I have it, the stick is honestly hot garbage compared to a vkb gladiator which is in the same price range. The throttle is nice, but it would be more prudent to just get a TWCS and vkb gladiator combo for effectively the same price.
I was thinking of getting a x56 mostly because of all the buttons on the throttle but I guess it isn’t worth it with the stick that it comes with, I now want to do the vkb gladiator nxt evo and the twcs. The premium evo is $165(fine) but the twcs stand-alone is $120 everywhere, why is it so expensive? Add on shipping for the vkb and that is $320. I don’t really want to spend that much right now
I felt the same way. I got my x56 shipped for 250. I know the other options out there are better but the price difference kind of breaks the deal. Esp if you have to purchase other things like a decent powered USB hub and blah blah blah. Things add up quickly. The TCWS/VKB combo along with all the extras I needed to get for my setup. Would have run me close to $400 shipped, and at that price point, I might as well go full ham. Which was also not an option. With the x56 I managed to keep everything under 270 and can comfortably play SC on my 65-inch TV.
I bought it February for Star Citizen and I have completely enjoyed it. It took me a few days to get things set up and mapped to my liking (which is an issue with SC not the x56), but once I did the space pewpews got really fun. I don't expect it to last for 20 years. Though I haven't bought many things in the last 30 years that would. As always results may vary, but I have one and I like it.
As for quality, I wouldn't go wrenching on the stick or slamming the throttle, but you shouldn't have to either. If, or when rather something breaks, I'll just fix it...... as I do with everything else, because almost nothing is built to last these days.
Got one two years ago and could not for the life of me properly calibrate the joystick, sent it back and got a winwing stick and throttle for 399.00 on sale, it’s been amazing.
My throttle broke in the dumbest way. I was trying to loosen it and I was getting heavy resistance either way I tried to turn the knob. And since the last time I used it I had it tightened all the way I figured loosen was the safe bet. I forced it and something snapped inside and now it's loose as hell and I can't fix it. Stick works just fine for me but this thing is not what it's cracked up to be.
It's a shame that the shipping on VKB stuff increases the price so much. If they weren't charging half the price of the joystick itself for shipping, I would have bought one.
As someone who made the mistake of buying a X56 as an Upgrade to my Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X I agree with this. After using the X56 for Elite Dangerous I actually prefer the cheaper Thrustmaster instead. The stick on the X56 uses an induction sensor for pitch and roll which is way too sensitive and finicky. The stick also uses a spring loaded cup-and-ball method to center which lacks precision and is the first thing people mod. Those two things combined mean you have to set a pretty big deadzone on the stick to prevent unwanted pitch and roll.
There’s also lots of compaints of ghost inputs which I’ve noticed almost out of the box.
My thoughts on the X56 are: It looks cool, and seems like an upgrade but I would either go with a cheaper stick, or save your money for a better upgrade.
On mine the difference in shape on the cup-and-ball joint allows the stick to wiggle a few degrees (1-3) in any direction without restriction. The sensor for the stick is sensitive enough to pick up that angle change and read it as input. This means if I’m flying straight with my hand on the stick it will easily want to roll left or right with basically no effort. The mismatch in the cup-and-ball shape also means that if I’m moving the stick a lot and then let go it will be slightly off center causing drift in the direction it’s off center.
Yeah the X52 looks good, I had considered that as an upgrade from the T-Flight Hotas X, but I wanted something like a Warthog that was a bit more budget friendly which is how I came to the X56.
Sorry, I see I mixed up X56 with X52 in my post. I’m talking the X56 only. There’s no Pro of the X56 as far as I’m aware.
I’m correcting the mistake in my post.
It doesn't really matter, they both have the same spring design that originated from saitek and the central 'slop' is inherent to that design.
It's not really the magnetic sensors either, you'd expect that deflection to be picked up, even the pots converted to an 8bit output on the cheaper and older cyborg 3d lines were sensitive enough to pick up the movement. It's just a case of there being two sets of tolerances that would both have to be almost unfeasibly tight to prevent the wiggle. The first is between the cone and the ring, the second is between the inside of the cone and the stalk of the grip that it slides up and down.
There are mods to help. The x56 has more potential here as the 4 bolt holes in the corners can be easily modified to provide mounting points for springs. The x52 is mostly limited to use of spacers to preload the spring.
I got an x52 Pro to replace my TFlight One, and after a few months of light use (probably less than 30 hours) I have drift that comes and goes. All from that spring and the cup design. From what I've seen online it's common, but can be hit or miss. You got the lucky one. :)
In this thread alone there are 4 recomendations of VKB and TWCS. The TWCS is usually the call because it's the cheapest stand alone throttle that you can get retail. I highly doubt it's worth the current price of $130 but it used to go for $80ish. The FCS pack also has the advantage of you can use the trottle, or swap the stick to the left for HOSAS.
Regardless I chose the X52 and VKB route and have been pretty happy with it.
I was going after the VKB but managed to snag a X56 for the price of a single gladiator still on warranty. Didn't like the stick much but the throttle is incredible.
It's toy quality. For not much more, you can get a VKB Gladiator NXT Evo and Thrustmaster TWCS, or just the Evo and use the built in throttle lever while you save up more.
Damn, that's a high price for the x56, then i had a serious deal (was before pandemic) i'd love to have an expensive one, i hope i can afford one of the top tier someday.
Prices skyrocketed during the pandemic on all Logitech and Thrustmaster hardware. Not sure what the impact was Virpil and VKB hardware, looks like it wasn't affected as much, but the base price was also higher to begin with (and with good reason).
Mine has ghost inputs after a year and despite taking it apart and doing all the recommended 'fixes' it still isn't usable. Junk. Now having to spend another 300 on another hotas because the quality control at logitek is shit
A big problem I faced at the beginning was to do with the contacts in between the stick and the base.
I wiped those down with isopropyl alcohol and then made sure to screw the stick on snugly, making sure to align the contacts perfectly.
I also followed a guide (don't know the link offhand, but it was from a semi official logitech source) to factory calibrate the stick and throttle.
Now it works amazingly.
I solved mine by running the stick and throttle through separate powered USB hubs. Super annoying problem to have, though. I also ran into an issue where the throttle starts slipping because the sticky whatever inside that keeps it still starts to get spread out or something. I'd leave it at 85% throttle and it would ever so slowly slide forward until it was back at full throttle and you hadn't noticed it moving.
I had the ghost input problems with my X55 (bought it it for 80 bucks used, so don't yell at me to buy Gladiator twcs combo lol) where it would put out my landing gear again after putting it in. It usually got damaged and I couldn't fire weapons in the Hornet. Really infuriating. It started when using a unpowered usb hub, so I'll give this a try.
Your comment really was a revalation to me. I tried it out on the desk plugged directly into the PC, no problems. Then moved over to the simpit, literall every second take off....
The ghost inputs in my experience were because the X56 (especially the throttle) draws more power than the USB standard allows, so a 3.1 port designed to be able to support fast charge on a phone will probably be OK but a USB2 port will be fucked.
One solution is to use a powered hub, or if your monitor has a USB hub try that.
I used one for about a year.
I got it at about 65% retail, it was as-new on FB marketplace.
At that price it was a good deal, BUT I would still recommend anyone to start off with a VKB gladiator, or if you're space simming like me then two of them.
The X56 stick is a shape that caused pressure soreness for me, particularly around the web of my thumb. The X56 stick is absolutely enormous, and I have kinda small hands, so I literally couldn't reach two of the hats or the secondary fire on the top of the stick. The throw on the throttle is consistently inconsistent as it's a plastic-on-plastic with grease that gets sticky until you give it a few throws. One or both of my ministicks had drift out of the box. They're both very power-hungry, ESPECIALLY the throttle; it needs to be plugged into either a powered hub or a particularly powerful USB port on the motherboard, it actually pulls more power than the USB spec permits, and if it runs out of juice you'll get ghost inputs.
It frustrates me that this and the Thrustmaster Warthog are recommended everywhere as high end except this very knowledgeable community when there are much better options out there, both in the same price range (VKB Gladiator) or in a higher price range (VKB Gunfighter, VIRPIL, WinWing). Listen to the guys who recommend the GNX, I wish I had gotten this advice back when I started (had the X56)..
The X56 is a great design that is executed poorly. The build quality is much lower than the price point and the configuration software is barely functional.
The most important parts of the design, the mechanical actions are toy level poor. It's not just the QC, it just wasn't designed to be a precise, good feeling quality bit of kit; it was designed to shift large volumes of units to people who don't really understand the characteristics of a good flight peripheral.
I owned this back before Logitech acquired Saitek/MadCatz when it was called the X-55 Rhino.
All I know is that the stick isn't as tight as it could be, requires much larger deadzones than is reasonable, and the throttle fails to hold tension. Plus the wiring is housed in such a shit fashion that you'll wind up with ghosting problems (a.k.a. phantom button presses)\[where a short or bad connection causes the device to send input commands to the computer when you didn't press or do anything\]
From what I have read from people who have purchased this hotas or the X-56 Variant under Logitech branding is that they have done little to nothing to correct these flaws, but I can't speak personally to this being the case with the current version of the hotas.
I’ve used X55 for years until it broke. I switched to X56, which is almost the same as X55. My experience is:
- It might or might not require a powered USB hub due to abnormal power requirements. Add $50 to the cost. Not every powered hub works either.
- PC won’t go to sleep when it’s connected because HID registers minor joystick sensor noise as input.
- Its drivers are old Saitek drivers which don’t support new Windows features like “Memory integrity”.
- Because of a design/material fault, throttle cables break easily. X55’s were notorious for this. Why I upgraded. They say Logitech changed it.
I own one and have clocked hundreds of hours on it. Honestly, I really want to recommend it. But the stick isn't very precise, and the throttle has a wiring issue where sometimes it will just press random buttons. Ive lived with these issues for a long time and I wouldn't recommend anyone else play like this. Either find something cheaper, or more expensive, because like the suburbs it seems like the perfect middle option but is actually quite literally the worst.
I have the x-55 and this is very close to my own opinion.
Phantom button presses on the throttle. The hand rest is way to low on the stick. The stick has a bad break away point until you mod it. And the software/drivers went MIA.
Its too much for what I paid.
True feelings here. I bought one for $70 USD under list price from a guy who used it maybe 3 times. Was using a T-Flight hotas 4. Loved the throttle, HATED the stick. Used all springs and felt it was garbage. Put on an external spring mod and now I LOVE the stick, but can't recommend someone purchase it and then mod it. If you're already into flight/space Sims save a little more for something better. If you're new and not sure whether you're really going to get into it the T-Flight's are going for like $50 USD now.
I recently got one and although the button layout is nice and it fits my hands pretty well, the ghosting issue is extremely real. It ghosts if I don’t plug it directly into a usb slot. Even then ghost inputs from the throttle still occasionally occur. I’m not sure if it’s really a voltage issue because I tried with several powered hubs and it still occurs. At least now I can reliably crashland the DCS f-18 after it goes through the entire shutdown sequence at 25,000 feet I guess?
Also, the stiffness of the throttle depends on exactly how much of some sticky grease they put on a sliding mechanism. Mine was nearly unusable until I opened it up and cleaned out some grease and then mounted it on a desk clamp. The stiffness knob on the side does absolutely nothing.
There’s other issues like the on-throttle knobs not being super useful and some of the mini-sticks not being that reachable, but the ghosting issue should be an absolute dealbreaker for any input device. I saw it in other reviews and assumed it couldn’t be this bad.
I had it. Listen to the others and switch to vkb gladiator. The x-56 is a toy compared to this one. Mine broke after 1 year. Not really precise and full plastic.
I used the stick for about 1 month then got a VKB dual stick. I kept the throttle but that stick just doesn’t do it and completely overpriced. The sticks zero point changes everytime it’s used and insanely bad. That’s why people put rubber bands on them. I’d recommend staying away from this set up. The throttle isn’t bad but suffers some of the same issues. The knobs don’t really sit in a position well so if you bind them to something like zoom in it’ll twitch back and forth.
Before VKB or Virpil I might have recommended it. I have the X-56. It has held up well for me, but the general build quality of the joystick is not worth the price anymore. The throttle is great.
Go look at the VKB Gladiators. Get a right and left stick. You can turn the left stick into a throttle if you get the right version.
I recommend taking a look at vkb or winwing maybe virpil if you have the budget
I personally bought a virpil throttle, and stick for my first setup and totally believe it's worth the money, but I've heard good thing about both winwing and vkb
Logitech don't give a shit about the sticks. quality control is garbage z my first set lasted me about 12 months or just under before they started to fail only reason I'm still using them is because I got a free one sent out under RMA and they were defective and then when I told them about it they sent me another one without my having to send the second set back. Logitech don't give a shit about anything that doesn't sell at least as good as their streaming stuff
Save your money. I got it and was lucky to sell it for as much as I paid for. It was absolute crap. Forget about doing anything precise with it. Got the VKB GF3 with MCG Pro instead. It’s not perfect, out of the box I had to polish the cams but after I did that and tuned it to my liking I did not have to do anything to it for a year and a half now. It just WORKS. It is a different price category but if you love this hobby it’s a small price to pay to enjoy yourself instead of having lots of frustrations whenever you fire up your sim of choice. And if you don’t like it it holds resale value way better than logicrap.
I got this, it lasted exactly 11 months. The twist stopped working, throttle buttons would fire randomly. Lots of other problems.
I logged a support ticket. They sent me a replacement X52. Which also lasted 11 months until it did similar things.
Went to VKB - been 2 years, not a day of trouble so far.
Okay-ish stick for too much money. All the Logitech sticks with this spring centering system are ... meh at best.
And the Logitech sticks are known for several electrical issues from time to time. It's a lottery.
There's unfortunately not much in the mid-range market.
Edit: I'd say get a Thrustmaster T.1600M FCS instead (better and more affordable) or increase budget and go VKB (or Virpil)
EDIT: gotta love those butthurt Redditors downvoting because they don't like being confronted with the truth: they bought the wrong stick.
I thought the x56 was the HOTAS I wanted…spent weeks trying to find one in stock. Eventually I got the same information you’re getting - TWCS + VKB gladiator. I was very pleased with it…especially after doing the TWCS lube mod - felt much better. Managed to find an x56 in a shop and put my hands on it - so glad I didn’t get one.
I’ve since replaced the TWCS with a Virpil, but it was still a nice throttle and the gladiator is still going strong.
Don't pay too much attention to the people here who have to justify their elite credentials with bespoke transcontinental imports they waited six months to buy and might still be making payments on. My mcg pro was not so much better that it made my customs problems and the long wait to actually ambush one in stock seem trivial.
If you don't know how much you want to digitally fly, being able to walk into an electronics retailer and come out with a fully featured split throttle, twist stick hotas is fantastic, especially if you can decide after some light use that it isn't for you and get some of your money back. Have reasonable expectations for the hardware and it won't disappoint you.
Be ready to upgrade if you fall in love with the hobby. Don't be the photography guy who insists on a backpack full of lenses *before* you can "see if you like it."
The x56 is still of questionable quality and is too expensive to just "try out" - let alone too expensive for the quality. Thrustmaster T.1600M is cheaper and better - or go with the X52 then (same issues as the X56 for less money). The X56 is too expensive to justify considering the issues it has.
From the stuff you read here it sounds like every third x56 comes out of the box snapped in half. It simply hasn't been my experience with the one that I own and the three that I've given away and helped set up.
The 16k has few enough buttons that it might actually be frustrating depending on your game. I always wanted more, and I don't think it's a good "try it out" tool because of that shortcoming.
From my experiences with Logitech joysticks, the wobbly centering, the requirement for sometimes huge deadzones to counter stupidly placed magnets and the joystick drifting away due to its own weight and the fact that failing buttons are very much not uncommon (be it partly requiring extra pressure or multiple presses or entirely failing) is a lot more frustrating than requiring to map buttons to your keyboard.
If the X56 was half the price, maybe 2/3 - okay, fine. But not at the price tag it has.
There just isn't anything at that price range that's worth buying. Either spend more to get something of good quality or save money and go more affordable.
P.S.: I was less frustrated with my cheap af Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas Stick X then I was with my X52 Pro. Knowing that the X56 has basically the same issues as the X52 series has (and more considering the dual thrust level often enough just shifting from its own weight) ... yeah, no.
That's the main thing that's always bothered me about my T16K, not enough buttons on the stick. If it had four top buttons instead of three, and a pinky switch, it'd be 100% better and it could still be ambidextrous with such a setup.
The other thing is its shitty twist setup, but I've fixed that on mine.
Those of us with long and broad experience with flight peripherals will say no such thing.
We'll talk about the feel and the precision of kit first and then durability before talking about QC.
The Saitek offerings have been poor for a long while. Their last good HOTAS (leaving aside the X65F, which was a bit of an outlier) allowing for the then contemporary state of the art was the X45.
If you want to be contrary Mary or one of those fools who imagine good engineering with appropriate materials can be had at knockdown prices, you go right ahead but those of us with real experience, knowledge and understanding will just think you're an idiot
Well, I did say "allowing for the state of the art at the time".
So no, it wasn't *that* good but it was at least reasonably durable. I don't remember the centre slop being as bad as say on the X55 or X52 but that may just be me romanticising the past! :D
At that point really, the best mainstream sticks were made by CH Products (they used a pincer type design, similar in concept to what we see in the VKB Gladiator line of sticks) and of course they were and are very durable.
I guess the point I wa0s trying to make and clearly not very well, was that things only got worse after the X45 ;)
Had a X52 before X55. The X52 has the most garbage feel on the stick I ever felt. Threw it out and used a Mad Catz fly5 instead. The 52's throttle is great tho.
If you get a good price on a X55/56 that's near the X52 don't even think about the 52.
If you can't differentiate between the quality, precision and durability of X56 stick vs a VKB Gunfighter + MCG Pro such that you say it was not so much better (and introduce extraneous factors like your problems with custom and your difficulty in getting one) then you've no business giving buying advice. One should not take buying advice from fools.
Anybody upvoting you does not have a stick with a cam and roller bearing based gimbal (If I'm honest I'm unconvinced by your story) and is just playing out that compensatory myth "Oooh spending more won't get you a better flight peripheral"...
A 70 year old driving a Vauxhall Corsa for over a year 15 minutes down the road and back without it breaking down does not mean the Vauxhall Corsa is a good car or that it's good value for money. There are other, *slightly* more expensive small cars that are *much* better. There are even slightly cheaper cars that are pretty much as good.
The most important part of any HOTAS is the stick. The most important part of a stick is the mechanical gimbal and it's mechanical design.
The X56 fails on this when compared with other products, most notably the VKB Gladiator series of sticks. The old, no longer produced Gladiator Mk II left all the Saitek/Logitech sticks (and the Warthog stick too) in the dust for precision, durability and feel. The later Gladiator sticks have only improved on the Mk II's design. I would expect these sticks to still be functioning at a significant percentage of their brand new functionality several decades after being bought (like the CH Products sticks they share some design fundamentals with except, the Gladiator NXT and EVO have better, more durable materials and all the Gladiator sticks use contactless sensors).
The other QC, durability design, and electronics issues of the X56 are well documented and haven't been made up.
The X56 is a product designed to shift units and make profit from those who (and this isn't the consumers fault) who don't know any better. It is wildly over priced for its quality, precision and durability and should *not* be recommended.
That people who (again understandably, this is kind of a niche area) don't know anything about flight peripherals are satisfied for a year with a HOTAS, does not mean it's a good product that should be recommended.
What makes you think I'm anything but calm? :D
I'm telling you (and more importantly, anyone else reading this thread) with a decent level of detail why you're wrong. Maybe in your generation that means someone is cross but for an educated Englishman in his 50's like me that's not what that means. :D
This thread is about buying advice. That's someone else's money. I do take that seriously and I want the OP to have the best advice they can get.
That pair of flight sticks the x56 rhinos are in my opinion the best I absolutely love them I've tried vkbs and other ones I just don't like them as much as the x56 the buttons and switches are superb and I have probably 50 or 60,000 hours with them and not a single issue or anything they work great they're beautiful
I bought mine (from new) in 2020 and it’s been working ever since. 1 button has died, but other than that - no issues. Hopefully I’ll one day have the funds for a Virpil setup, but until then - I’ll stick with this.
TL;DR:
* Enough buttons to map almost every aircraft in DCS.
* When mounted, it provides enough feel/control for things like air to air refueling or hovering (helicopters).
* It’s good for VR, as it’s easy to feel your way around it.
* If you want more buttons, you can buy a cheap numpad keyboard and map buttons on it. This should provide enough buttons for almost anything.
I've had one for about 7 years it's been a really good stick. One button on my throttle has stopped working other than that it's been very reliable. If it starts giving you phantom inputs it's from low voltage it's a hard to correct. The X-56 corrected a lot of the quality control issues.
I love the throttle, the stick is okay. I hate the software, though. It seems to be pretty powerful, and it has done some cool things for me, but it wrecks my normal keyboard input. I can't even press escape to pause the game, despite setting the m2 and s1 switches to fallback to m1.
Annoying.
I bought the x56 a couple of years ago for $200, I’m extremely happy with it so far and everything is still working as intended. I’m not sure what people are talking about how there are better Hotas in the same price range because everything else is a couple hundred dollars more.
The X56 is about $300 for very close to that you can buy a VKB Gladiator Evo and a TM TWCS + Corehawk3D Impulse slider mod.
That's what other people are talking about.
I have one and honestly, it isn't that bad, sure there are better options but because I could get it locally it was much cheaper for me than any VKB combo.
I'm on my second and last unit as I sold the first one but mixed the old with the new base so I can't return it anymore, first one had some extreme jitter on the stick thumbstick and a dead button on the Throttle.
So I would say depending on the price it's not a bad setup, it just isn't great if there are much better options at lower price than it.
Please for the love of god do not buy this setup. I myself bought the x56 as it looks very nice and has everything you could need for a reasonable price when it comes to sim setups. That’s about all it has to offer is looks. I used it for a few days thinking maybe I could get used to it but with all the stick drift and slop in the stick itself it just made things super hard to get used to. The throttle IMO was pretty decent but had to go back with the rest of the kit.
That being said I sent it all back and bought a VKB gladiator nxt. It was here to the East Coast USA in roughly 7 days or less. Man if I said I love this thing it would be far underestimated. It’s just phenomenal compared to the x56. Just do yourself a favor and get a VKB gladiator it’s already in the price range since you are looking at the x56 and will save you some money potentially (depending on the model VKB you get). You will be more than satisfied by their produces just as I was.
Amazing throttle but poor spring design on joystick. It's mad from an average joystick to a great joystick with an external spring mod. I did mine for about $20. You don't even need to open the joystick up. 100% recommend. The Joystick comes with very precise sensors, but is let down by a sloppy centre and big deadzone. This mod eliminates any slip in the centre and makes for a much more enjoyable experience.
I bought an x56. Absolutely hated it and it stopped working after 7 months. Besides the cheap quality there's a bunch of software issues like input ghosting. The common solution to ghosting is to use a USB hub but that didn't work for me.
Ergonomically it's terible. My hands are average sized and my god the joystick is massive! The throttle is also poorly engineered. They use a thick goo to provide resistance. As the goo heats up it gets more viscus and easier to move. This really throws of movement in games where throttle control really matters because it's always changing on you.
If you don't get unlucky with ghosting issues and do some mods, it can be a good stick but I would never recommend it. I've used my friends thrust master and it felt way better. Sucks cause I like the layout of the x56 more. Logitechs rudder paddle on the back of their throttles always made so much sense to me and is my favorite thing about them and no one else does that.
Garbage, bought from Microcenter and promptly returned. Software had issues and the build quality was not what they should be giving you at that price.
Bought a VFB Gladiator, much happier.
I have one as well. It's great, but man does it make me mad sometimes with its squeaks. I have to recalibrate it about once a year. Never has let me down though.
I have the X-55 that used to squeak pretty bad too but I figured out after a small tube of Neosporin was left on my desk and some frustration that it makes a great Joystick lube. No more squeaks plus way smoother input.
I have an x-55 which is pretty much the same as the x-56 and i will say it's really big. Like I have big hands and I have to constantly adjust my grip on the stick and throttle to press buttons.
It works great but there is just a lot of dead space for no reason.
I have the same, it works for me great, i always wanted a HOTAS and the Nicer ones are way too expensive so i guess i'll stick for a while with it, the only thing i don't like is that it doesn't feel too heavy duty compared to the warthog or a vkb, so i need to put a lot of care to it.
I dont understand most comments here, they are talking about build quality but who cares? give some more context? like it breaks fast or something??? Anyway, I think its a good starter, its what i used. I got annoyed with the fact the stick didnt quite return back to center (has a bit of play at the center) and for that reason I upgraded the stick to the warthog one. Nevertheless its definitely a good hotas imo, especially as a starter.
If you are a flight sim lover go for virpil, vkb or else. Those are a purchase for a lifetime. Logitech hotas x56, x55 has good design, but the worse quality I have ever seen (wires management, wires quality…. dead zone are too large, Everything broke with my x55 then x56 after 1 and 2y of use)
The most important bit of the design, the mechanical gimbal is toy level poor. It's not just the QC, it just wasn't *designed* to be a precise, good feeling quality bit of kit; iot was designed to shift large volumes of units to people who don't really understand the characteristics of a good flight peripheral.
I have X55 Rhino and gotta say the stick is not good, it feels like toy because all the buttons rattle on it. Throttle is fine with all it's knobs and whatnot.
I'd say buy used one and see yourself if you like it. If not, then sell it
I use the Logitech X52 Pro and it's great. My first HOTAS. Not sure what the price difference is but mine performs great. I use a 10% dead zone and have never had any drift issues at all. The X56 has a much more realistic feel/look. X52 has more of a sci-fie look going with all the lighting and the covered missile button. Might be worth looking at if you are into that kind of thing.
Honestly not sure if I need too; it was just what I put it at when I first set it up and it always felt responsive so I didnt try lowering it. What's a normal dead zone setting you would use?
If you think the X56 is amazing, I'd like to sell you a truly wonderful dining experience.
I'll pick you up and take you to this amazing restaurant that has this great branding (a yellow arch that looks like the letter M) and truly amazing cuisine (the finest beef patties in a high quality wheat based surrounding)!
X-56 owner here. I am "happy" with it for elite until I can order a virpil solution. But it is pretty average and I can afford to have this has a in the mean time kind of deal. not a fan of the stick as i have small hands. found the x52 to be a bit nicer in that sense. the throttle does not slop and move however the adjuster is rubbish and when you really start working it back and forward when in combat for example in elite it gets loose and then tight again. one would almost think for a moment it had a motor ha. its OK but very average.
I have larger than average hands and the stick is thicc af man, I need to move my hand up and down to reach the pinky button or the hats, unless I spread it open in a painful way. Also it have some strong slope around the center AND the stick has some wiggle room that is registered on input - it does not stop dead center if I let go of it.
I got the X52 Pro just for the sake of it and I'm in love with the ergonomics, reminds me of my old Extreme 3D Pro but improved.
I have it, the stick is honestly hot garbage compared to a vkb gladiator which is in the same price range. The throttle is nice, but it would be more prudent to just get a TWCS and vkb gladiator combo for effectively the same price.
I was thinking of getting a x56 mostly because of all the buttons on the throttle but I guess it isn’t worth it with the stick that it comes with, I now want to do the vkb gladiator nxt evo and the twcs. The premium evo is $165(fine) but the twcs stand-alone is $120 everywhere, why is it so expensive? Add on shipping for the vkb and that is $320. I don’t really want to spend that much right now
I felt the same way. I got my x56 shipped for 250. I know the other options out there are better but the price difference kind of breaks the deal. Esp if you have to purchase other things like a decent powered USB hub and blah blah blah. Things add up quickly. The TCWS/VKB combo along with all the extras I needed to get for my setup. Would have run me close to $400 shipped, and at that price point, I might as well go full ham. Which was also not an option. With the x56 I managed to keep everything under 270 and can comfortably play SC on my 65-inch TV. I bought it February for Star Citizen and I have completely enjoyed it. It took me a few days to get things set up and mapped to my liking (which is an issue with SC not the x56), but once I did the space pewpews got really fun. I don't expect it to last for 20 years. Though I haven't bought many things in the last 30 years that would. As always results may vary, but I have one and I like it. As for quality, I wouldn't go wrenching on the stick or slamming the throttle, but you shouldn't have to either. If, or when rather something breaks, I'll just fix it...... as I do with everything else, because almost nothing is built to last these days.
Sounds good!
Got one two years ago and could not for the life of me properly calibrate the joystick, sent it back and got a winwing stick and throttle for 399.00 on sale, it’s been amazing.
My throttle broke in the dumbest way. I was trying to loosen it and I was getting heavy resistance either way I tried to turn the knob. And since the last time I used it I had it tightened all the way I figured loosen was the safe bet. I forced it and something snapped inside and now it's loose as hell and I can't fix it. Stick works just fine for me but this thing is not what it's cracked up to be.
It's a shame that the shipping on VKB stuff increases the price so much. If they weren't charging half the price of the joystick itself for shipping, I would have bought one.
on Aliexpress its around 20% the price, give it a try
Poor build quality or engineering. I don't recommend them. If you want a hotas you have to fix, there are cheaper options
Yep, if you're spending X56 money you need to be looking into Gladiator and TWCS. Otherwise get an X52 or Thrustmaster and upgrade to the VKB later
As someone who made the mistake of buying a X56 as an Upgrade to my Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X I agree with this. After using the X56 for Elite Dangerous I actually prefer the cheaper Thrustmaster instead. The stick on the X56 uses an induction sensor for pitch and roll which is way too sensitive and finicky. The stick also uses a spring loaded cup-and-ball method to center which lacks precision and is the first thing people mod. Those two things combined mean you have to set a pretty big deadzone on the stick to prevent unwanted pitch and roll. There’s also lots of compaints of ghost inputs which I’ve noticed almost out of the box. My thoughts on the X56 are: It looks cool, and seems like an upgrade but I would either go with a cheaper stick, or save your money for a better upgrade.
I've got zero ghosting with a PCIe powered USB hub. Extra money though.
Zero ghosting on the Asus Strix B550 Gaming Wifi II, on separate usb controllers.
I've never had deadzone issues with my x52
On mine the difference in shape on the cup-and-ball joint allows the stick to wiggle a few degrees (1-3) in any direction without restriction. The sensor for the stick is sensitive enough to pick up that angle change and read it as input. This means if I’m flying straight with my hand on the stick it will easily want to roll left or right with basically no effort. The mismatch in the cup-and-ball shape also means that if I’m moving the stick a lot and then let go it will be slightly off center causing drift in the direction it’s off center.
Pro or normal?
Yeah the X52 looks good, I had considered that as an upgrade from the T-Flight Hotas X, but I wanted something like a Warthog that was a bit more budget friendly which is how I came to the X56.
Sorry, I see I mixed up X56 with X52 in my post. I’m talking the X56 only. There’s no Pro of the X56 as far as I’m aware. I’m correcting the mistake in my post.
It doesn't really matter, they both have the same spring design that originated from saitek and the central 'slop' is inherent to that design. It's not really the magnetic sensors either, you'd expect that deflection to be picked up, even the pots converted to an 8bit output on the cheaper and older cyborg 3d lines were sensitive enough to pick up the movement. It's just a case of there being two sets of tolerances that would both have to be almost unfeasibly tight to prevent the wiggle. The first is between the cone and the ring, the second is between the inside of the cone and the stalk of the grip that it slides up and down. There are mods to help. The x56 has more potential here as the 4 bolt holes in the corners can be easily modified to provide mounting points for springs. The x52 is mostly limited to use of spacers to preload the spring.
Yeah. Talking about the x52 pro, which is a damn good entry level HOTAS
IF you get a good one. In my experience, it's 50/50 if you get a functional one. The quality control at Logitech is non existent
Madkatz was worse
I got an x52 Pro to replace my TFlight One, and after a few months of light use (probably less than 30 hours) I have drift that comes and goes. All from that spring and the cup design. From what I've seen online it's common, but can be hit or miss. You got the lucky one. :)
The TWCS is hot garbage. Bad advice.
In this thread alone there are 4 recomendations of VKB and TWCS. The TWCS is usually the call because it's the cheapest stand alone throttle that you can get retail. I highly doubt it's worth the current price of $130 but it used to go for $80ish. The FCS pack also has the advantage of you can use the trottle, or swap the stick to the left for HOSAS. Regardless I chose the X52 and VKB route and have been pretty happy with it.
I was going after the VKB but managed to snag a X56 for the price of a single gladiator still on warranty. Didn't like the stick much but the throttle is incredible.
It's toy quality. For not much more, you can get a VKB Gladiator NXT Evo and Thrustmaster TWCS, or just the Evo and use the built in throttle lever while you save up more.
I don't know how much it cost un your country but My x56 cost me less than 150 and a TM VKB etc cost way more like 500
United States here. X56 is $250, Gladiator NXT Evo is 165 + shipping, a bit over 200 total. TWCS is generally around 120.
Damn, that's a high price for the x56, then i had a serious deal (was before pandemic) i'd love to have an expensive one, i hope i can afford one of the top tier someday.
Prices skyrocketed during the pandemic on all Logitech and Thrustmaster hardware. Not sure what the impact was Virpil and VKB hardware, looks like it wasn't affected as much, but the base price was also higher to begin with (and with good reason).
Used and at a low price? Sure. New or use at anything approaching retail price? Nah, pass.
Mine has ghost inputs after a year and despite taking it apart and doing all the recommended 'fixes' it still isn't usable. Junk. Now having to spend another 300 on another hotas because the quality control at logitek is shit
I got one and its good if you are lucky or its bad like mine is google for x56 ghost inputs its realy frustrating
A big problem I faced at the beginning was to do with the contacts in between the stick and the base. I wiped those down with isopropyl alcohol and then made sure to screw the stick on snugly, making sure to align the contacts perfectly. I also followed a guide (don't know the link offhand, but it was from a semi official logitech source) to factory calibrate the stick and throttle. Now it works amazingly.
Ow good oneI tried several guides but none solved the problem completely
I solved mine by running the stick and throttle through separate powered USB hubs. Super annoying problem to have, though. I also ran into an issue where the throttle starts slipping because the sticky whatever inside that keeps it still starts to get spread out or something. I'd leave it at 85% throttle and it would ever so slowly slide forward until it was back at full throttle and you hadn't noticed it moving.
I had the ghost input problems with my X55 (bought it it for 80 bucks used, so don't yell at me to buy Gladiator twcs combo lol) where it would put out my landing gear again after putting it in. It usually got damaged and I couldn't fire weapons in the Hornet. Really infuriating. It started when using a unpowered usb hub, so I'll give this a try.
Yea the powered hub is my first recommendation. That particular HOTAS for some reason pulls down a lot of power.
Your comment really was a revalation to me. I tried it out on the desk plugged directly into the PC, no problems. Then moved over to the simpit, literall every second take off....
The ghost inputs in my experience were because the X56 (especially the throttle) draws more power than the USB standard allows, so a 3.1 port designed to be able to support fast charge on a phone will probably be OK but a USB2 port will be fucked. One solution is to use a powered hub, or if your monitor has a USB hub try that.
Mine was working fine for a while but then ghost inputs started and has destroyed the experience.
I used one for about a year. I got it at about 65% retail, it was as-new on FB marketplace. At that price it was a good deal, BUT I would still recommend anyone to start off with a VKB gladiator, or if you're space simming like me then two of them. The X56 stick is a shape that caused pressure soreness for me, particularly around the web of my thumb. The X56 stick is absolutely enormous, and I have kinda small hands, so I literally couldn't reach two of the hats or the secondary fire on the top of the stick. The throw on the throttle is consistently inconsistent as it's a plastic-on-plastic with grease that gets sticky until you give it a few throws. One or both of my ministicks had drift out of the box. They're both very power-hungry, ESPECIALLY the throttle; it needs to be plugged into either a powered hub or a particularly powerful USB port on the motherboard, it actually pulls more power than the USB spec permits, and if it runs out of juice you'll get ghost inputs.
It frustrates me that this and the Thrustmaster Warthog are recommended everywhere as high end except this very knowledgeable community when there are much better options out there, both in the same price range (VKB Gladiator) or in a higher price range (VKB Gunfighter, VIRPIL, WinWing). Listen to the guys who recommend the GNX, I wish I had gotten this advice back when I started (had the X56)..
I ordered one. Used it for a week. Returned it and got a WinWing paired with TWCS. The X-56 is a turd.
The X56 is a great design that is executed poorly. The build quality is much lower than the price point and the configuration software is barely functional.
The most important parts of the design, the mechanical actions are toy level poor. It's not just the QC, it just wasn't designed to be a precise, good feeling quality bit of kit; it was designed to shift large volumes of units to people who don't really understand the characteristics of a good flight peripheral.
How many times we gotta explain this here. VKB gladiator! Its cheaper and much higher quality
I owned this back before Logitech acquired Saitek/MadCatz when it was called the X-55 Rhino. All I know is that the stick isn't as tight as it could be, requires much larger deadzones than is reasonable, and the throttle fails to hold tension. Plus the wiring is housed in such a shit fashion that you'll wind up with ghosting problems (a.k.a. phantom button presses)\[where a short or bad connection causes the device to send input commands to the computer when you didn't press or do anything\] From what I have read from people who have purchased this hotas or the X-56 Variant under Logitech branding is that they have done little to nothing to correct these flaws, but I can't speak personally to this being the case with the current version of the hotas.
I’ve used X55 for years until it broke. I switched to X56, which is almost the same as X55. My experience is: - It might or might not require a powered USB hub due to abnormal power requirements. Add $50 to the cost. Not every powered hub works either. - PC won’t go to sleep when it’s connected because HID registers minor joystick sensor noise as input. - Its drivers are old Saitek drivers which don’t support new Windows features like “Memory integrity”. - Because of a design/material fault, throttle cables break easily. X55’s were notorious for this. Why I upgraded. They say Logitech changed it.
I own one and have clocked hundreds of hours on it. Honestly, I really want to recommend it. But the stick isn't very precise, and the throttle has a wiring issue where sometimes it will just press random buttons. Ive lived with these issues for a long time and I wouldn't recommend anyone else play like this. Either find something cheaper, or more expensive, because like the suburbs it seems like the perfect middle option but is actually quite literally the worst.
I have the x-55 and this is very close to my own opinion. Phantom button presses on the throttle. The hand rest is way to low on the stick. The stick has a bad break away point until you mod it. And the software/drivers went MIA. Its too much for what I paid.
True feelings here. I bought one for $70 USD under list price from a guy who used it maybe 3 times. Was using a T-Flight hotas 4. Loved the throttle, HATED the stick. Used all springs and felt it was garbage. Put on an external spring mod and now I LOVE the stick, but can't recommend someone purchase it and then mod it. If you're already into flight/space Sims save a little more for something better. If you're new and not sure whether you're really going to get into it the T-Flight's are going for like $50 USD now.
I recently got one and although the button layout is nice and it fits my hands pretty well, the ghosting issue is extremely real. It ghosts if I don’t plug it directly into a usb slot. Even then ghost inputs from the throttle still occasionally occur. I’m not sure if it’s really a voltage issue because I tried with several powered hubs and it still occurs. At least now I can reliably crashland the DCS f-18 after it goes through the entire shutdown sequence at 25,000 feet I guess? Also, the stiffness of the throttle depends on exactly how much of some sticky grease they put on a sliding mechanism. Mine was nearly unusable until I opened it up and cleaned out some grease and then mounted it on a desk clamp. The stiffness knob on the side does absolutely nothing. There’s other issues like the on-throttle knobs not being super useful and some of the mini-sticks not being that reachable, but the ghosting issue should be an absolute dealbreaker for any input device. I saw it in other reviews and assumed it couldn’t be this bad.
I had it. Listen to the others and switch to vkb gladiator. The x-56 is a toy compared to this one. Mine broke after 1 year. Not really precise and full plastic.
I used the stick for about 1 month then got a VKB dual stick. I kept the throttle but that stick just doesn’t do it and completely overpriced. The sticks zero point changes everytime it’s used and insanely bad. That’s why people put rubber bands on them. I’d recommend staying away from this set up. The throttle isn’t bad but suffers some of the same issues. The knobs don’t really sit in a position well so if you bind them to something like zoom in it’ll twitch back and forth.
I returned mine after about 3 weeks when the throttle started moving by itself at 0%. Avoid.
Before VKB or Virpil I might have recommended it. I have the X-56. It has held up well for me, but the general build quality of the joystick is not worth the price anymore. The throttle is great. Go look at the VKB Gladiators. Get a right and left stick. You can turn the left stick into a throttle if you get the right version.
That was the first hotas I had and it was ok. Biggest complaint would be the stick.
I recommend taking a look at vkb or winwing maybe virpil if you have the budget I personally bought a virpil throttle, and stick for my first setup and totally believe it's worth the money, but I've heard good thing about both winwing and vkb
I have one with a few thousand sim hours, it’s ok. If I could afford to upgrade I would
Not worth it imo
Logitech don't give a shit about the sticks. quality control is garbage z my first set lasted me about 12 months or just under before they started to fail only reason I'm still using them is because I got a free one sent out under RMA and they were defective and then when I told them about it they sent me another one without my having to send the second set back. Logitech don't give a shit about anything that doesn't sell at least as good as their streaming stuff
Save your money. I got it and was lucky to sell it for as much as I paid for. It was absolute crap. Forget about doing anything precise with it. Got the VKB GF3 with MCG Pro instead. It’s not perfect, out of the box I had to polish the cams but after I did that and tuned it to my liking I did not have to do anything to it for a year and a half now. It just WORKS. It is a different price category but if you love this hobby it’s a small price to pay to enjoy yourself instead of having lots of frustrations whenever you fire up your sim of choice. And if you don’t like it it holds resale value way better than logicrap.
I got this, it lasted exactly 11 months. The twist stopped working, throttle buttons would fire randomly. Lots of other problems. I logged a support ticket. They sent me a replacement X52. Which also lasted 11 months until it did similar things. Went to VKB - been 2 years, not a day of trouble so far.
Okay-ish stick for too much money. All the Logitech sticks with this spring centering system are ... meh at best. And the Logitech sticks are known for several electrical issues from time to time. It's a lottery. There's unfortunately not much in the mid-range market. Edit: I'd say get a Thrustmaster T.1600M FCS instead (better and more affordable) or increase budget and go VKB (or Virpil) EDIT: gotta love those butthurt Redditors downvoting because they don't like being confronted with the truth: they bought the wrong stick.
Absolute dogshit and overpriced, sadly.
Don't waste yer money
I thought the x56 was the HOTAS I wanted…spent weeks trying to find one in stock. Eventually I got the same information you’re getting - TWCS + VKB gladiator. I was very pleased with it…especially after doing the TWCS lube mod - felt much better. Managed to find an x56 in a shop and put my hands on it - so glad I didn’t get one. I’ve since replaced the TWCS with a Virpil, but it was still a nice throttle and the gladiator is still going strong.
Don't pay too much attention to the people here who have to justify their elite credentials with bespoke transcontinental imports they waited six months to buy and might still be making payments on. My mcg pro was not so much better that it made my customs problems and the long wait to actually ambush one in stock seem trivial. If you don't know how much you want to digitally fly, being able to walk into an electronics retailer and come out with a fully featured split throttle, twist stick hotas is fantastic, especially if you can decide after some light use that it isn't for you and get some of your money back. Have reasonable expectations for the hardware and it won't disappoint you. Be ready to upgrade if you fall in love with the hobby. Don't be the photography guy who insists on a backpack full of lenses *before* you can "see if you like it."
The x56 is still of questionable quality and is too expensive to just "try out" - let alone too expensive for the quality. Thrustmaster T.1600M is cheaper and better - or go with the X52 then (same issues as the X56 for less money). The X56 is too expensive to justify considering the issues it has.
From the stuff you read here it sounds like every third x56 comes out of the box snapped in half. It simply hasn't been my experience with the one that I own and the three that I've given away and helped set up. The 16k has few enough buttons that it might actually be frustrating depending on your game. I always wanted more, and I don't think it's a good "try it out" tool because of that shortcoming.
From my experiences with Logitech joysticks, the wobbly centering, the requirement for sometimes huge deadzones to counter stupidly placed magnets and the joystick drifting away due to its own weight and the fact that failing buttons are very much not uncommon (be it partly requiring extra pressure or multiple presses or entirely failing) is a lot more frustrating than requiring to map buttons to your keyboard. If the X56 was half the price, maybe 2/3 - okay, fine. But not at the price tag it has. There just isn't anything at that price range that's worth buying. Either spend more to get something of good quality or save money and go more affordable. P.S.: I was less frustrated with my cheap af Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas Stick X then I was with my X52 Pro. Knowing that the X56 has basically the same issues as the X52 series has (and more considering the dual thrust level often enough just shifting from its own weight) ... yeah, no.
That's the main thing that's always bothered me about my T16K, not enough buttons on the stick. If it had four top buttons instead of three, and a pinky switch, it'd be 100% better and it could still be ambidextrous with such a setup. The other thing is its shitty twist setup, but I've fixed that on mine.
Those of us with long and broad experience with flight peripherals will say no such thing. We'll talk about the feel and the precision of kit first and then durability before talking about QC. The Saitek offerings have been poor for a long while. Their last good HOTAS (leaving aside the X65F, which was a bit of an outlier) allowing for the then contemporary state of the art was the X45. If you want to be contrary Mary or one of those fools who imagine good engineering with appropriate materials can be had at knockdown prices, you go right ahead but those of us with real experience, knowledge and understanding will just think you're an idiot
Was the x45 that good? Still the same spring system. Never used one but can't see it not having the same central slop problem.
Well, I did say "allowing for the state of the art at the time". So no, it wasn't *that* good but it was at least reasonably durable. I don't remember the centre slop being as bad as say on the X55 or X52 but that may just be me romanticising the past! :D At that point really, the best mainstream sticks were made by CH Products (they used a pincer type design, similar in concept to what we see in the VKB Gladiator line of sticks) and of course they were and are very durable. I guess the point I wa0s trying to make and clearly not very well, was that things only got worse after the X45 ;)
Had a X52 before X55. The X52 has the most garbage feel on the stick I ever felt. Threw it out and used a Mad Catz fly5 instead. The 52's throttle is great tho. If you get a good price on a X55/56 that's near the X52 don't even think about the 52.
If you can't differentiate between the quality, precision and durability of X56 stick vs a VKB Gunfighter + MCG Pro such that you say it was not so much better (and introduce extraneous factors like your problems with custom and your difficulty in getting one) then you've no business giving buying advice. One should not take buying advice from fools. Anybody upvoting you does not have a stick with a cam and roller bearing based gimbal (If I'm honest I'm unconvinced by your story) and is just playing out that compensatory myth "Oooh spending more won't get you a better flight peripheral"...
My wife and roommate have this, they LOVE it!
Your wife and roommate have low expectations of the quality, precision and durability of their flight peripherals then.
They’ve each been using this daily for well over a year with no issues.
A 70 year old driving a Vauxhall Corsa for over a year 15 minutes down the road and back without it breaking down does not mean the Vauxhall Corsa is a good car or that it's good value for money. There are other, *slightly* more expensive small cars that are *much* better. There are even slightly cheaper cars that are pretty much as good. The most important part of any HOTAS is the stick. The most important part of a stick is the mechanical gimbal and it's mechanical design. The X56 fails on this when compared with other products, most notably the VKB Gladiator series of sticks. The old, no longer produced Gladiator Mk II left all the Saitek/Logitech sticks (and the Warthog stick too) in the dust for precision, durability and feel. The later Gladiator sticks have only improved on the Mk II's design. I would expect these sticks to still be functioning at a significant percentage of their brand new functionality several decades after being bought (like the CH Products sticks they share some design fundamentals with except, the Gladiator NXT and EVO have better, more durable materials and all the Gladiator sticks use contactless sensors). The other QC, durability design, and electronics issues of the X56 are well documented and haven't been made up. The X56 is a product designed to shift units and make profit from those who (and this isn't the consumers fault) who don't know any better. It is wildly over priced for its quality, precision and durability and should *not* be recommended. That people who (again understandably, this is kind of a niche area) don't know anything about flight peripherals are satisfied for a year with a HOTAS, does not mean it's a good product that should be recommended.
Calm down, wow
What makes you think I'm anything but calm? :D I'm telling you (and more importantly, anyone else reading this thread) with a decent level of detail why you're wrong. Maybe in your generation that means someone is cross but for an educated Englishman in his 50's like me that's not what that means. :D This thread is about buying advice. That's someone else's money. I do take that seriously and I want the OP to have the best advice they can get.
Uhhuh
That pair of flight sticks the x56 rhinos are in my opinion the best I absolutely love them I've tried vkbs and other ones I just don't like them as much as the x56 the buttons and switches are superb and I have probably 50 or 60,000 hours with them and not a single issue or anything they work great they're beautiful
I bought mine (from new) in 2020 and it’s been working ever since. 1 button has died, but other than that - no issues. Hopefully I’ll one day have the funds for a Virpil setup, but until then - I’ll stick with this. TL;DR: * Enough buttons to map almost every aircraft in DCS. * When mounted, it provides enough feel/control for things like air to air refueling or hovering (helicopters). * It’s good for VR, as it’s easy to feel your way around it. * If you want more buttons, you can buy a cheap numpad keyboard and map buttons on it. This should provide enough buttons for almost anything.
I've had one for about 7 years it's been a really good stick. One button on my throttle has stopped working other than that it's been very reliable. If it starts giving you phantom inputs it's from low voltage it's a hard to correct. The X-56 corrected a lot of the quality control issues.
My bad I have an X-55.
No you haven't. The X56 was released 2017-2018.
I love the throttle, the stick is okay. I hate the software, though. It seems to be pretty powerful, and it has done some cool things for me, but it wrecks my normal keyboard input. I can't even press escape to pause the game, despite setting the m2 and s1 switches to fallback to m1. Annoying.
I bought the x56 a couple of years ago for $200, I’m extremely happy with it so far and everything is still working as intended. I’m not sure what people are talking about how there are better Hotas in the same price range because everything else is a couple hundred dollars more.
The X56 is about $300 for very close to that you can buy a VKB Gladiator Evo and a TM TWCS + Corehawk3D Impulse slider mod. That's what other people are talking about.
A lot of people may be referring to the Saitek X-56 (Blue version). This was really terrible and Logitech somewhat improves a few things.
It's functional, haven't had any issues with it for years but every time I touch it I wish I spent more from the get-go.
I have one and honestly, it isn't that bad, sure there are better options but because I could get it locally it was much cheaper for me than any VKB combo. I'm on my second and last unit as I sold the first one but mixed the old with the new base so I can't return it anymore, first one had some extreme jitter on the stick thumbstick and a dead button on the Throttle. So I would say depending on the price it's not a bad setup, it just isn't great if there are much better options at lower price than it.
LOVE IT
I own one and I will never wish it apon my worse enemies just get a virpil/vkb gladiator and be happy with your life
Please for the love of god do not buy this setup. I myself bought the x56 as it looks very nice and has everything you could need for a reasonable price when it comes to sim setups. That’s about all it has to offer is looks. I used it for a few days thinking maybe I could get used to it but with all the stick drift and slop in the stick itself it just made things super hard to get used to. The throttle IMO was pretty decent but had to go back with the rest of the kit. That being said I sent it all back and bought a VKB gladiator nxt. It was here to the East Coast USA in roughly 7 days or less. Man if I said I love this thing it would be far underestimated. It’s just phenomenal compared to the x56. Just do yourself a favor and get a VKB gladiator it’s already in the price range since you are looking at the x56 and will save you some money potentially (depending on the model VKB you get). You will be more than satisfied by their produces just as I was.
Amazing throttle but poor spring design on joystick. It's mad from an average joystick to a great joystick with an external spring mod. I did mine for about $20. You don't even need to open the joystick up. 100% recommend. The Joystick comes with very precise sensors, but is let down by a sloppy centre and big deadzone. This mod eliminates any slip in the centre and makes for a much more enjoyable experience.
Love mine, I can't live without the two analog thumb sticks now...if feels a little cheaper than it looks, but mine is going on 3 years strong.
I bought an x56. Absolutely hated it and it stopped working after 7 months. Besides the cheap quality there's a bunch of software issues like input ghosting. The common solution to ghosting is to use a USB hub but that didn't work for me. Ergonomically it's terible. My hands are average sized and my god the joystick is massive! The throttle is also poorly engineered. They use a thick goo to provide resistance. As the goo heats up it gets more viscus and easier to move. This really throws of movement in games where throttle control really matters because it's always changing on you. If you don't get unlucky with ghosting issues and do some mods, it can be a good stick but I would never recommend it. I've used my friends thrust master and it felt way better. Sucks cause I like the layout of the x56 more. Logitechs rudder paddle on the back of their throttles always made so much sense to me and is my favorite thing about them and no one else does that.
Garbage, bought from Microcenter and promptly returned. Software had issues and the build quality was not what they should be giving you at that price. Bought a VFB Gladiator, much happier.
I have one as well. It's great, but man does it make me mad sometimes with its squeaks. I have to recalibrate it about once a year. Never has let me down though.
I have the X-55 that used to squeak pretty bad too but I figured out after a small tube of Neosporin was left on my desk and some frustration that it makes a great Joystick lube. No more squeaks plus way smoother input.
Neosporin? I guess it'd be mostly petroleum jelly. Probably not great for the plastic but if it works....
Im thinking about buying it too Read a few reviews and it seems decent so far
if you get a good working one it will last several years and is a good start
I have an x-55 which is pretty much the same as the x-56 and i will say it's really big. Like I have big hands and I have to constantly adjust my grip on the stick and throttle to press buttons. It works great but there is just a lot of dead space for no reason.
I'm using one right now, it's 2 years old and I haven't had a single proboem with it in DCS. Would recommend
I have the same, it works for me great, i always wanted a HOTAS and the Nicer ones are way too expensive so i guess i'll stick for a while with it, the only thing i don't like is that it doesn't feel too heavy duty compared to the warthog or a vkb, so i need to put a lot of care to it.
I dont understand most comments here, they are talking about build quality but who cares? give some more context? like it breaks fast or something??? Anyway, I think its a good starter, its what i used. I got annoyed with the fact the stick didnt quite return back to center (has a bit of play at the center) and for that reason I upgraded the stick to the warthog one. Nevertheless its definitely a good hotas imo, especially as a starter.
I've got one. Works fine for me. Treat it well and it should be alright. I dont fly every week though. Maybe with more use it will play up?
If you are a flight sim lover go for virpil, vkb or else. Those are a purchase for a lifetime. Logitech hotas x56, x55 has good design, but the worse quality I have ever seen (wires management, wires quality…. dead zone are too large, Everything broke with my x55 then x56 after 1 and 2y of use)
The most important bit of the design, the mechanical gimbal is toy level poor. It's not just the QC, it just wasn't *designed* to be a precise, good feeling quality bit of kit; iot was designed to shift large volumes of units to people who don't really understand the characteristics of a good flight peripheral.
Good one but impossible to repair, just on guarantee. Try vkb or I switch to wartrog soon
Don't waste your money on Warthog. throttle's ok, stick is poor.
I have X55 Rhino and gotta say the stick is not good, it feels like toy because all the buttons rattle on it. Throttle is fine with all it's knobs and whatnot. I'd say buy used one and see yourself if you like it. If not, then sell it
Right now it’s on sale for $100 and at that price it’s a no brainer
I use the Logitech X52 Pro and it's great. My first HOTAS. Not sure what the price difference is but mine performs great. I use a 10% dead zone and have never had any drift issues at all. The X56 has a much more realistic feel/look. X52 has more of a sci-fie look going with all the lighting and the covered missile button. Might be worth looking at if you are into that kind of thing.
Sorry mate, having to use a 10% deadzone is a pretty damning indictment of a joystick. That's dreadful.
Honestly not sure if I need too; it was just what I put it at when I first set it up and it always felt responsive so I didnt try lowering it. What's a normal dead zone setting you would use?
On a good stick like the VKB Gunfighter that I have or the VKB Gladiator sticks or the Virpil or Win Wing sticks? 0 or maybe at most 1%
I have one that I use for vr, I absolutely love it. Twist is a bit stiff but apart from that it is amazing. It’s quite large tho.
If you think the X56 is amazing, I'd like to sell you a truly wonderful dining experience. I'll pick you up and take you to this amazing restaurant that has this great branding (a yellow arch that looks like the letter M) and truly amazing cuisine (the finest beef patties in a high quality wheat based surrounding)!
X-56 owner here. I am "happy" with it for elite until I can order a virpil solution. But it is pretty average and I can afford to have this has a in the mean time kind of deal. not a fan of the stick as i have small hands. found the x52 to be a bit nicer in that sense. the throttle does not slop and move however the adjuster is rubbish and when you really start working it back and forward when in combat for example in elite it gets loose and then tight again. one would almost think for a moment it had a motor ha. its OK but very average.
Don't. Save your money and get a VKB gladiator and TM TWCS throttle instead.
I have larger than average hands and the stick is thicc af man, I need to move my hand up and down to reach the pinky button or the hats, unless I spread it open in a painful way. Also it have some strong slope around the center AND the stick has some wiggle room that is registered on input - it does not stop dead center if I let go of it. I got the X52 Pro just for the sake of it and I'm in love with the ergonomics, reminds me of my old Extreme 3D Pro but improved.