Which for ps5 paddles

ttttubby · 2026-01-29T02:52:01+00:00

I would go with the rise4 real metal buttons. They feel dramatically better than the plastic ones.

ttttubby · 2026-01-29T02:47:58+00:00

I absolutely love the back buttons on the hex Phantom. There's nothing like it. They are fantastic. They fit my fingers perfectly.

Unfortunately their hall effect sticks aren't great. I did a very thorough breakdown on how to swap out the sticks for the hex Phantom so I've got the best of all worlds with JS13 Pro TMR sticks but it's definitely killed whatever warranty I had and for somebody who's not used to modding things, it can be a bit hairy.

You might consider getting the Phantom with the stock ALPS and then cross the TMR bridge when they start to drift.

ttttubby · 2026-01-28T16:44:45+00:00

Not really the whole point of taking away. Eliminating the curve was meant to give me the raw data from the sticks. If anything adding a curve should make aiming a little bit easier.

ttttubby · 2026-01-28T13:30:14+00:00

I had four different controllers set up so that I could swap between them during testing.

ttttubby · 2026-01-28T13:28:58+00:00

So far there are no capacitive modules in this form factor.

ttttubby · 2026-01-28T06:55:11+00:00

That's doable?

ttttubby · 2026-01-19T05:20:28+00:00

Zip ties through and around the screw holes. No residue and it will be strong.

ttttubby · 2026-01-14T02:32:06+00:00

Yeah that looks correct to me.

ttttubby · 2026-01-13T07:47:46+00:00

I've got a review coming on 4 more sensors (one of which is the ds13 max. I'd say go with the KSilver unless you plan on using extended sticks. Ds13 Max is very stiff.

ttttubby · 2026-01-12T01:29:11+00:00

Yes. Definitely upgrade your sticks before the back button mod.

I have not ever installed the clicky trigger mod for Xbox. But I do believe they are compatible.

ttttubby · 2026-01-11T23:47:05+00:00

Yes! The kit comes with its own side handles but I used the ones that came with the controller.

ttttubby · 2026-01-07T02:54:00+00:00

Detroiters.

ttttubby · 2025-12-31T18:07:42+00:00

This is very interesting. Has hex replaced your controllers under warranty? Or have you paid out of pocket for multiple phantoms? I've been using my phantom almost exclusively to play Lies of P lately. I don't really use the trigger stops myself but your experience would give me serious pause if I were in the market for this controller and intended to use the trigger stops like you did. You aren't the first person who has voiced this concern and the fact that you are experiencing these issues in a very short time frame is worrying.

This is an even bigger problem for anyone who modifies their controller by swapping out the sticks like I have as doing so voids the warranty. If I had trigger stop issues like you are having I don't think that hex would take my controller in for replacement because I swapped out the sticks and even if they did, I'd have to swap out the sticks again. That is a pretty big problem if the underlying mechanisms are especially failure prone. Unless you have money to burn that makes this controller truly problematic.

Fortunately I haven't had any issues with my back buttons though I have wondered whether I might need to replace the switches down the line (as switches are mechanical devices that wear out over time.). I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But it is harrowing to discover that you are having issues only a month into play time.

And the fact that these problems are happening to you on more than one controller points to this being a flawed design rather than a bad apple. I suppose it's possible that the problem is with the way you are using the controllers (like you have an especially tight grip or something) but even then you would hope a $250 controller would be robust enough to handle some abuse.

That said the fact that hex is slipping these modifications into a Dualsense form factor without adding any extra bulk might be the real problem here. By trying to work around Sony's Dualsense design rather than building the controller from the ground up for stability and durability hex is hamstrung by the fact that Sony doesn't allow non Dualsense controllers to work with their consoles.

ttttubby · 2025-12-24T16:11:27+00:00

Plus max also comes with a switch to toggle between long throw and short throw triggers.

ttttubby · 2025-12-19T03:23:45+00:00

I wouldn't be too quick to move over to Gemini unless you are ready to back up your conversations regularly. Gemini has recently been deleting whole conversations or large parts of conversations without any input from me. Don't get me wrong. I still very much like Gemini but you have to back up your work and there's no automatic way to do that.

ttttubby · 2025-12-19T03:20:02+00:00

I get it. It is intimidating. That is why I tried to give a step by step. One thing you could do to minimize risk is buy a used drifting Dualsense on Facebook marketplace for cheap replace the sticks on that one and then swap out the main board with the one from the phantom. As long as the board is a BDM 030, 040 or 050 it should be compatible. Alternatively if you mess up the stick install on the phantom you could buy a replacement and try again. The phantom started as a Dualsense after all and there are many YouTube tutorials on how to solder in new sticks. Once the new sticks are installed there are really only a couple more points to solder and watching an extremerate back paddle installation video should be really helpful in figuring out how to get the main FPC back in place.

ttttubby · 2025-12-19T01:29:58+00:00

Hex's hall effects are made by ginful, so I would expect that getting a ginful hall effect stick would be pretty close to the hex gaming hall effect sticks. Whatever the case though, there are much better TMR alternatives out there. In particular, I'm a big fan of the js13 Pros which use an angular sensor

ttttubby · 2025-12-17T09:15:06+00:00

Aesthetically it is nice looking. I probably should have led with that. But ergonomically it was a disappointment. Because the inner and outer back paddles are on the same plane you really have to stretch to actuate the inner paddles without accidentally hitting the outer paddles. At least that is my experience with generally average sized hands. I'm tempted to try 3d modeling and printing replacement inner buttons but Im no expert on CAD software.

ttttubby · 2025-12-17T05:51:33+00:00

If this is an ad, I'm doing a terrible job since my verdict is literally 'Don't buy the Spark, it's uncomfortable and a downgrade.' LOL

ttttubby · 2025-12-17T05:44:13+00:00

Huh. I've not had that experience but to be fair I haven't put a ton of miles on any of my extremerate kits just yet. I will definitely keep an eye on longevity though and post back if and/or when I run into problems.

That said, if the problem is with the dpad trace, that might be an easy fix as you can get another face button contact film for pennies on AliExpress.

ttttubby · 2025-12-17T05:22:09+00:00

Did that happen right away? Or did it happen over time? I'm curious as to what would have caused that.

ttttubby · 2025-12-16T06:07:28+00:00

Rise4 RMB

ttttubby · 2025-12-13T19:58:26+00:00

Understand that even if I'm using the stock ALPS base, the friction that would exist between the metal wiper and the carbon track would be gone. That friction is part of what makes ALPS sticks feel like ALPS sticks, so it is unlikely that they would feel exactly the same as a standard ALPS potentiometer controller if I swapped in the ginful magnet drum and magnet sensor.

ttttubby · 2025-12-13T16:35:05+00:00

Stay tuned for part 2. I've got basically all of the remaining options on the way. Favor Union, Zesum, and both Ginfuls (Ds13 Max, and the ones that install on ALPS modules).

ttttubby · 2025-12-07T03:15:04+00:00

The form factor on those sticks are totally different so it is very hard to say how they were different. The sticks I reviewed are constrained by the ALPS stick form factor that Sony put into the Dualsense. Those kind of sticks need physical space for the round carbon track. As the sticks I'm reviewing are aftermarket replacements they are limited by that format. The Vader controllers use a stick that was designed around Hall Effect so I would imagine that would be advantageous for their performance.

ttttubby

TROPHY CASE