Originally sent as a Private Message on 2005/08/05 by: Flatscan
Since I made that post, I burned out my new BNS pad with static - the pad had accumulated a sizeable amount of charge, and I plugged it into my computer, which has a good ground. It's not as much of a problem with consoles because they're not grounded and will share the charge more gracefully. I replaced it with a
www.ddrnation.com pad which has PS2 and XBox connectors, a roughly equivalent vinyl surface, but somewhat worse (thinner and smaller sections) foam. I put in the foam from the DX in the replacement pad, and it's still going strong. I have another mostly worn-out DX at my old place in another state, and I think I can put together a working pad if I ever get it.
If I ever start doing doubles, I would buy another BNS DX for the foam. If I wore out my pad, I would probably get a DDRNation v2.5 pad and reuse the DX foam.
DDR Nation Ignition Dance Pad (v2.5), PS2/XBox 33.95
DDR Nation Ignition Dance Pad (v3.5), PS2/XBox 45.95 - haven't tried
BNS DX-Xtreme - PS2, it comes with an XBox adapter for 58.95, 48.95 without adapter (look carefully for the link up top)
I didn't like the responsiveness of the 2.5 vs the DX at first, but I don't really care any more. It has distinctly raised areas (good for feeling position) that are stiff and require a little extra push to register. The big difference in price overrides this nitpick, as long as the foam is replaced.
I've posted my opinion on Red Octane - not worth the extra cost.
Since it seems like you're willing to lay down the money for an XBox, I would go with the 2 pack of BNS DX for 89.95 + 25 shipping, IIRC. The 14.95 v3.1 USB adapter will work for 2 controllers simultaneously (I didn't test it with pads before I blew everything out).
If you have a computer hooked up to your playing screen, I would go with Stepmania. Not sure how difficult it is to get song torrents these days. My computer gets out of sync every once in a while, so I switch it up between my computer and PS2, depending if I want song selection or guaranteed sync'd play. I would recommend against PSX unless you can get one for free, as the games available are quite limited. For the PS2, DDRMAX2 is very good (I've read that it's the best for PS2), and there's also DDRMAX and Extreme. One of my friends really likes In the Groove (DDR-like game by DDR fans). For the XBox, I don't know about either of the Ultramixes, but the Stepmania download sounds interesting.
Hope this helps.
