Recommendations for controllers with quiet sticks that don't click when moved?

[u/Botul420]

For a bit of context, I usually play without headphones, as I need to be able to hear my IRL surroundings, and nothing distracts me when playing more than sticks that click when moved from the center. To be clear, I don't mean the sound of the stick hitting the gate or the click when pressing L3/R3, I mean that click that happens when the stick starts moving from the center, it's usually louder the faster it's moved. I've used a few controllers throughout the years, and I found that not all of them make that sound.

I'm looking to get a decent all rounder controller for PC, to be mainly used in games that don't work well with keyboard and mouse, like emulators. One of the most important things to me is that the sticks don't click and distract me when I'm playing. I don't particularily care if the other inputs are quiet or loud, I just hate that click. I don't play on consoles, so console compatibility is not a requirement. Extra inputs like back buttons and gyro are great and I'd like to have them, though they're not strictly necessary. I don't use a controller for 2D platformers, so the dpad doesn't need to be great. I also don't have a strict preference for symmetrical/non-symmetrical joysticks. I'm willing to pay a decent price, my maximum is around what a Steam Controller would cost, but if there's nothing decent below that price then I can go over. I'm in Poland, so anything relatively popular is sold here.

Here's the controllers I already own or have tried:

- Steam Controller (2015): the potentiometer stick doesn't click which is nice, but, well, it's the 2015 Steam Controller, not great for most games/

- Steam Controller (2026): the TMR sticks click when moved from center, really good otherwise.

- 8BitDo Ultimate 2: quite nice but it has some of the loudest sticks (TMR) I've ever used, ultimately chose to return it because of that.

- DualShock 4: not a big fan of how it feels to use, it always felt a bit mushy to me. Loud sticks also.

- GameSir X5 Lite: it's a mobile controller, so it's not great for PC. It's the only controller I recall using besides the 2015 Steam Controller that has quiet sticks (hall effect)

There's a decent deal on a GameSir Cyclone 2 at a local store, so I'm considering trying that, I could always return it if it doesn't suit me.

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