TX-1501 - Metal Dance Mat - Review

[eTom]

Also known as the "ITG Inspired Ninja Stainless Steel Metal Dance DDR PRO Pad" on eBay.com

As my first ever post i thought i may as well make it useful!

My name is Tom, from UK (Manchester). Ive been playing DDR for 2 years (with large gaps where i didn't play) and im "average" skill level id say. I can get a B on Max 300 Standard
Anyway, on with the review...

Ive had the pad for 2 weeks now and its been well used to this review is fair as in i know what its like not just for the first day of using it.


Buying It


I got the TX-1501 from Lik-Sang Europe for about £80 (about $160), it took 3 days to arrive.

It came well packaged, in a cardboard box. There was a huugge gash in the box that shows how crap UPS treat your shipping. Luckily, they packaged the mat in 2 layers of thick cardboard so it wasn't harmed.

Each arrow is wrapped in plastic so you have to unscrew it to remove that, not too much trouble. The non-arrows (shiny metal) is covered in white plastic and it looks like its just that colour, its not, its just the protective film to make sure you take that off or it dosent look as great


The TX-1501

You get 4 free replacement arrows too, this is obviously to reassure people who got a TX-1000 or similar that was bad due to the poor quality arrows supplied. After 2 weeks and none of the original arrows are showing any signs of breaking.


The 4 replacement arrows still wrapped.


How it looks


I think this is a really nice looking mat. Its let-down is the arrow graphics, i think they could be a bit more stylish tbh.

The metal parts are nice, its like a mirror! Ive had the mat for about 2 weeks at the time of writing this and there are lots and lots of light scratches in the metal parts, nothing to hinder the pads performance but it dosent look as shiny now.
The covers and edges arent sharp, i play in socks and have been cut or scratched once.

The A and B, or X and O buttons are in the top corners and are made from the same shiny metal as the blank squares.



This mat looks very clean and well constructed.


Showing the thinness of the mat.


On top is an arrow plate, under is a metal command button plate.


Production Quality


A huge problem with the older TX series was there poor construction, with the TX1501 this isnt much of a problem.

The arrows are held into place by a slot at the edge of the mat that they slide under, and at the center there are 4 washers screwed down to secure the corner of each arrow.


Close up of the corner of the arrows.

To perform any maintenance on your pad you will need to unscrew these 4 washers and slide the arrows out. This is a simple task.

The underside of the washers has a quite sharp edge, therefore we see scratches in each arrow caused when it moves in and out due to stepping on it.


Showing the effect of usage.

This hasnt caused any problems (yet...) it could cause the corner of the arrow to snap or become thinner if it continued, although i think it wont scratch any deeper than it already has done.

Under each arrow there is a layer of foam with a square cut out to allow room for the contact.


One command button and 2 arrows removed.

The foam is to soften the arrows, unlike other metal pads it is not there to provide an upwards resistance to the arrow to stop it from touching the contact. (more about this in the next section)


Performance and Sensitivity


I use Stepmania with this dance mat.
Connectors: PC USB, XBox, PS, PS2.
When i connected this mat to my PC it worked instantly with both arrows at the same time and no need to install anything.
(I am running Windows XP - SP2 - Home)


The control box, 2 buttons are Start and Select (Back).

The control box connects to the mat via a serial cable.

This confused me though, on the side opposite to the serial cable connection, there are 2 ports on either side of the wire that goes out to USB/XBOX/PS. I cant figure out what they are for, if you know make sure you tell me so i can add it here.


????????


The sensitivity of the mat is obviously very important. I heard that the fully metal (and more expensive version) of this mat that uses metal plate arrows instead of plastic is not very sensitive so i would question purchasing that model.

I found that this mat has perfect sensitivity, you dont need to stamp down on the arrows for them to register, just a casual step on them will do fine.
They have never stuck down as they dont recede into the platform they slightly bend inwards, just enough for you to feel that you have stepped on them.

There isnt any cracking noises or clicking when stepping on the arrows and the mat seems to be virtually silent.
The bottom of the mat is completely covered in gripping rubber, so it stops the mat from sliding and also protects hard foors (i guess).

People have reported problems with arrows sliding out of place whilst playing, causing them to crack.
With this mat you will notice that the arrows slide a bit out of place, the image below is an arrow pushed as far as possible to the side of the mat, when it is like this is makes absolutely no difference and it is does not cause the arrow to become more snap-able. If anything, it helps you feel where abouts you are on the mat (which is easy on this because the metal panels and the arrows have a totally different feeling).


Arrow pushed to the edge.

The sensitivity of the command buttons on the pad is low, but this isnt a problem because it stops you accidentally pressing them in a menu, they require a firm step to be activated.

The arrow connectors have been improved since the previous models.
Under each arrow is a metal foil (same) stuck on top of hard foam. After playing for 3 weeks this foil is still in reasonably good condition but it is possible that it could wear out after some time, no problem of course, the sheet metal mod could fix that easily.


Under an arrow.


Close up of foil damage.

The contacts on the actual mat look high quality (*look*).



The image below shows that some foil has rubbed off onto the contact, this can cause a problem if a lot of it builds up so cleaning the contacts every few weeks is a good idea.


Close up of contacts on mat

There is less foil and a smaller contact for action buttons on the mat, obviously the cause of there lower responsiveness.


Foil on action buttons.


Overall


I give this mat 9.5/10 for quality and value. It hasnt failed me yet, and its good to know ive got 4 replacement arrows in-case the current arrows snap or something.

I think if you are looking for a metal mat this is definitely the one to get, i was concerned about it not feeling right or being uncomfy but thats not really the case with this!


If there are any more questions about this you want me to answer feel free to ask!

I really sound like im trying to sell this dont i?

[psisarah]

That's an XBox memory card slot.

Very thorough review, good job.
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[eTom]

Ahh, ok. I wonder why they put one on the control box :S
Do xbox mem cards work differently to Playstation ones?

[Marq(uistadorous)]

Awsome review I was wanting a review cause I think I am getting 2 of these puppies
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[Captain Murphy]

This is extremely interesting. It seems like the general idea around the forums and the rest of the internet has been something along the lines of 'TX-Anything = crap', ect., but you really seem to know what you're talking about in your review. Does anyone know how long this particular model has been available on ebay? I first noticed the Ninja's floating about a few weeks ago and was floored by how cheap they were, but after reading what people had to say about the ebay metal pad market, I just kind of resigned to the fact that they were probably garbage. If they're as high quality as you say, and if they don't break any time in the near future... well, $110 is really looking kinda nice compared to what might be the next step up, the Afterburner, or even that distant, brilliantly burning star known only as the CF.
Strangely enough, there don't seem to be any TX-1501 available on ebay, at least not by that name; mainly the TX-3000s or just some ambiguous 'Ninja's show themselves when you search. They all seem to look the same, regardless, though. That's another thing: TX seems to really pride themselves on the appearence of their pads, don't they? Maybe a little too much.
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[kahuna]

What material are the arrows made out of? Are they Acyrlic, polycarbonate or lexan?
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The oldest DDR player in Grand Rapids

[Cowman715]

I'm wondering about the control box.

The thing that connects the Mat to the Control box. How many holes does it have in each row?

I have one that has 5,5,5 and I need a new control box.
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I LOVE FAMILY GUYYYYYYYYYYYY

HE'S SO FUCKING FUNNY WITH THE RANDOMNESS AND MY CAPS PROVE IT TO BE TRUE!!!!!!!!

[eTom]

Im not sure what material the arrows are made out of, is there any way to find out?
Well, if this helps: they arent stiff, therefore i dont think they are acrylic, when you step on them they bend inward a tiny bit.


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The thing that connects the control box to the dance mat has 9 pins, heres a picture:



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Any more questions feel free to ask.

[Marq(uistadorous)]

Id guess the arrows are polycarbonate just like the tx1000s arrows . I have a tx1000 and the arrows are not stiff and I have a crack in one.
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[eTom]

I just dont see how the arrows (if they are the same as TX-1000) could ever crack?
They dont bend enougth for them to even have a 0.1% risk of them cracking.
Unless they where shattered, by something hard hitting them (no, not a foot) i mean like a hammer of something...

[kahuna]

I did a little homework. According to the descrption at play-asia, the arrows are acyrlic. So yes, they will shatter eventually and you'll need the replacements.
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The oldest DDR player in Grand Rapids

[eTom]

Naa, wont shatter for me, maybe your just really fat?
(loljk)

[mthegreatone]

i can't seem to see the pics...which would have been really nice to look at while reading the review. maybe it's because i'm on a school comp and they turn off showing pics.

[eTom]

Its probably because they are hosted on my site www.psp-videos.co.uk and maybe your school has that blocked because its realated to games?
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LET GO

[mthegreatone]

at this point i have no clue as to why the pics aren't showing up, but obviously if it works for other people i just need to access this from my home comp.

in any case, it's good to hear something good about the TX line. i hate hearing people complain about just saving money to buy the CF. people like me need to spend the money we have on essentials such as food, gas, books, etc. and these mid-range priced metal mats are good for the budget-minded...well for the most part.

[eTom]

Yeah lots of people where put off by the TX-1000 and 2000 series, and quite rightly.
If more people trused this new model im sure there would be more posotive reviews.
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LET GO

[Marq(uistadorous)]

Should I get this (with bar), or a tx6000? I know the metal panels won't crack on a tx6000, but I've heard that theyre not as sensitive
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[mtwieg]

Nice review, man.

Ya, believe it or not, those panels will probably break eventually. Depends on how heavily you use them and how big you are.

This looks like a big improvement over the other TX series models... However, they still use those crappy foil contacts which are responsible for most problems. Still, for 160$, this seems like a solid deal if you don't mind doing occasional maintenance.
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[eTom]

[Snouman]

Models which have bar do not fall apart. They are just as durable than non-bar wersions. Only the BAR breaks easily. Weak bar doesn't affect in arrow cracking in any ways. But why get a more expensive model with useles bar, when you can buy cheaper non-bar wersion.