The estimated time of life might vary. It could be very well shorted if ALL of them played on Heavy...but they don't.

Can't your college get a fundraiser going for a REAL arcade machine? You can actually get an EXTREME machine for $3500 or so if you get a 3rd Mix and an EXTREME upgrade kit.

Ask around at DDRFreak.com to see what's the cheapest method.

ok if ur in a school, on a second floor, where allt he floors are hard concrete and such, then no i dont think it would make that much noise

Well, my college is still deciding whether or not we will install DDR onto the campus- but I'm sure we will get two cobalt flux pads (which will cost only $600) if we do. The rest of the equipment we need we already have (Playstation 2, monitors, etc.). I don't see the big advantage of getting an actual DDR machine, because I'm sure the lifespan of the machine and the cobalt flux pads are about the same.

I am still concerned about what metal pad I'm going to buy for myself. (I found out that if I play on my porch, the people under my apartment can't hear me). I was looking on E-Bay and found a metal pad for about $60. The brand is TX-1000, but before I invest my money on it, I want to know if that brand is a good brand for metal dance pads...

well if u think it is a good deal, i say go for it, and for the advantages of a real DDR machine at school...here they are----it looks cool
-------more songs
-------it looks cool
there you have it

ew dont get a metal pad yucky

Medal pad? wouldn't that hurt?