Now this is a thread I can get behind.
I've done the file-down mod and it certainly makes things better but I totally agree that it can't fully fix the inherently poor design. My standard for judging d-pads is a simple one: Pac-Man CE. Up, down, left, right + blazing speed -- that's the whole game, nothing more, nothing less. My modded d-pad was just as shit as the factory design.
I've tried the SF4 pad on PMCE as well. Also major suckage. Even worse than the factory pad.
I haven't tried the blue Hori pad, but it does look nice. The rest of the controller looks kind of lame, though, and I hate wired controllers at this point. The new Hori pad looks better overall, though still wired. I think I might give it a try.
I haven't tried the Sega pads, either. I was under the impression they only worked with the PS3...?
But I really want one of these. You can't use it for games that involve the bumpers or triggers, but for games that only use face buttons it looks stellar. By the eye test, it looks like the closest thing to an NES/SNES d-pad design.
Anyone use it? Ars Technica seemed to like it.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/12/the-best-xbox-360-d-pad-comes-with-a-drum-set.ars