In Trace Velo's world everything is absolutely fantastic, quality is absolutely amazing and works absolutely well until it doesn't. Honestly though he must be blind because you can literally see cheap quality paint/finish.
I had had those absolutely fantastic cheap LTWoo mechanical groupsets (10 and 11s) as well as Sensah 11 speed TeamPro shifters. The derailleurs too are just about okay with slop built in them. My LTWoo shifters had paint starting to wear out in roughly 150 miles. Both 10 and 11 speed shifter's downshift lever was sloppy and spongy. The 10 speed lever won't sit in its place well right out of the box. Funnily I bought the 10s first, went through all these problems and yet gave the 11s version a try only to face same problems again. Clearly I don't learn from mistakes.
As for Sensah, the front shifting was terrible - I never managed to shift well on the front even though I was using Ultegra R8000 FD. The rear shifting was okay but not crisp, again with Ultegra R8000 RD. And then the all-in-one lever is troublesome too. There is a mechanism in it that prevents accidental braking while shifting, that mechanism is iffy at best. On couple of occasions it thought I was shifting even though I wasn't and refused the brake press and I had to frantically press lever. Never again.
A used, abused 105 R7000 shifter set/groupset is superior to both, not even a contest. Save your money, headache and frustration and go for 105. If you manage Ultegra on the cheap, even better. Things like shifters, you buy once you buy right. These are the biggest difference-makers in your build.
As for SRAM Apex, its one step below 105 and is evident. I am fairly certain it would still be better than LTWoo or Sensah. No experience with it but I do have with Rival and it is excellent. I just prefer Shimano's shift style and mineral hydraulics.
