I switched to CH from a Saitek X52 about a year ago, hoping to have a better quality setup, and while the X52 never gave me any problems at all, I didn't care for the "feel" of it.
I don't know about others experiences, but I was very disappointed in the CH stick, it was so sloppy that I couldn't even calibrate it. I finally had to take it apart, and found the fit between the pot's shaft and the gimble was very loose. Some teflon plumber's tape wrapped around the shaft for a tight fit fixed it right up.
But to have to do that for what is supposed to be a top-level stick is just a no-go with me. CH used to be top of the line, but from what I have been reading on other boards, they are really slipping of late, and my problem is common enough that they have a step by step instruction post on their forum for reworking/repairing it. I also contacted their tech support, and never heard back at all.
From what I have seen while calibrating my rudder pedals (CH pro USB) and throttle quadrant, I am going to have to take them apart and do the same thing.
I recently bought a Cougar, and am going to upgrade it as I can afford to. I know this isn't going to be a solution for others, as it isn't cheap, but in my view if I am going to have to do a total rebuild of a stick, I might as well end up with a Cougar X2. And with the Cougar at least I know going in that I am going to be doing the rebuild, though it has worked for me just fine right out of the box.
From my experience, I would say to be very careful buying anything from CH, and plan on reworking it if you do.
