so ive been flying whoops and a couple prebuilt 3inch cinewhoops for about a year now and i finally decided to just do a proper 5inch freestyle build from scratch. been watching builds for months and i think im mostly there but im second guessing my stack choice and wanted to get some outside opinions before i pull the trigger on anything.

frame is the ImpulseRC Apex, which i feel pretty good about. motors im going with Ethix S5s in 2306 1922kv for 4s which ive heard nothing but good things about. the part im stuck on is the FC/ESC stack. i was leaning toward the Speedybee F7 stack because the price is genuinely really good and the BT setup for betaflight is convenient but then someone on a discord told me the ESC has had desyncing issues and now im not sure. was also looking at the Tmotor F7 stack but thats like twice the price for a first build and feels like overkill.

also genuinely not sure where to start with rates and filtering after i get it flying. i know i should probably leave everything default at first but how long before i should start messing with that stuff

the speedybee desync thing i think was a specific batch or early firmware, most people running it now seem fine. that said if you're already on the fence maybe look at the Aikon AK32 4in1 paired with something like a Matek F722 ? slightly more work to wire but both are really proven parts and you'd know exactly what you're getting. honestly for a first 5inch the stack matters less than people make it seem, you're gonna crash it a bunch regardless and learn way more from flying than from agonizing over specs.

on the rates/filtering question ? fly it stock for at least a few packs, like actually fly it not just hover in the backyard. once you know how it handles you'll have a real reason to change stuff rather than just copying someone elses tune off youtube. RPM filtering especially, leave that alone until you understand what it's doing.

im basically in the same boat lol, been sitting on an Apex frame for two months trying to figure out the stack situation. ended up just going with the Aikon 4in1 that the guy above mentioned based on a recommendation from someone at my local track. havent finished the build yet so cant tell you how it flies but the build quality on the ESC feels solid. the Speedybee BT thing does sound really convenient though ngl