Great, happy I could help.
As for the track ir, this was actually my first track ir so I have no personal experience to compare other versions. But on their website it says this version has a higher dpi and angle of view or something along those lines. If yours works for you then why change it?
I am fairly inexperienced as well when it comes to good flightsticks, this one is actually the most expensive one I have had so far at $60..ish
Generally I would think you get what you pay for, I would use the search function, as far as I remember there was a pretty good thread about sticks at some point. The one brand where people say the sticks look rather not so elegant but work like a charm is CH. I believe they have 3 sticks to choose from. I might get one of those for myself as a xmas present
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If you want FFB of course there are not may out there and you'll pay for the feature.
And then it all depends if with a new stick you need a throttle as well for a nice HOTAS setup or as close to that as possible. I am quite happy with the 3lever/6+3 buttons quadrant I have and at another $60...ish it didn't brake the bank either.