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

Okay well let’s get some good points here.

First of all I want to say that the all the buttons work great for me.

Leds: The led setting controls are a bit weird at first but once you get used to it it is fine (plus you probably won’t be changing colors that often)
Color selection: The color selection is alright, There is a decent range but also is missing some usual colors (like there’s no purple for example) there is two pinks and I decided myself I wanted to use the light pink color, which for some reason wasn’t a color option for one of the 3 zones but it’s alright I just did a mixer of the two pinks.
PS I don’t use leds most of the time personally don’t care much for but it’s nice sometimes if in the dark!

Customizable button: Make sure you read instructions on how to do and don’t be like me just clicking and somehow it working (I’ve figured out now) this is a nice feature and I use it a bit just sucks its only two, but hey better than none huh? Overall love this being added.

Trigger adjustment: The fact the triggers have different levels doesn’t make any difference in most games (a lot of games won’t recognize it sometimes if it is set to press down less so you have to have it so it presses all the way down)

And now to the worst part (for me atleast)

Built in Mute/Vol control: This is nice for games (like apex legends) that don’t allow you to mute ingame in chat so it’s a nice feature. The volume adjustment is okay nice to be able to turn down a lot person a little extra or quite a little louder.

Static: so when I plug in headphones the mute button on lower middle part of controller will light up red, and there is no static noise UNTIL I unmute it and then for some reason it will start doing a static noise (so on xbox party make sure to have noise suppression on so no one else can hear it because is loud for others, I have tested.) Personally I hate having noise suppression on so even if the static noise doesn’t bother me that much that does. Also keep in mind louder you make volume the louder the static is so I just turn everything else up really loud on xbox abs such then turn headset down to make it not very loud, though I can see this being annoying for some people.

Overall I like it and will continue to use, don’t know if I would buy again though and haven’t tested durability too much since I haven’t had it for that long but after awhile I may update if it breaks in next few months.

I have bought this controller twice now, and it has failed in the same spot. The RB and LB buttons through use are pretty weak, and there is a small plastic piece that presses on the motherboard button within that can snap or bend with heavy use. This happened to me twice on two separate purchases, only a few months after purchase. I admit I used them heavily, but the break renders those buttons completely broken and the controllers useless.

Luckily PowerA support was quick and attentive. I only asked for a replacement with my most recent purchase, but they actually replaced both with free shipping, almost no questions asked. I kind of expect the controllers to break again soon enough, but at least they recognized this was through normal usage of the controllers and replaced them.

For the price and attentive support team, good choice for a controller. If you are a heavy user though (20 hours or more a week), you probably will need to get a more expensive one to avoid the bumpers breaking.

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 play

HOWEVER! 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 2
The 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

Von der Qualität her kann ich nach einer Weile intensiver Benutzung nur feststellen, dass ich beim besten Willen nicht sagen kann, ob der originale Xbox Series X/S Controller oder der PowerA bessere Verarbeitungsqualität hat. Die Sticks und Triggertasten sind genauso präzise und alle Knöpfe lösen genauso zuverlässig aus wie beim Original. Beide fühlen sich von den Materialen her gut an, es knarzt nichts oder ähnliches. Die Facebuttons haben beim PowerA ein etwas strafferes Gefühl als beim Originalcontroller und auch das D-Pad mit dem eher klassischen Druckgefühl, wie man es von früher vom SNES kennt gefällt mir persönlich etwas besser als das original D-Pad mit Mausklickgefühl. Die Sticks sind hier auch minimal straffer als beim Original aber die analogen Trigger haben dafür etwas weniger Wiederstand. Das sind letztendlich aber irgendwie Designentscheidungen vom Hersteller oder Geschmacksfragen für den Kunden.
Qualität insgesamt wie gesagt absolut selbe Liga.
Man hat hier ein großzügiges 3m Kabel und bekommt Beleuchtung wo man die Farben auch an verschiedenen Bereichen unabhängig ändern kann oder man schaltet die Beleuchtung einfach aus, wenn man eigentlich nur einen weißen Controller wollte. Ein Pluspunkt sind natürlich die beiden Programmierbaren Tasten an der Rückseite wo die Zuweisung auch bleibt, wenn man den PC oder die Konsole ausmacht, sodass man nicht bei jedem Spielstart alles neu einstellen muss.
Hatte befürchtet, dass bei einem “Billiganbieter” solche kleinen Mankos aufkommen könnten. Aber es ist alles so wies sein soll. Hier kann man bedenkenlos zugreifen vor allem für den Preis.
Amazon hat hier regelmäßig auf solche Produkte krasse Preisnachlässe. Hab den Controller für 23€ bekommen und für das Geld ist er natürlich viel attraktiver als das Original vor allem, wenn man explizit ein Kabel will, weil man keine Akkus laden möchte, oder wegen den Extratasten, oder man keine 300€ für einen Scuf Controller zahlen kann oder will oder was mit RGB sucht…. aber auch der Normalpreis von 45€ geht völlig klar für das was man hier bekommt.
Gut finde ich auch, dass man keine Software installieren muss.
Kleiner Hinweis noch: Der Mitgelieferte Gratismonat Gamepass Ultimate ist ein “Promocode” man kann den so weit ich weiß pro Account nur einmal aktivieren. Hatte leider schon ein solches Angebot benutzt vorher, geht also nicht mehr. Aber wegen sowas zieh ich hier keine Sterne ab.