing tons of money in a high quality, relatively affordable controller that will only work with a handful of games and is only really useful for the tiniest of fractions of the overall gamer community. This whole video is just the dude complaining about a couple issues that, at most, require a bit of user maintenance and/or setup before use, but instead of actually putting any effort into solving his issues himself, he'd rather throw a fit and return the product multiple times expecting to randomly get one that won't require additional setup beyond taking it out of the box and plugging it in. - Squeaking rudder adjustment and sticky buttons are a symptom of the fittings being both brand new and really tight. Pretty much every flight stick on the market above a certain price point requires the user to "break in" the gear through repeated, regular play, or, as the OP mentioned in the video himself, simply applying lube to the stiff parts (which isn't remotely uncommon for high end hobbies with expensive, moving parts; go try to get into airsoft and you'll find you HAVE to open your gun to clean and lube it before first use or you run the risk of breaking it and being out $300). - Throttle drift is quite literally solved by adjusting that big dial/nob next to it. Every review/troubleshooting video or post I've seen about this issue with this setup was the result of the throttle's retention screw not being properly tightened (trying to keep it loose enough that you feel no resistance, but at that point the throttle is too heavy to not droop) - Ghost inputs are, generally, caused by trying to use both devices off the same USB controller (like plugging both into the front USB ports on your PC). This is an issue because USB controllers can only supply a given amount of power to the multiple ports connected to said controller, but high end HOTAS setups with dozens of buttons and LEDs are very, very resource and power hungry - so much so that the stick or throttle alone can max out a USB controller's resources despite only using 1 of the 4 ports available. Of course the video ends with OP angrily ranting that, because they paid $200+ on the controller, they shouldn't have to do anything other than plug it in for it to work perfectly but that's pretty unrealistic and speaks for their lack of experience with niche hobbies on PC - almost nothing ever works perfectly on PC right out of the box except keyboards and computer mice... The more expensive equipment you add to your setup, the more you have to, well, set it all up properly and maintain it. Could you imagine such a video being made about someone being upset that they bought a VR headset but don't want to have to adjust the straps or screen placement, don't want to have to configure the software on their computers, and don't want to have to remove the plastic film off the screens before use but feel the need to complain about how their headset isn't working properly when all they did was plug it in right out of the box.
@@Madara8989 well there is no free lunch then you pay your money and should take your chance. I ended up buying a vjb 100 dollar stick. It lasted 3 months, the sticky grease they put in to give a "natural feel" hardened up and made it impossible to use, I tried to remove it but it was so sticky and hard nothing would clean it including carburator cleaner. In addition the rudder axis failed and upon aplying rudder the control surface returns to zero on its own. I ended up trashing it
@@DEeMONsworld Idk about VJB (I'm not familiar with them, or the VKB controls that Google thinks you're talking about) or the quality of the grease they use, but most other hobbies where grease or lube is vital to the continued proper functioning of your item, you're supposed to periodically clean and re-apply lube the moving parts. Those aren't the kind of things you're meant to just do once and be done with it. All lube gets dirty and dries out over time. That's just basic mechanics and maintenance 101. Idk what would cause the rudders to fail, but given they VKB's also seem to be on the cheap side, I wouldn't be surprised if it was shotty quality. $100 is also mid-tier at best for a flight stick; most high quality sticks are sitting closer to $300-600 range. Much like every other industry, you get what you pay for; buy cheap, get cheap quality. There's a reason these kinds of hobbies are called "luxaries."
Apart from those horrible issues, the stick is also incredibly un-ergonomic. It was designed from a product designer with a lot of LEDs in mind, but no idea of human anatomy
the lubrication is actually a reasonable thing for people to say, its not an idiotic thing to suggest, hence the squeaky rubber in the yaw of the stick, if you simply were to lubricate it with something like a lithium grease, it would be as quiet as a mouse
I also made the same experience. Right after unboxing my X56 it had some issues with the self increasing throttle but furthermore some other problems, some buttons activated themselves only by moving the throttle. the x axis of the joystick had not the full range of movement. i hope the support of logitech will be responsive soon
About the problem with the throttle physically moving forward past a certain point: seems like you need to tighten that friction knob a bit, unless the friction knob is the actual problem
@@Langlache those look amazing but unfortunely they're out of stock with a 3 month estimated wait.... I'm too impatient so I ordered a Warthog. I have high hopes!
@@arandomuser6665 I got mine 2 weeks after i placed the order. Then again I live in Europe so i don't know!Maybe you confuse them with VKB? Cause Virpil almost always has stock
omg wow, thanks, bud, for the review! Unacceptable awkward device! I almost bought this one but decided to buy Warthog (no regrets at all) and now really reliefed. Sorry for you ._.
Thanks for that video. Was about to "upgrade" to this model from a perfectly fine and working X52... Oh, and yes, the software is far from perfect. I prefer using an older version because it has fewer problems.
Don't mind these cry babies, a good product is one that lets you customize it to fit your needs. The squeak is a 10 second fix and the throttle issue they complain about is comical. Adjust it to not sag and done. These are the morons that don't understand how things work and would rather pay for others to do things for them in life. Like paying someone to install a window A/C unit. Everyone can do it but these sissy men would rather pay a real man to do something so simple.
@@speedyfpv7104 “a good product” is not one you pay €250+ for and still have to fix right out the box 😂 no matter if they’re “10 second fixes” or not. It’s just simply unheard of. This uploader is helping a lot of people.
@@levi5930 so go buy a more expensive one! Everyone crying about spending 250....lol imagine your broke asses had any other hobby. Do yourself a favor and take up playing classic board games. imagine you guys tried a real hobby jeez. Go build a race car and see the prices of parts. Get into any hobby and you will always find you gotta pay to play and then spend time tuning . Sissies think everything should just drop in their laps perfectly. Good luck ever being good at anything without putting in a little work.
Are you using a hub or are you plugged into the mobo? The throttle needs more power than a standard usb 3.0 hub can supply, and this leads to ghosting. Either get a powered hub or plug directly into the mobo. Logitech really should have made these self powered like the g27 wheel
VKB Gladiator NXT. My first joystick not made by a big brand and will never go back to logitech and thrustmaster. Ive got yokes and other joysticks and best quality came from my NXT pro. Paid about 185 for joystick only including shipping and tax.
I fell for it... Bought the thing, unboxed it and during my first test flight I was already having ghosting from 3 separate buttons as well as experiencing the rest of the problems described in the video. Fortunately I've ordered it through amazon too so refund is on the way.
@@Sjoannie no its not there are people with 500USD motherboards from msi , asus , Gigabyte experiencing Ghosting constantly so no ,its not an USB issue and even if so its Logitech fault as USB is standardized and well known how much power it can provide per port and version .
i honestly think that the reason there are so many complaints is because is more of a known product. more people buy them because its a very well known brand. so more sold, equals more complaints and defects.
I have this attached to my Surface Dock 2 which is connected to my Surface Book 2. I can say it ain't the best stick, but for its budget sadly the best I can get for 6DOF with a throttle. I also don't feel ghosting, probably because all my USB ports are powered. And before you rant on me. Normal USB ports are powered up to 0.5 amps at 5 volts. Some systems/motherboards have them to 2 amps at 5 volts. For some devices this makes a huge change. And the software, well, I only use it for RGB, Star Citizen supports the stick right out of the gate.
Why would i rant on you? What you say is perfectly normal. But the fact that a powered usb fixes the issue though does not mean that you have to do that in the first place. I have experienced 0 ghosting issues with other sticks, from t-flight to virpil. It's a shame because it's a beaitiful hotas but plagued by the arrogance of Logitech's leadership on the hotas deparment.
No issues with mine at all, it works great and I've had it for a few years using it pretty much every day for a few hours at a time. There must be good and bad ones, luck of the draw I guess..... but it shouldn't be for the price. BTW, I did load mine up with Vaseline from when I got it new, before I even used it. Cheers
I couldn't find any bad reviews before I pulled the trigger. Nothing like trying to scud run to the target at tree top level in Il-2 BOS and having all of the aircraft lights turn on right before the rocket pods jettison from the aircraft with my rockets still in them. Unfortunately, that's only the start. Next the canopy opens on its own and flies off the aircraft, then the undercarriage deploys. I have been in dogfights in multiplayer and had the gear drop on me and I get my @ss shot off. Tried switching the USB hubs and turning off the LED's, Im not the guy that's gonna open this thing up with a soldering iron to fix it. Saitek and Logitech have been useless. Wish I bought the Warthog first.
as a DCS F-14B Tomcat driver I feel your pain but you made me laugh as I visual it all, I could clearly see it how good you described the situations :D jeeezz! hahah!! anyway Thanks for that .
The problems were persistent in 2 different units as i describe in the video. Maybe you were the one who got a lemon (a good one in this case!) Lucky for you! :P
Same here, I have mine over a year and none of the hardware problems mentioned in the video, no ghosting, no noise etc. And mine is out of box. So either I am lucky or you are unlucky
Just bought this one on BRAZIL, after installing and using the first time. Same happen to me! Ah ouch, the Z axis of stick have a problem too, i have to make a HARD reset calibration to fix it. Z axis was not going totally to the left (rudder), only for the right. I`m sending it back to the reseller and getting my money back! And yes, the same problem with the throttle quadrant as you.
that has got to be the worst squeeking sound..lol that would drive me nuts, I am glad I settled for a 16000m until I figure out if I want to invest in something like a warthog
It has reportedly worse issues than this one, especially in terms of the throttle moving on its own (it’s very cheap and loose). Same goes for the T16000M and it’s Z-twist axis breaking within months of use. Those were my original options but I had to look elsewhere after reading reviews on Thrustmaster products.
5 років тому
Is every x56 has the same problems? VKB Joysticks are so expensive for me so I'm nott able to buy it. I just checked the Logitech G Saitek X52 Pro. Should I buy that or what do I need to prefer for Flying Simulator actually?
@ After much frustration i decided to go for Virpil. The T1600 fcs hotas is a solid piece of unit imo. I just didnt like the color. Tflight hotas x is more on the cheap side
I just bought one yesterday off of Micro Center's website. We'll see how good or bad it is hopeful tomorrow when it gets here. Honestly they had the best price with the best and most reviews and they were really the only ones who had it in stock for a decent price.
I’ve had my x52 for nearly a year now and have absolutely zero issues. I’ll admit it’s not the most precise flight out there, it works perfectly fine in sims like x plane and war thunder. Overall I think you’d be much better off getting the x52 over the x56.
i would say avoid any any Saitek based systems. Had an X55 myself. And they are all trash imo. If you need a good quality midrange HOTAS the Thrustmaster T.16000M is a great value. Only drawback is that the grip has less buttons. But the throttle itself is really good and packs a lot of buttons to compensate. And the stick is incredibly accurate and smooth for that price range. And no creaking or squaking. Otherwise the only other good system for space sim after that is the very expensive Virpil sticks like the recently released Constellation Alpha. The Thrustmaster Warthog is also a good choice, and you can match it with the T.16000M throttle which can be bought separate. As i think the Warthog throttle is overkill for space sims. My main issue with the Warthog is that it lacks twist axis.. Otherwise it's an incredibly smooth and accurate joystick.
I just sent my X56 controller back yesterday. So much ghosting and disconnecting that I couldn't stand it, even with it plugged into a powered hub. Though I feel like I gave up too soon on it but things have come up where I need the money back I spent on it.
For what I saw it wouldn't mater even if it cost 50EU , how can you drive something like that in DCS for example ? with all this phantom moving , ghosting you can forget about autopilot ,Automatic Carrier Landing or anything else let alone precise tanking , formation flying , too bad I really like the way it looks and with all this available programmable keys dials I was very close to buy it . Your video is not the first one who pointed exact the same issues and although I'm huge Logitech fan most of my peripherals are Logitech I'm sad that they made the X56 so bad . Looks like the Throttle head with all this buttons and dials is just to heavy and seems the tensions is not good enough to hold it in place , even worse the ghosting. I actually have FR-Tec Raptor Mach 1 HOTAS ( wanted to replace for X56) witch work pretty decent I don't have any other complains except when ever it is attached to USB port (I mean any , I tired them all) my monitor wont go to sleep . Other then that it works nicely in DCS at least flying my F-14B Tomcat . Thanks for your video and concerns I'm 100% agree with you , Insult to consumers !
Yeah my thoughts exactly. Although not into hardcore flight sims, all these issues are not acceptable for a product from a company like Logitech. I purchased a Virpil Constellation Alpha and the Mongoost Throttle and I am beyond happy. The quality is out of this world.
@@Langlache wow that's a powerful system with hefty price tag and it better works :D In my case as DCS player and F-14 driver I would chose VPC V.F.X Grip as it is F-14 stick and VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle who knows maybe Ill go for it in some future , thanks !
Thats unfortunate, I wanted to buy this thing. But according to all market, this is actually one of the lowest price for such devices. Can you name direct competitors in terms of price? I really don't want to spend thousand dollars on HOTAS...
The part where you talk about the reviews online is so hilarious because I’ve experienced that myself so many times with computer parts and I’ve concluded those people attacking others for expressing their dissatisfaction are literally just paid actors. Thanks for writing this review so that I can find it I recently bought this trash product and I’ve spent the past week trying to configure it and it’s just not a good product. They don’t even have windows 11 support in 2023, Blows my mind how anyone could defend this company. Waste of money.
What I concluded is that the amount of people that are willing to lie to themselves instead of getting angry against a company, even if it's their favorite, is too high. They create a delusion, and act upon it. It's a defective product and it still exists because of people like these.
I bought this for ED and absolutely love it. had it for 3 months now, no issues to complain about. Yes depending on the position of the throttle and if they're locked into 1, it will travel on its own, but not much.
As I told you, very good that you pointed the issues that occurred with your units. Legitimate complaints. I do agree that after Logitech purchased the Saitek side of Mad Catz, they should also really update the product - and seems they didn't. I disagree with what you heard about Logitech support being "non existent". On the contrary. Logitech properly fulfills warranty issues. Just to point out. I have had four Saitek products: X45 - Worked ok for the casual use I had for it. Lasted for years. Nothing happened to it, but I actually threw it away when I got my next HOTAS (below) and saw the VAST (like day and night) difference in precision. X55 - Worked mechanically fine until it "end". After years of use, the LEDs on the stick started flickering when moved. Cosmetic issue if you ask me, especially since you don't look at your stick when actually playing. Nevertheless Logitech (back then only recently purchased Saitek from Mad Catz) did honor the warranty. Ah, also had ghosting issues (sometimes - but read about this below). I think (don't remember) I actually bought that also from Amazon but didn't contact Amazon but Logitech directly. So since X55 was off the shelves, it got replaced with... X56 - Also no mechanical issues. Best HOTAS for Elite Dangerous by far. I would miss the extra DoF if I had to change to something with less than the vast 13 (!) analog axis X56 has. Very soon though, a button stopped working. A really secondary button (the one called "D" behind the pinky). Fewer ghosting issues than X55 but still some (again, read below). Logitech AGAIN honored the warranty, although the problem was possibly fixable very easily, they replaced the whole stick. X56 #2 (just in different box, no Logitech logos yet) - No mechanical issues. Has a tiny bit larger "dead zones", nothing major. Again very few ghosting issues, UNTIL I discovered I really need a good powered USB hub. Then ghosting issues disappeared. BEWARE, proper USB power supply is critical (also critical for some large USB 3.0 disks that supposedly work with a single USB plug but actually cannot sometimes). Crappy no-name powered hubs, will not help. Even good brand motherboards sometimes fail to deliver proper amperage. Anyway, back to X56. The "better" hub also eliminated an issue I had with X56 #2. Sometimes I had to "factory reset" the sticks to reset the axis! I learned to do it with closed eyes and it happened, only when I unplugged them - also sometimes the whole computer would freeze all its USB ports when unplugging X56. Well it all was the hub's fault. Well... that X56 killed THE SAME BUTTON as the first! This time I didn't bother to call Logitech, it clearly was not the button's problem, but probably some cable. I opened it up (I understand this is not OK for most people) and indeed, Saitek/Mad Catz/Logitech chose a stupid path for that button's cabling, that stressed it and killed it. 5 minutes later I fixed it. X56 working properly since then. No weird sounds, no slipping, no ghosting, no button issues. I am not even considering another HOTAS at this time, until something new comes up that can really offer alternative to the huge collection of analog axis and buttons like X56 (and no, Warthog doesn't have enough - I actually counted them myself). As you can see my Saitek "path" is not full of roses, yet, it is manageable and all depends on how we deal with issues.
Saitek passed through different periods, some of them being golden (people still have products that work fine after 8-9 years of daily use) and others crappy like when it was bought by Madcatz and towards their end. About Logitech customer support, I received a response after 15 days(!). I'll send you a screenshot via discord. In the meantime i had the unit sent back, got it replaced with the second one, sent the second one back and got even a refund from Amazon! Furthermore, having to factory reset the product, having to open it to solder the wire of the faulty button and having to buy a powered usb hub is not something you have to do when you spend 260$. You may have the patience or knowledge, I don't, and neither should any customer who spends 260$ on a product. I wish I could buy a unit with no faults whatsoever. As i mentioned i really love the design, even though it's not the most ergnonomic grip out there, and it matches so good with the rest of my setup. But alas
You know, USB power supply is dangerously ignored by people. The other day my headset stopped working because I plugged in a wireless USB for my xbox controller all because I forgot to turn on the power to the hub...
It sucks that you had those issues. I hope you found something that you enjoy! My x56 has been OK so far. None of your 3 issues. I'm in my inital 2 weeks though. Trying to put it through its paces before I can't take it back. Seems great so far. I think I spent about 3 hours tuning Elite bindings.
In the end I wasnt happy, bit the bullet and got a warthog set. I wish Logitech would put some of its awesome engineering and manufacturing ability into flight controls. They made an investment into buying the old Saitek products and have been milking them ever since. The problem is that aside from the x52 their stuff wasnt that great, was made worse by Madcatz, and has been long surpassed. I think Logitech could make great flight controls, they just chose not to.
i was about to get one for elite but now thinking no arter your review. I have just sent my thrustmaster T.16000 back as it had problems. so what joystick set up should i go for any recommendations?
I got fed up and bought from Virpil. Their stuff are beyond good quality. If you are willing to spend that many go for them. If not, then go for the T.16000
If it is so outrageously bad and thus has to be an industry outlier, then why is there no other better options at this price range? I am not defending them, but at the same time you also have to accept the fact that they don't need to do shit until they even have a decent competitor in the same price range.
@@Langlache Such a shame as I love the actual design. all the buttons are located well for IL2 in VR. Unsure of any other joystick at this price point with a similar number of buttons - other than VIRPIL (££££).
There's no high quality HOTAS for people with small hands. It makes it so difficult for us girl gamers with tiny hands. I really wish they'd start making adjustable HOTAS systems.
The X52 pro joystick can be adjusted for small/big hands as you choose. The real problem honestly is more options for left handed users 😅 I’ve had to train my right hand to use a joystick
These seem largely the same problems I was reading about in 2015 but for the X-55 and other high end hotas when I was hunting for a new stick after my trusty Saitek ST-200 went definetively kaputt. Both Saitek and Thrustmaster high end models seemed to be requiring new lubrication, often out of the box, which for those prices is bullshit. I ended up getting a CH Products set, they might be less fancy for a similar price (especially here in the EU, back in the day the price was still good enough now they are unfortunately expensive to the point they make Virpil and VKB seem like a steal) but they use solid lube-less designs and the software is excellent especially for someone like me that loves to indulge in old-ass DOS spacesims that often don't support more than two or four buttons without a dedicated profile. I sometimes think to upgrade to a Virpil set but it's been five years and my CH Products set works like new even after playing literally every space sim that came to my mind plus 600+hours of Elite: Dangerous. The analog ministicks galore the X-56 has was a response to the CH Products Pro Throttle that sold out incredibly fast when Elite: Dangerous came out because back then is was the only one with a real analog ministick instead of a "mouse nipple" which made it ideal for docking procedures and 6DOF movement in general.
@Alex Fromin Since then windows 10 killed the advanced drivers and calibration utility for Ch Products (it randomly stopped working ad after an update it caused BSODs on startup, I tried all possible fixes but I had to use a utility to completely uninstall the software and drivers to be able to use them plug&play without issues). The stick is still useable but not to its full potential. The throttle is OK because the windows calibration utility seems to deal better with throttle sliders and the ministick wasn' super precise in the first place but the stick needs quite a deadzone to work properly and calibrating it in windows it's a bit of a pain. I'm in the process of replacing the Combatstick with a VKB Gladiator NXT premium, at least that one is self-calibrating and does the input-filtering in-hardware (also more buttons never hurt). I have no experience with helicopter sims but I had videos of people trying the VKB Gladiator NXT and other sticks from VKB and Virpil with helicopter sims in my yt recs. Be warned though: they quality hardware and the price is very much in proportion.
I've had a Saitek X-55 for several years and aside from a stiff throttle, I loved it. And I've been checking on all of the X-56 videos up here to get a feel for the new product that I'm preparing to buy. It''s funny that you're the only one up here so far with these problems. One question, though. There are no motors on these throttles, and as I just stated, most of them are overly stiff. So I'd really like to know how your throttles mysteriously moved all by themselves. Unless you took out the throttle tension adjust and slanted the unit at a severe angle, those levers aren't going anywhere. As such, I am just a little suspect about this review.
Whether you are right or not ... a product should be suitable for purpose , the noise would annoy the hell out of me , especially if I paid that much for it .., right to rant...
I don't own this, but if this is anything like the Saitek predecessors, it's complete crap. My x55 pro has all the exact same problems. Never again. Thanks for the honest review. Currently thinking about VKB.
It's unacceptable for such a priced product to be plagued by the same old problems. They know they exist, they do nothing to fix them. This could have been one of the best mid range hotas but no
I've noticed similar problems with all commercial sticks to be honest. Logitech and my t16000m sticks are less than stellar. That's why I've ordered virpil. Hopefully much better. I was thoroughly disappointed in my t16000m dual sticks after people said they're great in that price range.
I know this video is old but to this day Logitech has done nothing to improve all of the issues with the X56. I owned both an X55 and X56 and returned them both multiple times for some of the exact same problems you had. All Logitech has ever done with this HOTAS is rebrand and repaint it. It's a Saitek product owned by Logitech nothing more. All of Logitech's boasting about fixing the issues are complete BS marketing. They just want your money.
I understand some people have issues, and that some of them are pretty unacceptable. That being said, mine has worked near flawlessly, I spent at least 6 hours researching this product before purchasing, reading about all the problems. Most of them I've seen have come down to users being lazy (like over-tightening and breaking the throttle), forcing things to act in a way they were never designed to or blaming their lack of control for breaking parts. Defects happen a lot, big and small, especially in more expensive products (more complication + less production almost always leads to this) but I've never had anywhere I've even thought of getting a replacement. I can't replicate any of your issues, maybe it's just luck. My dials don't go up to 100% unless I put a small bit of pressure into the side of them. Hardly noticeable after getting used to it, no risk of damage since its barely any pressure at all. The stick did squeak for a while but eventually stopped, this sort of thing can happen on any product at any price range, oil/grease or trimming parts doesn't always fix this. I've had pedals that squeak after 2 years of use only to stop 3 months later, and a headset mic that always squeaked when moved until one day it just stopped. I ripped apart those pedals every other day for the first month and could never fix them. It's not about whether the money is worth the potential issues, it's about whether the store will allow replacements and/or refunds, and that you are willing to work problems. There are better options but they can have worse problems or worse customer service, there can be cheaper options that break all the time or don't give the same experience. And believe me, the experience is 100% worth it. And as a side point, I don't think 200-300 is a high price tag anymore. Gaming has become a very expensive hobby, especially since most new technologies are so expensive and games are becoming harder or lazier with optimization requiring more expensive hardware to run. If a basic keyboard or mouse can easily cost 100-150, 200 isn't that much of an increase. I know a lot of people won't agree with this, it's just how I feel given the pricing of recent hardware.
You're being completely ridiculous if you think $250 is perfectly reasonable and not that expensive. Especially if you think companies charging premium prices for sub par products should be acceptable or expected. Poor quality control shouldn't be normalized and people shouldn't be so accepting of sub par products becoming the standard either. I've just started to get into the flight sim scene and have never seen a group of people so willing and determined to bend over and get reemed by companies and pay a premium for it as well.
The basic design of the X55 is very old now an needs to be updated. I saw recently that its price has increased by from $350 when I bought mine to $450 in Australia. For that much money its way over priced. I never had any ghosting but the throttle friction problem where its either too stiff to move easily or falls under its own weight can't be solved because its inherent to the design that uses a very viscous gel between two plates that slide past each other. Wiping a small amount of gel from the bottom of the friction plates and then winding them closer together improves it mildly but its still there. I gave up and went Virpil for way more money but the device needs a redesign full stop. It uses high quality switches and works well for what it does but some simple changes to a normal friction system and better software would make it the best Hotas for the money. Logitech has no excuse not to this with their resources.
I didn't catch that, how much did you pay for it? All kidding aside, I've seen many videos complaining about the problems you point out, from what I've seen on the internet and read the ghosting issues are power related(power hungry), everyone has pointed out that plugging the stick into 3.0 USB ports fixes the ghosting issue, luckily all mine are 3.0 and 3.1 USB ports, but I will soon find out if that's true because mine just arrived a couple of days ago, I haven't even put it together, TBH I did buy a 3 year protection plan because of the problems I've heard, trying to cover all my bases. But I'll tell you why I went with the X56, I'm not a hard-core flight Sim player, this is my first dive into flight Sim so I couldn't see myself forking out the money for the Virpil HOTAS setup, they are probably the best out there. Edit: This video is 2 years old so maybe the QC has gotten better.
@@Langlache 1 thing I learnt from many hours of research is to be very gentle with the friction wheel. It shouldn't become hard to move or you have tightened it (or loosened it) way too much to the point of potential damage. Though I'm guessing the sliding issues was there before playing with the wheel.
Nice rant, I just got mine in a week ago and NO, I don't get any ghosting issues even though I am plugged into MOBO (mine is more than 350 euro tho), NO I did not have any squeaking on Yaw axis, smooth and quiet right out of the box, NO my throttle did not accelerate by itself and NO, I did not have to soldier anything... just plugged it in and works just fine :) not defending the issues because they are not there... BUT 270 euros is still mid range so why You expect golden kit??? Thrustmaster warthog RRP is about £450... just ordered virpil stick that cost me £400 for the stick and base only... VKBs same range, that's where You can expect quality... 270 is peanuts so expect peanuts
Just making a point here that yes 270 is a lot of money in some respect, but when You look at WHAT you are buying for the money you have to weigh it accordingly... You don't go buying a car with 2000 euro and expect to buy a freaking top quality mercedes do You? even though 2000 euro is a lot of money
@@Langlache After seeing your review I bought a Thrustmaster Warthog stick. If it is not good then I will return and look at purchasing the virpil one. Thanks for the excellent video and response. I hope you and yours remain well in these difficult times.
@@pspicer777 Thank you! It's not so much of a review. I did this video solely for the purpose of warning others. It was such a tedious and frustrating experience. Thankfully i bought it from Amazon and the return process was easy at least.
thanks youtube recommendation for finally providing an honest (and actually the best) product review.. i was considering falling in the trap but after finally having actual footage with the problems (and more importantly some never ever mentioned) no possibility going for this one... amazing review!
Thank you very much. It's not a review per se, more of a rant for people to consider before buying :)
I’m liking your comment before watching the video so we will see.
I never experienced any of those issues with my X56 so take it with a grain of salt.
I've been researching sticks for a few weeks now, and I can honestly say that I've seen more videos bashing Logitech than praising them, so I have no idea what fantasy world you're living in.
@@DiggitySlice I live on planet Earth in the same universe as you. And just because I’m not part of a majority doesn’t mean I live in another universe smartass
The sacrifice of one, saved hundreds. Thank you for your service, sir!
it actually took quite some time for me to get the noise on the yaw axis, some never get it at all, but I think that´s the most common issue everyone gets
If a squeak is the most common problem I _really_ don't understand the hate this stick gets. If it's the price, then the X56 is still the cheapest in it's category if you want a decent number of buttons
@Dusty Rhodes I honestly prefer the X52 joystick, better ergonomics, but the X56 throttle is great!
Weirdly enough, the X56 would benefit from having 1 less hat in the thumb, having the mini-stick next to the 2 mini hat sticks is not that comfortable, only 1 would be good enough
To fix the ghosting you need to plug the joystick and Throttle into high-power USB ports, preferably each one into a different USB controller/hub, they are extremely power-hungry.
I've heard this, luckily my MB only has 3.0 USB ports and 1 3.1 USB port
i did this and my stick and throttle are still having
a stroke in dcs
Hello, I've a Saitek X-56, same thing. I don't know why you are having so many problems but I didn't have any of them so far. About the software I'm not using it because I don't find it good except if you want to change the led colors. If the game let me use modifiers then I use the Mode switch as modifier otherwise no, that is the only thing doesn't work properly neither I spent time to use it. My thrust lever doesn't move by itself neither the stick when twisted makes such weird sound. About to apply lubricant I think is acceptable but after long time which is normal in all mechanical parts of every kind of product, for sure shouldn't come out already with such problem.
I just got the x56 for Xmas. All is good with the stock but the throttle keeps doing random commands. Ended up blowing up my ship twice in ED. It decided to boost me while I was going through the letter box and second time it turned off my shields and wouldn't let me turn them back on. I've had random galaxy map opening loads of times as well as trying to FSD jump randomly.
I should say I've set up a return and have ordered the warthog.
@@Forgetthehorrorhere1 that's ghost button presses because they didn't even bother to fix the inside electronics. My VIRPIL which uses way more power has 0 ghosting.
I've had similar issues when I used the X55 for a while. Also, it seems to have been designed for someone with giant hands and excessively long fingers and thumbs. From what I can gather the same issue applies to the X56.
Nice video and I sympathise. I owned an X36, then an X52. Gave the X52 to my son and bought myself an X56. It's been really disappointing. Throttle friction knob is broken. Put in a replacement request to Logitech in late March and I'm still awaiting the replacement unit - they keep having stock issues. Not good. In the meantime I've tried to make do with it but I get ghosting all the time on the switches.
I've got it on a separate powered hub too - a good TP-Link 7 port powered USB3 hub. I then tried an Orico 7 port PCI-E USB3 powered card - same ghosting issue. Really annoying when you're flying an F-14 and the gear keeps popping down, flaps go down and the wing sweep activates automatically. Or you're on a bombing run in the F/A-18 and the gear comes down. Anyway I wish I never got rid of the old X36. If Logitech had replaced my unit quickly I'd be happy but it's been about 2 to 3 months for me so far - very frustrating. ETA for my replacement is late July.
I'm considering opening mine up as I can solder and have a bunch of ferrite rings to try out as I have heard that the ghosting issue with the switches is caused by some sort of electrical interference which ferrite rings may help remedy... we'll see. I agree though, you shouldn't have to do that.
Thanks for the review. I was going to buy one. Now, I’ll look elsewhere.
i have one of these and i dont have any of these issues
surprisingly, the X52 has less issues or none at all, haha, and the stick seems to fit better in Elite Dangerous, you lose ergonomics with the X56, plus, the lower price tag fitting for the product you get
I prefer the cool feeling touch of the *Fire* button spring-loaded latch over the extra POV hat
Only thing that is worth it is the throttle part of the X56, never disappoints, and at least I never seen or had the moving-by-itself issue, I´m gonna guess it´s partly user handling and partly how the stiffness is setup with the dial on the side
probably the throttle is too lose on the dial, combined with a long session, weight makes it move like that on it´s own then
you can probably get a virpil or other brands more fitting, but the difficult part is both having them on stock and it actually being available to get sent to your country, that´s why people are still getting both the X52 and X56
Thanks for the video, I'm looking to upgrade my setup and this HOTAS was among the candidates. As I see, it seems this unit has quite some problems. So I'd better look for something else.
Nice review! Only thing missing is to say what model you moved onto.
Virpil Mongoost Throttle and Virpil warbrd base with constellation alpha! 😃
I can look past the squeaky but the friction joint on the throttle not being able to hold its own weight is a major issue. Throw in the key binding issue, I'm probably getting something else.
Thanks Jell-o
I received mine around 4 months ago and so far it does what it is supposed to do. I love it.
Warning to potential buyers: I bought the x56 (against all recommendations) because I thought these issues would have been solved by now. Unfortunately I was wrong and I'm exeriencing all of the issues included in this video plus a few more:
* Squeaky twist.
* Yaw left NEVER reaches full yaw and it can be physically felt. Yaw right is fine.
* Throttle physically moving to 100% on it's own.
* Ghosting in full-powered ports.
I was willing to overlook a few key issues but the missing twist range and physical throttle movement are more than enough to turn me off this product. I have returned mine and I highly suggest any potential buyers avoid this particular HOTAS. Get something like the Gladiator MKII + T16 throttle combo for around the same price. Hell, even an x52 would probably be better.
My only issue currently is the squeaky rudder or "twist" for the right side. When did you experience these issues since I'm quite worried about experiencing it myself, I've owned this for like 2 years now.
I won this product. For the yaw, you have to calibrate it in the software.
I must have been lucky because mine doesn't have the issues mentioned. But I have 3 different ones:
- Throttle too stiff, even on lower tension settings.
- Yaw is too stiff. Hard to do combined maneuvers. Cannot play with hat switches while YAWing because need a full grip to YAW.
- Yaw calibrating is offset on the right. Cannot go full left. Could easily be fixed with software calibration, but somehow, there is no axis calibration for the X56 and neither in the app. or am I missing something?
Thats why I still have my X52pro... it has its issues too -, but it didnt cost 270 €. Logitech claimed to solved the Saitek problems on the X56 but its not the case as it seems, sad that they have an insufficient quality control.
Shouldn't be the case for a product that costs 270 but also should be the case for the x52 pro since it costs 160+
X52 Pro has a shitty mini-din cable which was an issue for me. It loses reliability over time. Way too easy to cause a connectivity issue. I've had the same problem with two X52 Pros.
In your game controllers properties for the stick did your x y and z axises constantly move? Mine never stayed still.
They were all over the place
I will stick to my X52 Pro for now .. I did consider “Upgrading” to the X56 V2 but the shear amount of negative reviews/feedbacks on the X56 are insane!!
Well, im a honest user and this setup os amazing ! None of this issues here. ua-cam.com/video/1mzWgLgw2lg/v-deo.html
I am thinking of buying an X52 Pro. I was going to save up to buy the X56 but all negative reviews have put me off. I am interested in x-Plane and I am hoping that the X52 Pro will prove reliable. My current setup is the Logitech 3D Pro which has worked well.
basically....if you want a HOTAS....you can either get a cheap one and feel the cheapness, or you have no choice but go to $500 for a Thrustmaster Warthog with Pedals. as you MUST have yaw for space flight.
I disagree. You can go for virpil for around the same price tag and get an even better stick than the warthog
but yeah there is no good mid range hotas right now
@@Langlache Virpil for around the same??? Is there a particular model? I went to their website and it looked around $100-$200 more than the Warthog, I'd consider a warthog but thats the max price, do you recommend any in USD that can be at $500 for HOTAS and Pedals?
honestly comes down to preference.
A lot of people talk about how pitch, yaw and roll are important. but when I'm in combat I rarely use that much roll, so little that I have it set to be extremely sensitive so I can flick into position. A simple thumbstick or even buttons can be used in my case, and a lot of others play the same.
A better way around midrange risks is to just get 2 midrange joysticks and play twin-stick. It's around the same price as a full HOTAS but you get more than enough axis and buttons for all your controls. Playstyle is slightly different but just as viable.
Damn near bought this to 'upgrade' from my X52. saw this and other reviews, splurged a bit and i have a Winwing Orion 2 Hotas setup on the way, all up including shipping for LESS than the cost of a Thrustmaster Warthog, and it should be here Monday
I read all the bad reviews and still got it. I made a huge mistake because the ghosting is really bad and throttle drift when I’m dogfighting in DCS. It’s unusable
Found another video that said set the lighting to red11 rest 0 and that seemed to fix the ghost buttons but then the 0.0002$ China made yaw return spring broke. Bought another used stick and it has a won’t yaw to the left problem. Pretty junk.
I think you might have gotten a bad unit. I got my X56 about a year ago and never had any of the problems you mentioned. But I can only imagine how frustrating this must be. Logitech definitely needs to look into their quality control, I've heard of other people having similar problems, and the solution shouldn't be that the customer has to open up the stick and lube things up or resolder any wires.
That being said, my X56 works pretty flawless. The stick has some wobble around the mid position and some buttons aren't great. But then again, it's way cheaper than a TM Warthog or like a VKB or Virpil stick. Hope you got yours returned / fixed.
Second this. How many units are shipped? A percentage is going to be defective, and these few poor souls will try to persuade the masses.
Yeah, I've had my X56 for months and I love it. No problems whatsoever it has worked perfectly for me. Couldn't be happier with mine.
I had the throttle issue to and my friend has the exact same issue. I returned it and bought a Warthog for only a few bucks more. Best decision ever.
No problems here. Amazing product. ua-cam.com/video/1mzWgLgw2lg/v-deo.html
where did you get your warthog from? here in amazon.ca the warthog costs over CAD$1100 while the x56 around $300, that's not a few bucks
@@nelsonh.9651 when i bought it the warthog was 340€ and the x-56 260€. thats 80 bucks for a product thats 10 times better.
If you are looking for an alternative, the VKB Gladiator NXT (canadian company) is the best bang for your buck and tons better than an x-56.
Combine it with a TWCS throttle or wait a bit, VKB will bring to market their own throttle soon.
@@CyberPrussian lol ended up i straight up cancelled my order of X56 after you recommended the gladiator ones, kinda pity that they don't have a throttle yet
@@nelsonh.9651 Hehe wow, glad I could help. You certainly won't regret it, the Gladiator is the superior product by far :-)
I think that right now the best configuration for a 250 dollars hotas configuration is to take a VKB NXT Evo plus a throttle of your choice between the thrustmaster one or if you want to spend a little bit more buy the warthog throttle separately
What fantasy world are you living in that you can get a VKB NXT and a throttle for $250?
Hey grate video I just buy my self one for Christmas and my pitch and Y-axses is not working I can’t pull nose of ship up or down and will return product soon and save money for Vriple and hope haven nice game enjoyment....
I was considering this one. The Thrustmaster 16000M HOTAS is the same damn way and I have had 2 of them. Started with moving without input on the stick and the second one the rudder is "stuck" in the starboard position. Why do we have to pay so damn much for quality these days? We should start a class action against these companies to try and up their game. I guess I will just wait on VKB Gunfighter II to go on sale and their TECS throttle system to finish development...Thanks for the heads up!
Got the virpil Delta along with the throttle and i am beyond happy. Paid the price though.
Mine will arrive tommorow, so will see if it has the same issues, tho the squeaking isnt really a problem for me since i wear noise cancelling headphones but the ghosting and throttle moving yeah thats gonna be a problem if it happens.
Hope you get a solid unit mate
I totally agree. For the money I also expect a better product. I had a $89 Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and it lasted 10+ years. While I didn't have the out-of-the-box failures you report, I'm getting multiple button failures after about 2 years. A new problem that showed up recently is that all of the buttons on the stick fail intermitantly at the same time. It's getting to be unusable.
That is simply unacceptable, for a product of that price range. Thanks for the great and helpful video.
Mid range - mid quality
Brilliant review thanks! You speak great Ingrish!
this is either subtle racism or a very bad misspelled compliment
isnt there a friction adjustment on the bottom to fix that throttle drift?
If you watch the video I mention that this is not related to the friction adjustment. Both stiff and loose options produce the same issue.
I guess they have left with a lot of spares from Mad Catz / Saitek product line they have to use
They're gonna get them back then :)
I'm here because I'm taking a second look at this controller after initially dismissing it from reading all the bad reviews. You probably should have also, but thanks for presenting a convincing reason not to buy one. The problem is there seems to be no middle ground in the range of controllers available. You either have cheap at a cheap price, cheap at an expensive price, and the premium sticks that not everyone can justify spending 4-600 bucks on for a hobby.
I have kind of narrowed my choices to the Thrustmaster T160000 FCS, or the VKB gladiator stand alone. the FCS for 120 bucks, I can forgive some issues. But both have Hall sensor technology. I'm tired of replacing sticks because of crappy pots.
I am looking to upgrade my thrustmaster t16000 hotas mainly because i dropped my joystick and now i have to program a dead zone on the twist but its mot that bad. I’ll probably just get another thrustmaster and have dual stick and throttle setup. But i might go to the x52. But yo are right there is no mid tier hotas. I dont care about the split throttle it seems gimmicky for serious increase in price. Just give me that front paddle like the thrustmaster throttle and all is good.
It's almost like flight sims are a super niche hobby and most controller manufacturers can't justify investing tons of money in a high quality, relatively affordable controller that will only work with a handful of games and is only really useful for the tiniest of fractions of the overall gamer community. This whole video is just the dude complaining about a couple issues that, at most, require a bit of user maintenance and/or setup before use, but instead of actually putting any effort into solving his issues himself, he'd rather throw a fit and return the product multiple times expecting to randomly get one that won't require additional setup beyond taking it out of the box and plugging it in.
- Squeaking rudder adjustment and sticky buttons are a symptom of the fittings being both brand new and really tight. Pretty much every flight stick on the market above a certain price point requires the user to "break in" the gear through repeated, regular play, or, as the OP mentioned in the video himself, simply applying lube to the stiff parts (which isn't remotely uncommon for high end hobbies with expensive, moving parts; go try to get into airsoft and you'll find you HAVE to open your gun to clean and lube it before first use or you run the risk of breaking it and being out $300).
- Throttle drift is quite literally solved by adjusting that big dial/nob next to it. Every review/troubleshooting video or post I've seen about this issue with this setup was the result of the throttle's retention screw not being properly tightened (trying to keep it loose enough that you feel no resistance, but at that point the throttle is too heavy to not droop)
- Ghost inputs are, generally, caused by trying to use both devices off the same USB controller (like plugging both into the front USB ports on your PC). This is an issue because USB controllers can only supply a given amount of power to the multiple ports connected to said controller, but high end HOTAS setups with dozens of buttons and LEDs are very, very resource and power hungry - so much so that the stick or throttle alone can max out a USB controller's resources despite only using 1 of the 4 ports available.
Of course the video ends with OP angrily ranting that, because they paid $200+ on the controller, they shouldn't have to do anything other than plug it in for it to work perfectly but that's pretty unrealistic and speaks for their lack of experience with niche hobbies on PC - almost nothing ever works perfectly on PC right out of the box except keyboards and computer mice... The more expensive equipment you add to your setup, the more you have to, well, set it all up properly and maintain it. Could you imagine such a video being made about someone being upset that they bought a VR headset but don't want to have to adjust the straps or screen placement, don't want to have to configure the software on their computers, and don't want to have to remove the plastic film off the screens before use but feel the need to complain about how their headset isn't working properly when all they did was plug it in right out of the box.
@@Madara8989 well there is no free lunch then you pay your money and should take your chance. I ended up buying a vjb 100 dollar stick. It lasted 3 months, the sticky grease they put in to give a "natural feel" hardened up and made it impossible to use, I tried to remove it but it was so sticky and hard nothing would clean it including carburator cleaner. In addition the rudder axis failed and upon aplying rudder the control surface returns to zero on its own. I ended up trashing it
@@DEeMONsworld Idk about VJB (I'm not familiar with them, or the VKB controls that Google thinks you're talking about) or the quality of the grease they use, but most other hobbies where grease or lube is vital to the continued proper functioning of your item, you're supposed to periodically clean and re-apply lube the moving parts. Those aren't the kind of things you're meant to just do once and be done with it. All lube gets dirty and dries out over time. That's just basic mechanics and maintenance 101. Idk what would cause the rudders to fail, but given they VKB's also seem to be on the cheap side, I wouldn't be surprised if it was shotty quality.
$100 is also mid-tier at best for a flight stick; most high quality sticks are sitting closer to $300-600 range. Much like every other industry, you get what you pay for; buy cheap, get cheap quality. There's a reason these kinds of hobbies are called "luxaries."
Apart from those horrible issues, the stick is also incredibly un-ergonomic. It was designed from a product designer with a lot of LEDs in mind, but no idea of human anatomy
the lubrication is actually a reasonable thing for people to say, its not an idiotic thing to suggest, hence the squeaky rubber in the yaw of the stick, if you simply were to lubricate it with something like a lithium grease, it would be as quiet as a mouse
I don't have to source and buy lithium grease to have an expensive product working as intended.
I also made the same experience. Right after unboxing my X56 it had some issues with the self increasing throttle but furthermore some other problems, some buttons activated themselves only by moving the throttle. the x axis of the joystick had not the full range of movement. i hope the support of logitech will be responsive soon
About the problem with the throttle physically moving forward past a certain point: seems like you need to tighten that friction knob a bit, unless the friction knob is the actual problem
The video was shot with the knob tightened all the way
@@Langlache ah ok my bad. That sucks man, I was just about to buy an X-56. Probably gonna order a Warthog instead.
@@arandomuser6665 Maybe take a look at Virpil stuff? I am beyond happy now :)
@@Langlache those look amazing but unfortunely they're out of stock with a 3 month estimated wait.... I'm too impatient so I ordered a Warthog. I have high hopes!
@@arandomuser6665 I got mine 2 weeks after i placed the order. Then again I live in Europe so i don't know!Maybe you confuse them with VKB? Cause Virpil almost always has stock
Just bought this. Will have to see if I have these issues or not
Did it have? I am thinking of buying one but if these problems are regular, i'll search for a different one
The only good part of this is the throttle, I wish you could buy it separately. But even the throttle isn't good for the price
Can you post a timelapse on how long it takes the throttle to drift to max
Stick was returned long ago and got the Virpil Hotas system 😄
omg wow, thanks, bud, for the review! Unacceptable awkward device! I almost bought this one but decided to buy Warthog (no regrets at all) and now really reliefed. Sorry for you ._.
It's going straight back to them
@@Langlache that's good to hear :)
Thanks for sharing ! Nice and detail video!
Thanks for that video. Was about to "upgrade" to this model from a perfectly fine and working X52... Oh, and yes, the software is far from perfect. I prefer using an older version because it has fewer problems.
Don't mind these cry babies, a good product is one that lets you customize it to fit your needs. The squeak is a 10 second fix and the throttle issue they complain about is comical. Adjust it to not sag and done. These are the morons that don't understand how things work and would rather pay for others to do things for them in life. Like paying someone to install a window A/C unit. Everyone can do it but these sissy men would rather pay a real man to do something so simple.
@@speedyfpv7104 no you idiot they pay 250+€ no need to fix smth on your own
@@speedyfpv7104 “a good product” is not one you pay €250+ for and still have to fix right out the box 😂 no matter if they’re “10 second fixes” or not. It’s just simply unheard of. This uploader is helping a lot of people.
@@levi5930 so go buy a more expensive one! Everyone crying about spending 250....lol imagine your broke asses had any other hobby. Do yourself a favor and take up playing classic board games. imagine you guys tried a real hobby jeez. Go build a race car and see the prices of parts. Get into any hobby and you will always find you gotta pay to play and then spend time tuning . Sissies think everything should just drop in their laps perfectly. Good luck ever being good at anything without putting in a little work.
Oh wow, this is utterly shameful. The self-increasing throttle is ridiculous!!
Yup.
Are you using a hub or are you plugged into the mobo? The throttle needs more power than a standard usb 3.0 hub can supply, and this leads to ghosting. Either get a powered hub or plug directly into the mobo. Logitech really should have made these self powered like the g27 wheel
VKB Gladiator NXT. My first joystick not made by a big brand and will never go back to logitech and thrustmaster. Ive got yokes and other joysticks and best quality came from my NXT pro. Paid about 185 for joystick only including shipping and tax.
I got mine yesterday and it don't make any squeaky sounds at all... so not sure where he got his from...
Amazon UK
Just because you got lucky, it does not mean that this whole series is not flawed to the core.
I fell for it... Bought the thing, unboxed it and during my first test flight I was already having ghosting from 3 separate buttons as well as experiencing the rest of the problems described in the video. Fortunately I've ordered it through amazon too so refund is on the way.
Ghosting is more an USBport-issue than an x56-issue.
@@Sjoannie I've actually went ahead and purchased a dedicated USB PCI card and attempted the x56 again. It works perfectly now.
@@MartonMeszaros Can you post a link to the card you purchased? I would like to try that solution if a replacement doesn't work out.
@@DawnTreaderPlaysEDO Here you go www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B6ZCNGM/
@@Sjoannie no its not there are people with 500USD motherboards from msi , asus , Gigabyte experiencing Ghosting constantly so no ,its not an USB issue and even if so its Logitech fault as USB is standardized and well known how much power it can provide per port and version .
i just bought this setup last week.....i dont have any of these defects
Lucky you
@@Langlache sounds like it
i honestly think that the reason there are so many complaints is because is more of a known product. more people buy them because its a very well known brand. so more sold, equals more complaints and defects.
yea I haven't had any of those issues at all
why didn't you lubricate it?
I have this attached to my Surface Dock 2 which is connected to my Surface Book 2.
I can say it ain't the best stick, but for its budget sadly the best I can get for 6DOF with a throttle.
I also don't feel ghosting, probably because all my USB ports are powered.
And before you rant on me.
Normal USB ports are powered up to 0.5 amps at 5 volts.
Some systems/motherboards have them to 2 amps at 5 volts.
For some devices this makes a huge change.
And the software, well, I only use it for RGB, Star Citizen supports the stick right out of the gate.
Why would i rant on you? What you say is perfectly normal.
But the fact that a powered usb fixes the issue though does not mean that you have to do that in the first place. I have experienced 0 ghosting issues with other sticks, from t-flight to virpil. It's a shame because it's a beaitiful hotas but plagued by the arrogance of Logitech's leadership on the hotas deparment.
No issues with mine at all, it works great and I've had it for a few years using it pretty much every day for a few hours at a time.
There must be good and bad ones, luck of the draw I guess..... but it shouldn't be for the price.
BTW, I did load mine up with Vaseline from when I got it new, before I even used it.
Cheers
Yeah, for that price we shouldn't play the lottery and wish to get one from a good batch.. Hope it serves you well! pitty cause I really liked it haha
I couldn't find any bad reviews before I pulled the trigger. Nothing like trying to scud run to the target at tree top level in Il-2 BOS and having all of the aircraft lights turn on right before the rocket pods jettison from the aircraft with my rockets still in them. Unfortunately, that's only the start. Next the canopy opens on its own and flies off the aircraft, then the undercarriage deploys. I have been in dogfights in multiplayer and had the gear drop on me and I get my @ss shot off. Tried switching the USB hubs and turning off the LED's, Im not the guy that's gonna open this thing up with a soldering iron to fix it. Saitek and Logitech have been useless. Wish I bought the Warthog first.
Bruh, that ghosting drives me fucking crazy!!!
as a DCS F-14B Tomcat driver I feel your pain but you made me laugh as I visual it all, I could clearly see it how good you described the situations :D jeeezz! hahah!! anyway Thanks for that .
You got a lemon bud...mine doesn't have a single problem...have had it for a year.
The problems were persistent in 2 different units as i describe in the video. Maybe you were the one who got a lemon (a good one in this case!) Lucky for you! :P
Same here, I have mine over a year and none of the hardware problems mentioned in the video, no ghosting, no noise etc. And mine is out of box. So either I am lucky or you are unlucky
Just bought this one on BRAZIL, after installing and using the first time. Same happen to me! Ah ouch, the Z axis of stick have a problem too, i have to make a HARD reset calibration to fix it. Z axis was not going totally to the left (rudder), only for the right.
I`m sending it back to the reseller and getting my money back!
And yes, the same problem with the throttle quadrant as you.
mine doesnt squeak like that which is wierd
My X52 (not pro) has always made the squeak sound, doesn't really bother me anymore. Also I may cancel my order for this product.
I gathered some more money and went straight to Virpil, couldn't be happier
@@Langlache Those look very nice, thanks, too bad I live for far away in Canada
that has got to be the worst squeeking sound..lol that would drive me nuts, I am glad I settled for a 16000m until I figure out if I want to invest in something like a warthog
Had zero issues bought refurbished from Amazon dead silent works flawless bad luck maybe? Or a rare shot of good for me.
Just go for the cheap Thrustmaster HOTAS One, it only cost $109
It has reportedly worse issues than this one, especially in terms of the throttle moving on its own (it’s very cheap and loose). Same goes for the T16000M and it’s Z-twist axis breaking within months of use. Those were my original options but I had to look elsewhere after reading reviews on Thrustmaster products.
Is every x56 has the same problems? VKB Joysticks are so expensive for me so I'm nott able to buy it. I just checked the Logitech G Saitek X52 Pro. Should I buy that or what do I need to prefer for Flying Simulator actually?
I would suggest the Tflight hotas x or the Thrustmaster T1600m FCS
@@Langlache thanks for answer I'll check dude 🙌🏻
@ After much frustration i decided to go for Virpil. The T1600 fcs hotas is a solid piece of unit imo. I just didnt like the color. Tflight hotas x is more on the cheap side
what do you recommend this ? or the X-52 pro?
Damn, I hope that these kind of things happens on just a few units because I wanted to buy one..
Should I buy a X52/X52 pro instead ?
I just bought one yesterday off of Micro Center's website. We'll see how good or bad it is hopeful tomorrow when it gets here. Honestly they had the best price with the best and most reviews and they were really the only ones who had it in stock for a decent price.
I’ve had my x52 for nearly a year now and have absolutely zero issues. I’ll admit it’s not the most precise flight out there, it works perfectly fine in sims like x plane and war thunder. Overall I think you’d be much better off getting the x52 over the x56.
i would say avoid any any Saitek based systems. Had an X55 myself. And they are all trash imo. If you need a good quality midrange HOTAS the Thrustmaster T.16000M is a great value. Only drawback is that the grip has less buttons. But the throttle itself is really good and packs a lot of buttons to compensate. And the stick is incredibly accurate and smooth for that price range. And no creaking or squaking.
Otherwise the only other good system for space sim after that is the very expensive Virpil sticks like the recently released Constellation Alpha. The Thrustmaster Warthog is also a good choice, and you can match it with the T.16000M throttle which can be bought separate. As i think the Warthog throttle is overkill for space sims. My main issue with the Warthog is that it lacks twist axis.. Otherwise it's an incredibly smooth and accurate joystick.
I just sent my X56 controller back yesterday. So much ghosting and disconnecting that I couldn't stand it, even with it plugged into a powered hub. Though I feel like I gave up too soon on it but things have come up where I need the money back I spent on it.
@@ParasiteXX You can change the function bindings on the Warthog stick to get around the lack of a twist can't you?
Self-moving throttle: did you try to increase the friction with the wheel on the left ?
Of course, video is on hard and soft setting
Anyone knows if the problems have been dealt with as of 2020?
For what I saw it wouldn't mater even if it cost 50EU , how can you drive something like that in DCS for example ? with all this phantom moving , ghosting you can forget about autopilot ,Automatic Carrier Landing or anything else let alone precise tanking , formation flying , too bad I really like the way it looks and with all this available programmable keys dials I was very close to buy it . Your video is not the first one who pointed exact the same issues and although I'm huge Logitech fan most of my peripherals are Logitech I'm sad that they made the X56 so bad . Looks like the Throttle head with all this buttons and dials is just to heavy and seems the tensions is not good enough to hold it in place , even worse the ghosting. I actually have FR-Tec Raptor Mach 1 HOTAS ( wanted to replace for X56) witch work pretty decent I don't have any other complains except when ever it is attached to USB port (I mean any , I tired them all) my monitor wont go to sleep . Other then that it works nicely in DCS at least flying my F-14B Tomcat . Thanks for your video and concerns I'm 100% agree with you , Insult to consumers !
Yeah my thoughts exactly. Although not into hardcore flight sims, all these issues are not acceptable for a product from a company like Logitech. I purchased a Virpil Constellation Alpha and the Mongoost Throttle and I am beyond happy. The quality is out of this world.
@@Langlache wow that's a powerful system with hefty price tag and it better works :D In my case as DCS player and F-14 driver I would chose VPC V.F.X Grip as it is F-14 stick and VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle who knows maybe Ill go for it in some future , thanks !
Thats unfortunate, I wanted to buy this thing. But according to all market, this is actually one of the lowest price for such devices.
Can you name direct competitors in terms of price? I really don't want to spend thousand dollars on HOTAS...
The x52 is solid afaik. The x56 is plagued with problems. Either that or go thrustmaster
The part where you talk about the reviews online is so hilarious because I’ve experienced that myself so many times with computer parts and I’ve concluded those people attacking others for expressing their dissatisfaction are literally just paid actors. Thanks for writing this review so that I can find it I recently bought this trash product and I’ve spent the past week trying to configure it and it’s just not a good product. They don’t even have windows 11 support in 2023, Blows my mind how anyone could defend this company. Waste of money.
What I concluded is that the amount of people that are willing to lie to themselves instead of getting angry against a company, even if it's their favorite, is too high. They create a delusion, and act upon it. It's a defective product and it still exists because of people like these.
@@Langlache Absolutely, Spot On 🎯
Meanwhile I've seen the exact opposite, people like you insanely ranting while people positive about it are just "It works, I like it."
Bought one and sold it for the same price on eBay a month later after annoyance… ikwym
daaamn and I almost bought this model for ED
I bought this for ED and absolutely love it. had it for 3 months now, no issues to complain about. Yes depending on the position of the throttle and if they're locked into 1, it will travel on its own, but not much.
As I told you, very good that you pointed the issues that occurred with your units. Legitimate complaints.
I do agree that after Logitech purchased the Saitek side of Mad Catz, they should also really update the product - and seems they didn't.
I disagree with what you heard about Logitech support being "non existent". On the contrary. Logitech properly fulfills warranty issues.
Just to point out. I have had four Saitek products:
X45 - Worked ok for the casual use I had for it. Lasted for years. Nothing happened to it, but I actually threw it away when I got my next HOTAS (below) and saw the VAST (like day and night) difference in precision.
X55 - Worked mechanically fine until it "end". After years of use, the LEDs on the stick started flickering when moved. Cosmetic issue if you ask me, especially since you don't look at your stick when actually playing. Nevertheless Logitech (back then only recently purchased Saitek from Mad Catz) did honor the warranty. Ah, also had ghosting issues (sometimes - but read about this below). I think (don't remember) I actually bought that also from Amazon but didn't contact Amazon but Logitech directly. So since X55 was off the shelves, it got replaced with...
X56 - Also no mechanical issues. Best HOTAS for Elite Dangerous by far. I would miss the extra DoF if I had to change to something with less than the vast 13 (!) analog axis X56 has. Very soon though, a button stopped working. A really secondary button (the one called "D" behind the pinky). Fewer ghosting issues than X55 but still some (again, read below). Logitech AGAIN honored the warranty, although the problem was possibly fixable very easily, they replaced the whole stick.
X56 #2 (just in different box, no Logitech logos yet) - No mechanical issues. Has a tiny bit larger "dead zones", nothing major. Again very few ghosting issues, UNTIL I discovered I really need a good powered USB hub. Then ghosting issues disappeared. BEWARE, proper USB power supply is critical (also critical for some large USB 3.0 disks that supposedly work with a single USB plug but actually cannot sometimes). Crappy no-name powered hubs, will not help. Even good brand motherboards sometimes fail to deliver proper amperage. Anyway, back to X56. The "better" hub also eliminated an issue I had with X56 #2. Sometimes I had to "factory reset" the sticks to reset the axis! I learned to do it with closed eyes and it happened, only when I unplugged them - also sometimes the whole computer would freeze all its USB ports when unplugging X56. Well it all was the hub's fault. Well... that X56 killed THE SAME BUTTON as the first! This time I didn't bother to call Logitech, it clearly was not the button's problem, but probably some cable. I opened it up (I understand this is not OK for most people) and indeed, Saitek/Mad Catz/Logitech chose a stupid path for that button's cabling, that stressed it and killed it. 5 minutes later I fixed it. X56 working properly since then. No weird sounds, no slipping, no ghosting, no button issues.
I am not even considering another HOTAS at this time, until something new comes up that can really offer alternative to the huge collection of analog axis and buttons like X56 (and no, Warthog doesn't have enough - I actually counted them myself).
As you can see my Saitek "path" is not full of roses, yet, it is manageable and all depends on how we deal with issues.
Saitek passed through different periods, some of them being golden (people still have products that work fine after 8-9 years of daily use) and others crappy like when it was bought by Madcatz and towards their end.
About Logitech customer support, I received a response after 15 days(!). I'll send you a screenshot via discord. In the meantime i had the unit sent back, got it replaced with the second one, sent the second one back and got even a refund from Amazon!
Furthermore, having to factory reset the product, having to open it to solder the wire of the faulty button and having to buy a powered usb hub is not something you have to do when you spend 260$. You may have the patience or knowledge, I don't, and neither should any customer who spends 260$ on a product.
I wish I could buy a unit with no faults whatsoever. As i mentioned i really love the design, even though it's not the most ergnonomic grip out there, and it matches so good with the rest of my setup. But alas
You know, USB power supply is dangerously ignored by people. The other day my headset stopped working because I plugged in a wireless USB for my xbox controller all because I forgot to turn on the power to the hub...
It sucks that you had those issues. I hope you found something that you enjoy!
My x56 has been OK so far. None of your 3 issues. I'm in my inital 2 weeks though. Trying to put it through its paces before I can't take it back. Seems great so far. I think I spent about 3 hours tuning Elite bindings.
Had any issues yet?
Any issues yet ?
In the end I wasnt happy, bit the bullet and got a warthog set. I wish Logitech would put some of its awesome engineering and manufacturing ability into flight controls. They made an investment into buying the old Saitek products and have been milking them ever since. The problem is that aside from the x52 their stuff wasnt that great, was made worse by Madcatz, and has been long surpassed. I think Logitech could make great flight controls, they just chose not to.
I had stick wobble, phantom presses on the throttle, and ergonomic issues.
@@jellowiggler what did you end up doing with your x56? Try flogging it on eBay?
i was about to get one for elite but now thinking no arter your review. I have just sent my thrustmaster T.16000 back as it had problems. so what joystick set up should i go for any recommendations?
I got fed up and bought from Virpil. Their stuff are beyond good quality. If you are willing to spend that many go for them. If not, then go for the T.16000
@@Langlache hi i sent my t.16000 back as it started to glitch in the twist motion
@@ianstrudwick6640 it's the best of the low end options imo
If it is so outrageously bad and thus has to be an industry outlier, then why is there no other better options at this price range? I am not defending them, but at the same time you also have to accept the fact that they don't need to do shit until they even have a decent competitor in the same price range.
damn! I was about to buy this thing.
Which one did you buy finally ? I'm planning to buy one and confused between a used Saitek x56 and the t16000m
@@sanjaydamodaran3219 the saitek one is getting bad reports and the t16000m has yaw axis problems and ghosting, no hotas is good nowadays
It if weren't for the problems, this would the greatest hotas for its price
My throttle works ok when the two are secured together, but the right hand moves by itself when unclipped. Fooking annoying :(
return it for a replacement/refund
@@Langlache Such a shame as I love the actual design. all the buttons are located well for IL2 in VR. Unsure of any other joystick at this price point with a similar number of buttons - other than VIRPIL (££££).
I returned the stick waited for a couple of months, and got the virpil throttle and stick. It's worth it imo if you want to wait and gather some money
@@Langlache their mongoos t50 CM throttle looks amazing. But over €300!
@@Langlache went virpil. No regrets.
BRUHHH, increase the resistance of your throttle a little and itll solve that problem
I mentioned in the video that it happened no matter the different resistance that I set. It was a defect since it did not happen in the other units
There's no high quality HOTAS for people with small hands. It makes it so difficult for us girl gamers with tiny hands. I really wish they'd start making adjustable HOTAS systems.
The X52 pro joystick can be adjusted for small/big hands as you choose. The real problem honestly is more options for left handed users 😅 I’ve had to train my right hand to use a joystick
These seem largely the same problems I was reading about in 2015 but for the X-55 and other high end hotas when I was hunting for a new stick after my trusty Saitek ST-200 went definetively kaputt.
Both Saitek and Thrustmaster high end models seemed to be requiring new lubrication, often out of the box, which for those prices is bullshit.
I ended up getting a CH Products set, they might be less fancy for a similar price (especially here in the EU, back in the day the price was still good enough now they are unfortunately expensive to the point they make Virpil and VKB seem like a steal) but they use solid lube-less designs and the software is excellent especially for someone like me that loves to indulge in old-ass DOS spacesims that often don't support more than two or four buttons without a dedicated profile.
I sometimes think to upgrade to a Virpil set but it's been five years and my CH Products set works like new even after playing literally every space sim that came to my mind plus 600+hours of Elite: Dangerous.
The analog ministicks galore the X-56 has was a response to the CH Products Pro Throttle that sold out incredibly fast when Elite: Dangerous came out because back then is was the only one with a real analog ministick instead of a "mouse nipple" which made it ideal for docking procedures and 6DOF movement in general.
@Alex Fromin Since then windows 10 killed the advanced drivers and calibration utility for Ch Products (it randomly stopped working ad after an update it caused BSODs on startup, I tried all possible fixes but I had to use a utility to completely uninstall the software and drivers to be able to use them plug&play without issues). The stick is still useable but not to its full potential. The throttle is OK because the windows calibration utility seems to deal better with throttle sliders and the ministick wasn' super precise in the first place but the stick needs quite a deadzone to work properly and calibrating it in windows it's a bit of a pain. I'm in the process of replacing the Combatstick with a VKB Gladiator NXT premium, at least that one is self-calibrating and does the input-filtering in-hardware (also more buttons never hurt).
I have no experience with helicopter sims but I had videos of people trying the VKB Gladiator NXT and other sticks from VKB and Virpil with helicopter sims in my yt recs. Be warned though: they quality hardware and the price is very much in proportion.
Glass houses. I've seen way more angry rants bashing this stick than defending it, and they're just as unhinged
same problems with x56
I've had a Saitek X-55 for several years and aside from a stiff throttle, I loved it. And I've been checking on all of the X-56 videos up here to get a feel for the new product that I'm preparing to buy. It''s funny that you're the only one up here so far with these problems. One question, though. There are no motors on these throttles, and as I just stated, most of them are overly stiff. So I'd really like to know how your throttles mysteriously moved all by themselves. Unless you took out the throttle tension adjust and slanted the unit at a severe angle, those levers aren't going anywhere.
As such, I am just a little suspect about this review.
Usually when you have a perfectly working product, you dont wouldnt want to spend your time making 8 min youtube videos about made up issues.
Whether you are right or not ... a product should be suitable for purpose , the noise would annoy the hell out of me , especially if I paid that much for it .., right to rant...
Thank you
Great, informative video. Thanks!!....
Thank You So Much, i think I go with x52 pro
I don't own this, but if this is anything like the Saitek predecessors, it's complete crap. My x55 pro has all the exact same problems. Never again.
Thanks for the honest review.
Currently thinking about VKB.
It's unacceptable for such a priced product to be plagued by the same old problems. They know they exist, they do nothing to fix them. This could have been one of the best mid range hotas but no
you saved me a lot of money
I've noticed similar problems with all commercial sticks to be honest. Logitech and my t16000m sticks are less than stellar. That's why I've ordered virpil. Hopefully much better.
I was thoroughly disappointed in my t16000m dual sticks after people said they're great in that price range.
A little baby powder on the rubber boot will fix that problem.
I know this video is old but to this day Logitech has done nothing to improve all of the issues with the X56. I owned both an X55 and X56 and returned them both multiple times for some of the exact same problems you had. All Logitech has ever done with this HOTAS is rebrand and repaint it. It's a Saitek product owned by Logitech nothing more. All of Logitech's boasting about fixing the issues are complete BS marketing. They just want your money.
I understand some people have issues, and that some of them are pretty unacceptable.
That being said, mine has worked near flawlessly, I spent at least 6 hours researching this product before purchasing, reading about all the problems. Most of them I've seen have come down to users being lazy (like over-tightening and breaking the throttle), forcing things to act in a way they were never designed to or blaming their lack of control for breaking parts.
Defects happen a lot, big and small, especially in more expensive products (more complication + less production almost always leads to this) but I've never had anywhere I've even thought of getting a replacement. I can't replicate any of your issues, maybe it's just luck.
My dials don't go up to 100% unless I put a small bit of pressure into the side of them. Hardly noticeable after getting used to it, no risk of damage since its barely any pressure at all.
The stick did squeak for a while but eventually stopped, this sort of thing can happen on any product at any price range, oil/grease or trimming parts doesn't always fix this. I've had pedals that squeak after 2 years of use only to stop 3 months later, and a headset mic that always squeaked when moved until one day it just stopped. I ripped apart those pedals every other day for the first month and could never fix them.
It's not about whether the money is worth the potential issues, it's about whether the store will allow replacements and/or refunds, and that you are willing to work problems.
There are better options but they can have worse problems or worse customer service, there can be cheaper options that break all the time or don't give the same experience. And believe me, the experience is 100% worth it.
And as a side point, I don't think 200-300 is a high price tag anymore. Gaming has become a very expensive hobby, especially since most new technologies are so expensive and games are becoming harder or lazier with optimization requiring more expensive hardware to run. If a basic keyboard or mouse can easily cost 100-150, 200 isn't that much of an increase. I know a lot of people won't agree with this, it's just how I feel given the pricing of recent hardware.
You're being completely ridiculous if you think $250 is perfectly reasonable and not that expensive. Especially if you think companies charging premium prices for sub par products should be acceptable or expected. Poor quality control shouldn't be normalized and people shouldn't be so accepting of sub par products becoming the standard either.
I've just started to get into the flight sim scene and have never seen a group of people so willing and determined to bend over and get reemed by companies and pay a premium for it as well.
The basic design of the X55 is very old now an needs to be updated. I saw recently that its price has increased by from $350 when I bought mine to $450 in Australia. For that much money its way over priced. I never had any ghosting but the throttle friction problem where its either too stiff to move easily or falls under its own weight can't be solved because its inherent to the design that uses a very viscous gel between two plates that slide past each other. Wiping a small amount of gel from the bottom of the friction plates and then winding them closer together improves it mildly but its still there. I gave up and went Virpil for way more money but the device needs a redesign full stop. It uses high quality switches and works well for what it does but some simple changes to a normal friction system and better software would make it the best Hotas for the money. Logitech has no excuse not to this with their resources.
I didn't catch that, how much did you pay for it?
All kidding aside, I've seen many videos complaining about the problems you point out, from what I've seen on the internet and read the ghosting issues are power related(power hungry), everyone has pointed out that plugging the stick into 3.0 USB ports fixes the ghosting issue, luckily all mine are 3.0 and 3.1 USB ports, but I will soon find out if that's true because mine just arrived a couple of days ago, I haven't even put it together, TBH I did buy a 3 year protection plan because of the problems I've heard, trying to cover all my bases.
But I'll tell you why I went with the X56, I'm not a hard-core flight Sim player, this is my first dive into flight Sim so I couldn't see myself forking out the money for the Virpil HOTAS setup, they are probably the best out there.
Edit: This video is 2 years old so maybe the QC has gotten better.
Did you turn up the throttle friction control?
Yes, from loose to borderline immovable, the throttle kept moving by itself
@@Langlache 1 thing I learnt from many hours of research is to be very gentle with the friction wheel. It shouldn't become hard to move or you have tightened it (or loosened it) way too much to the point of potential damage. Though I'm guessing the sliding issues was there before playing with the wheel.
i wish i've known this sooner.
Nice rant, I just got mine in a week ago and NO, I don't get any ghosting issues even though I am plugged into MOBO (mine is more than 350 euro tho), NO I did not have any squeaking on Yaw axis, smooth and quiet right out of the box, NO my throttle did not accelerate by itself and NO, I did not have to soldier anything... just plugged it in and works just fine :) not defending the issues because they are not there... BUT 270 euros is still mid range so why You expect golden kit??? Thrustmaster warthog RRP is about £450... just ordered virpil stick that cost me £400 for the stick and base only... VKBs same range, that's where You can expect quality... 270 is peanuts so expect peanuts
Just making a point here that yes 270 is a lot of money in some respect, but when You look at WHAT you are buying for the money you have to weigh it accordingly... You don't go buying a car with 2000 euro and expect to buy a freaking top quality mercedes do You? even though 2000 euro is a lot of money
Yes, but how much did you pay for it? 😀. Fantastic review. Looking to get a HOTAS. Do you have a recommendation?
I went ahead and bought a virpil stick. Was so pleased and had my mind at ease since there are no problems whatsoever
@@Langlache After seeing your review I bought a Thrustmaster Warthog stick. If it is not good then I will return and look at purchasing the virpil one. Thanks for the excellent video and response. I hope you and yours remain well in these difficult times.
@@pspicer777 Thank you! It's not so much of a review. I did this video solely for the purpose of warning others. It was such a tedious and frustrating experience. Thankfully i bought it from Amazon and the return process was easy at least.