PowerA Spectra Infinity Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox Series X|S- Black, Officially Licensed for Xbox

I’d like to share my journey on how I have decided that this controller will be my go to moving forward. It’s in the perfect spot of being affordable ( It’s usually 90.00 but I got mine on sale for 70.00) while still giving you enough quality to compete with a SCUF for less than half the price.I know some people maybe looking into a SCUF or other high end controller company but are also considering this so I hope to helps in your decision.I play a lot of shooters like COD, Overwatch, ect and Im not trying to learn how to play Claw so I need remappable buttons to be able to Jump with a paddle so that is essential for me.I also play alot of NBA2k23 and this controller feels great for that.Starting off with my SCUF experience I got a fully customized SCUF Prestige (their Xbox one controller) for my birthday about 3 - 4 years ago for about 225.00 Dollars.I went all in with all the features on the website so I was hoping it would last a really long time.I had heard the Instinct was coming out (Their Xbox series X/S controller) but it was my birthday and I didn’t want to wait that long.The SCUF felt AMAZING out of the box and SUPER LIGHT since I had them take the rumble out.I got extra thumb-sticks too so I ran a short concave on the left and a tall Domed on the right.I was playing Warzone at the time and I realized how playing on a SCUF made me feel like I could really get better from learning to B Hop with the paddles, to the quality of the Thumb-sticks for aiming.I was ruined at the idea of Going back to a standard XBOX controller and I saw alot of improvement.The first issue that came was I started getting stick drift on my right thumb stick from all of the slide cancelling I was doing.In COD I always play tactical so I crouch with the right thumb stick so playing that game a lot and slide cancelling / right clicking everywhere is what did it.I believe if it wasn’t for me playing that game alot it would have held up better.From that point on I had to run my dead zone settings really high for every game which wasn’t feeling good at all.Also I would leave it out plugged in but then the small USB inside the controller became bent in a way that It would fall out during gameplay which was horrible.The controller wouldn’t hold a charge so I had to have it plugged in and it falling out constantly was really frustrating. My SCUF felt chalked.That process happened over 6-8 months which bummed me out since I wasn’t gonna buy 2 SCUFS every year.There are some pre set ones that are under 200.00 but that’s a still a lot.2 things I learned from that experience are1. Always put your controller away(if it comes with a case use that or anything really to prevent dust from settling.)2. Stick drift is unavoidable no matter how expensive the controller but you can try to manage it.Warzone 2.0 just came out and slide canceling is gone so I won’t be right clicking everywhere so that will help a ton.If you click the left stick to sprint In games that will speed up the process of frying your left sticks deadzone.Use auto sprint features in games that have it to avoid clicking alot and extend the life span of your controllers.I have even heard COD pros share on that.Then the RB button stopped working and I remapped it to the 4th paddle on the right side but it felt too weird so I stopped using the SCUF.The thought of stick drift being inevitable made me go for the power A wired controllers that are 30.00 - 40.00 dollars.I thought hey if I’m going to have to buy 2 controllers a year let’s go cheap and these have buttons on the back you can re-map so why not.I Ended up using one for 6 months and stick drift got the best of it and I bought another one but I was happy with them. The quality felt justified by the price.My wife now has one and digs it.I recommend it to all of my more causal friendsAnd it’s great for them as well as a solid backup controller for more serious gamers.Then I got this PowerA FUSION Pro controller on sale for around 60 - 70 dollars and it ended up being a steal!It felt really heavy for a controller which I don’t really care for but I don’t mind it.I know some people may like that heavy feel.I heard a rumor that somebody on YouTube took the controller apart and found that they put weights in the controller to make it feel heavier but I’m not sure if that’s true.I like the grips on it a lot.The swappable thumb-sticks are a Win for sure.I did the short concave on the left and the tall concave on the right.You can use Kontrol freeks with these as well which I was doing.The black and white face plates are pretty basic but they are easy to swap so that’s nice.The paddles were interesting to get used to but I really like them now.They are easy to take off but hard to put on.I used only the bottom two paddles ( left is A and right is B) for the longest but recently I added a 3rd paddle on the right side and set it to X for reloading and looting in games and I Dig it now.Using all 4 would feel funny to me.The thumb sticks feel really solid and good for aiming and the stick drift is holding up really good and is at a normal level for the amount of time I’ve had it. I feel like I can compete and get better on this controller.The Case it comes with is really nice and I put the controller away every time and it’s nice and easy and is holding up really well over these last 8 months.I actually figured out that my extra SCUF prestige thumb-sticks fit on this controller so I started using those and it feels REALLY good.When I play NBA2k23 I put the regular Concave longer stick back on the right stick since it feels great for timing step back jumpers but I use the SCUF one for all shooters.My SCUF Prestige has been in its box for a year and a half now but I recently did played a few shooters on it again just to compare a bit.My Power A cheaper controller is the same micro USB as the SCUF so I used that and that doesn’t fall out so that fixed that issue but The RB Button not working is too much for me to get over.In it’s prime for aiming and feel the SCUF is S Tier and even now is is still A tier but the Fusion Pro is the A tier for 70.00 - 90.00 dollars compared to 225.00 so moving forward I’m rolling with the PowerA Fusion PRO.Iv used both of the power A enhanced and those are B tier for aiming and feel but the back buttons on those feel pretty good and I would use those over a standard XBOX controller any day for that alone. You put some Kontrol Freeks on those which are cheap and you are gonna be good to go.If you have a more causal need I would go with that for sure and you can’t beat 30.00 - 40.00 dollars.If you want something that will get you close that SCUF level of quality and feel really good while still being affordable roll with the PowerA FUSION Pro.If you want to ball out and go all in on something like a SCUF then go for it but just know that it will feel amazing but do your best to extend its life span with some of the tips I shared above.As for me I’m going to order some more SCUF prestige Thumb-sticks and When this controller goes out I will take a look at what may be new on the market, but will maybe likely get another FUSION pro.I hope this was helpful and happy shopping to you all!

This controller has surprised me with it's build and quality. I've been using it for nearly a month now and so far there are no issues other than my right stick being a bit loose/wobbly out of the package to where it registers inputs with 0 deadzones. Other than that, the controller works, looks amazing, and is better than my other controllers I've had in many ways. No software/firmware updates required. Just plug and playHOWEVER! It does have it's cons as well-LIGHTS-Not true RGB. Just LED with a few lighting options. I've noticed PURPLE isn't an option. There is no color cycling, either or preset colors. LED button just turns the lights on and off. The LEDs are not fully lit up in erry spot. The outer ring has very dim and darker toned lighting than the rest and have dark/unlit spots in some parts. But at the same time, kinda adds gradients in a way. It's overall very limited on color options, but I only like the Turquoise as all my stuff is truquoise/neon blue-THUMBSTICKS-The thumbstick tension is retarded. I understand why people like tension, but in the end, it's MUCH worse. It just feels bad. Feels like a 360 controller, really. The tension feels like you can only have it centered, or pushed all the way over. As someone who's been using a Switch ProCon (Which the thumbsticks have no tension and are silky smoother almost 4 years later), I'd say this was my biggest disappointment. But I don't play shooter games with a controller anyways. The left thumbstick tension is also slightly lighter than the right thumbstick which is usually the camera stick.BUT, the thumbsticks are AMAZING. Very grippy, not insanely short, but they are kinda small. And I'd recommend thumbgrips to counter that. The texture of the thumbsticks however, is a finger cheese magnet. Careful-BUMPER BUTTONS-I don't trust the bumper buttons.. I hold it in past the clicky point and depending on how lightly I hold it past it, it'll unregister any inputs. When holding down RB or LB, gotta kinda hold it hard. But bcuz of that, pushing it is probably gonna wear it down very fast.. They don't feel right.. If I were to spam RB or LB for like 1 minute, I'm certain I'm gonna have input issues. But who knows, maybe they'll outlast my expectations-AUDIO INPUT-The volume button is alright. I was hoping it'd adjust my PC volume, but it seems it is it's own volume. It's easy to turn up and down. And the audio quality isn't the BEST, but it's still pretty good. And when you plug headphones in, the giant bright red light automatically turns on (Means it's muted) and pressing it in sometimes doesn't work, but rather turns up or down the volume. Kind of annoying.Having headphones plugged into the controller is very problematic. My cord normally hung on my desk or around my keyboard so it wasn't in the way. When plugged into the controller, it's bothersome. Short cords or wireless recommended if you're using headphones or just keep it in your PC. Windows also recognizes it as an Audio Input device, as well. And having the cord plugged in interferes with how I normally hold a controller in my lap. Don't wanna break my headphone 3.5mm thing or the jack. It overall just feels restrictive-TRIGGER LOCKS-The trigger locks are pretty great. Without Steam's BPM controller configurations, you're most likely not gonna be using the Tier 1 trigger lock as most games by default have PHAT deadzones in triggers when there should be NONE. But Steam exists thankfully. The trigger locks are uneven on my controller. My left one kinda feels slower and longer travel to register an input. And tier 2 is pointless. Either it's at quick tap mode, or you're pulling it in all the way. There's no point in having a middle tier-MATERIAL-The material is pretty great. I like the rhombus pattern texture on the handles, the buttons feel nice and glossy, the texture on top is very soft to the touch but also gets hand sweat stains very easily and hard to keep clean. The thumbsticks grind against the Anti Friction rings and create white powder, but that's inevitable on all controllers. Was hoping the anti friction would prevent that. Sadge. The Micro USB cord is braided, has a clippy thing to lock it into the socket, and is pretty stiff. Tho the clippy thing that locks the USB into the socket isn't rly doing much work. The snug fit of the USB socket is tight that I had a hard time unplugging it at first. Good thing tho. AND MAKE THEM USB C! Apart from the thumbsticks, I don't think finger cheese will be much of a concern. (Finger Cheese, btw, is the dead skin in the cracks of your controllers that look disgusting)-BUTTONS-Apart from RB and LB feeling kinda unreliable and sus, they still feel good and clicky when you click them. A B X Y is nice and big and kinda loud and mushy as erry other controller ever is. I can't wait for the day mechanical controllers are more common. Triggers feel nice, on t1 lock they're very clicky that they almost sound mechanical. Xbox button is mushy, but I rarely press it anyways. Start/Select feel solid. D-Pad shape is great, so far I haven't registered multiple unwanted inputs. The Advanced Gaming Buttons on the back are very clicky and loud. I always find myself clicking them all the time bcuz it's so satisfying. I've rebinded my Thumbstick buttons to them so I avoid wear and tear on them. The thumbstick buttons themselves were fairly stiff and loud, but I haven't broken them in yet nor do I plan on using them ever. Durability is my #1 priority-PERFORMANCE-Feels great! Playing HADES, I performed not as good as I did on my Switch ProCon, but I eventually got gud and completed the game with this controller. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the short concave sticks make parrying easy and I've been S ranking all game modes easier than with my NS ProCon. Having analog triggers for Ninja Run and Blade Mode are nice, knowing they won't unregister an input since the Switch ProCon didn't have analog triggers. Just sometimes unregistered inputs to where I was spamming blade mode without moving my left middle finger smdh. Analog triggers and the backwards ABXY layout on xbox is mainly why I got this controller and I'm satisfied-CONCLUSION-Yeah I'm satisfied. 2 year warranty is very nice, thank you PowerA. USB C would make this controller faster and more reliable as it's new and more advanced and better in erry possible way than Micro USB is. While people complain about wired controllers, and I understand why especially for couch gaming for console peasants. But know this: WIRED IS BETTER IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY EXCEPT THE FACT THAT IT'S WIRED. You're best using a wired controller for the same reason you're better off using an Ethernet cable than WiFi. Especially when getting competitive and tryna save a $$$ or 2The price for this controller, especially for it's quality, is incredible. It's no wonder why it's the #1 selling on Amazon rn. $31 on sale, get it while it lasts. So far, apart from inevitable stick drift we will all encounter and probably the potential RB/LB button reliability concerns, there really is no downside to buying this product with that 2 year warranty and the price. GET IT

To be clear, the left trigger works everywhere except for where I want it to: Minecraft. After searching the internet, I can see I'm not the only one who has had this issue. What's peculiar is that it's not just the Spectra. Apparently this happens with the Elite, too. So I guess that means avoid Xbox controllers altogether, which is a shame because it's nice to use and I like the lighting on this model. And I'm a PlayStation guy. If it weren't too late, I'd return this.EDIT: User error on my part. There are T1-T3 switches on the back of the controller, behind each shoulder that can soften the signal strength of the trigger squeeze (T1 for 100%, T3 for up to 30%). Definitely a feature, not a bug, which is pretty cool. So, yeah, I like it a lot since everything works.