Power-A Spectra Infinity – The Almost-Best Budget Pro Controller
The Power-A Spectra Infinity and the Turtle Beach React-R are both excellent options if you plan on getting an Xbox Elite controller or Scuf controller but aren’t yet ready to spend that kind of money. For 45 bucks, the Spectra has an overall more solid-feeling build quality than the React-R, and includes manual trigger actuation point adjustment. But given connection options and a trigger actuation function that might pose an issue in certain games, as well as a material that I think is likely to get gunked up, there are a few caveats to consider.
In general, this gamepad arguably demands the top position of all of these for pro features. It feels remarkably premium for the price. It has assignable rear buttons that can be configured on the device. It has physical trigger range adjustment. And it lights up if you’re into that sort of thing.
There are two notable issues with the Spectra, however, and that’s where you might choose to go with the React-R or even the Turtle Beach Recon, if you can get it on sale. The first is that, while hair-trigger adjustments are neat, depending on the game you play, you could be restricting your ability to pull off any feature that requires you to hold a trigger. Halo happens to have a very obvious example: Charging a plasma weapon like the plasma pistol requires you to hold the trigger down. It appears that with the most shallow level of throw set on the trigger, it doesn’t depress far enough to be recognized as a “held” button. Firing off quick shots works perfectly, but charged stuff gets the shaft.
The other potential issue with this controller will really only plague you if you’re living in the future and are using mostly USB-C cables for peripherals. The Spectra, right now, comes with a micro-USB port which is a bit of a let down. But, god, at least it’s detachable. You could also put a small micro-USB to USB-C adapter in there…but that might be a little risky.
All of our peripherals are only going to be switching over to USB-C as we move forward. So that means the Spectra might be the one device of yours where you need to keep track of a damn micro-USB cable. Granted, Power-A has made this easier by designing the jack to lock in place, meaning you can keep the controller and the cable locked together and never have to worry about it. The housing for the jack is also wide enough to probably fit most straight micro USB cables, so if you lose this one, well, it might not be a big issue. But if you’re mostly using USB-C, you might be better off getting a different controller.
And while the texture of the face controller feels very silky and fancy, I’m not entirely sure how this is going to age. Especially if you’re like me and you’re eating far too many quesadillas and enjoying substances while gaming.
While I preferred the 8BitDo for single-player games, there’s no denying that this was my go-to controller for gaining a competitive advantage, theoretically. As I said, the no-nonsense setup of the Hori meant that I could just play as I usually do. But again, a controller like the Spectra might be a good way to cut your teeth on features that are becoming essential for pro-level play. The trigger issue holds this back from being a more true “pro” experience, but it’s a cheap, affordable way to get into pro features, especially since a pro controller might run you close to three times the cost of this one.
Perhaps one of the most surprising things about taking a look at all of these budget controllers is how, with some constraints (wireless being the most obvious), all of these are pretty safe bets for something you want to save some money on, or just have as a backup, have be the designated Player 2 controller. Some will have features that make it evident which one you’ll want. Others will be a matter of aesthetic taste, especially if you don’t care about pro features.
Overall, all of these but the Hyperkin will perfectly feel at home when playing on PC or Xbox. And I’d kill for a USB-C detachable 8BitDo Ultimate gamepad.
