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Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:17 pm
by Merk
Pardon my ignorance, aren't Pump cabinets a lot cheaper than DDR cabs? $3,000 for a DDR these days seems like not a good deal and I would think the same for Pump.

Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:54 pm
by Ho
It really depends on the type of cabinet and the condition. There are more different models of Pump machines than DDR machines and I think that buyers/sellers would put a premium on some over others.

Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:53 pm
by RyogAkari
Id definetely buy a DDR for 500 to a grand these days and then put 500 into repairing it and perhaps 500 more if you want to upgrade the monitor. Some spit/polish past that and anyone can have a respectable working machine. As long as the stage itself isnt warped or broken somehow they practically sell replacement everything else.

Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:15 am
by MonMotha
Most of the sub-$1k DDRs I've seen have been pretty beat up. You can probably get them reasonably functional, but you simply will not get them looking particularly good with "spit and polish" - they're just too broken, especially cosmetically, and the cosmetic stuff is really hard to fix (not like parts and decals are readily available). The monitors are also usually shot. For the price, it's not a bad deal, but if you're willing to wait and pay a bit more, you can often find stuff in the $1500-2500 range that's in quite a bit better shape (though some are just as beat as the <$1k ones).

Also, if you want one of those Makvisions to use as a replacement monitor, buy it now. Apparently Makvision is no longer producing them. Happ has stated that they can't buy any more, so they're limited to stock on hand.

Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:13 am
by Fluffyumpkins
MonMotha wrote:Most of the sub-$1k DDRs I've seen have been pretty beat up. You can probably get them reasonably functional, but you simply will not get them looking particularly good with "spit and polish" - they're just too broken, especially cosmetically, and the cosmetic stuff is really hard to fix (not like parts and decals are readily available). The monitors are also usually shot. For the price, it's not a bad deal, but if you're willing to wait and pay a bit more, you can often find stuff in the $1500-2500 range that's in quite a bit better shape (though some are just as beat as the <$1k ones).

Also, if you want one of those Makvisions to use as a replacement monitor, buy it now. Apparently Makvision is no longer producing them. Happ has stated that they can't buy any more, so they're limited to stock on hand.
Hrm, would you recommend this for DDR owners? How much do they run, and how many do you keep onhand?

Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:34 pm
by MonMotha
I have not personally used one of the Makvisions, and I keep zero on hand :)

From what I've heard (and helped people fix them), they're so-so at best. They do work. They're shipped WAY too bright, but that's fixable relatively easily. The tubes are OK (there was a limit to how bad late model tubes got). Geometry is often suspect, but tolerable. Reliability seems hit-or-miss.

They're also the ONLY commonly available remaining option for new 27/29" arcade monitors. There's a guy who may have a couple of the Nieman monitors on hand, but he may have sold them (and they're certainly not being made anymore). They're probably better than the Makvisions - Rick knew what he was doing.

Note that there are two model Makvisions. One is the "low res" analog (pots for adjustment) model. It does 15-31kHz and auto switches. This is the one you want for DDR. It'll work both with a 573 (15k standard res), and you can take advantage of the progressive scan options on Supernova and newer (31k VGA). The "high res" model is digital (on screen display) and does 31-38k. The 38k (SVGA) capability is essentially useless for DDR. I guess you could run Stepmania up there, if you want to, but the tube will limit how much better it looks than VGA. Since it can't go below 31k, it is unusable with the old standard res 573 based games, so that's probably not what you want.

Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:46 am
by Fluffyumpkins
I guess my fear is the monitor will die and I will have a $1,000 brick in my living room.

inb4alreadyabrick

Re: Ho VS Akari X2 SINGLES SHOWDOWN!!!

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 11:50 am
by MonMotha
FWIW, the monitor in question typically sells for ~$400, so it's not really an off-the-cuff upgrade if you only value the entire game at $1000.

The monitor in yours is already a replacement. It probably has a few years yet left on it. Unfortunately, it was not noted for being a particularly reliable model. The stock model was probably more reliable, but nobody in the US really knows how to work on them since they're Japanese. I've managed to revive a couple of them, but I've had one on my "bench" for quite some time now that is still stumping me.