The problem with the old one was that the plastic was slightly bend, making the directions on the D-pad feel different to press.
I promised Retro-Bit that I would update my thoughts on the pad once I received the new one, so here goes.
Right out of the box the D-pad was awful. Not much better than the other one, that I managed to improve drastically with a hot air station and a sharp blade.
So I figured it might was well open this one up too and have a look. As I had hoped there was no bend on the actuator, but it did have the same sharp piece of plastic on one of the ends that causes the D-pad to press unevenly on the rubber pads.
After cutting that off the D-pad is now alright. I still think it feels off compared to an original Saturn-controller, and their Mega Drive controllers are better too for sure. But it's alright and usable, and probably still better than any d-pad on modern day consoles.
The buttons are great. Really good, just like the first one I got, no complaints here.
The shoulder buttons on these Saturn controllers aren't very good like we already discussed. But the L button is actually pretty decent on this one, and the R button is really bad. This is caused by the chosen tact switches, and is as far as I can tell not a problem with moulds or assembly. I wish they had used the same tact switches they used in the MD USB pads. They are pretty good
So in case anyone want to fix their Saturn controller here's how you remove the D-pad without breaking the actuator.
1. Use a pair of sprudgers or similar to get underneath the actuators from opposite sides and apply force evenly. The actuator will shoot off pretty easily without bending the plastic.