Yes, they are that bad.
Ok,ok, no they are not really that bad. Everyone around here knows I'm a long time Spektrum hater but the truth is that they are just fine for 90% of RC car uses. My problem is that I run in that top 1% of performance needs (1/8th onroad and 1/12th). There every millisecond counts and Spektrum just doesn't cut it but for most other uses, they are just fine.