"I ordered a pad at the end of January and received my pads shortly after ( a little over 1 week)the order was processed. So far my experience has been good, although my only complaint would be that the pad does tend to shift a little on any complicated (read heavy) songs.(hardwood floors) Also the standard pads make it somewhat difficult to determine where each arrow is on the pad at times. (at least for me)
That being said the pad sensitivity is great, as well as the durability living up to its name so far. The only things I would like to change is ordering the materials to raise the corners and center to help my playing quality. The one other thing is I will probably end up putting something underneath the pads to prevent movement."

"Sales process: Good
Product quality: Terrible (see below)
Vendor support: Virtually nonexistant
Would recommend: Absolutely not.

The Cobalt Flux pads are reputed to be the "best" DDR pads on the market; sadly, this is an undeserved reputation. Don't get me wrong -- the pads look great, and they work well out of the box with a little preparation -- however, the absolutely abyssmal craftsmanship and poor choice of materials/design in one key area, coupled with a net zero committment to their customer base, makes this a very poor choice indeed.

Panels are lexan, with sheet metal contacts beneath. A good choice, since this means that there are no springs or switches to eventually wear and fail. The sheet metal is bowed by screws at the corners; tightening the screws increases the bowing and reduces the sensitivity, while relaxing the screws softens the flex and increases sensitivity. Unfortunately, the screws are set into a particle board (melamine coated wood) base, which means that after tightening/loosening the screws a few times you will, invariably, begin stripping out the slots. Over time (and particularly after having to back the screws out completely for cleaning, a necessity), the holes will strip out; this is _completely_ unacceptable for a dance pad of the CF's supposed caliber.

Worse yet is the workmanship. The abovementioned screws in the pair of pads received were not flush with the playing surface, but rather forced in at oblique angles resulting in the screw heads sticking up and out and guaranteeing that the holes would wear that much sooner. It looked as though someone with a power screwdriver just zapped down the screws in a few seconds, without any regard for getting them straight. Again, this is completely unacceptable -- for $500+ the pads you receive should be free from defects in craftsmanship. Returning the pads isn't an option, as others have reported the delay in shipping is on the order of months.

Finally is the matter of customer support. A vendor dedicated to its customer base would ensure the timely release of necessary upgrades, such as new control boxes that work with newer consoles. I hesitate to even say "newer", as control boxes have been promised as "coming soon" for years now for certain platforms, and have yet to make an appearance. Years. Devoted customers have even resorted to making their own c-boxes for particular platforms, so the obstacle isn't available technology...

To sum: The CF are good dance pads with questionable design/material choices, put together poorly with zero attention to workmanship. They operate well so long as you're on a very specific console platform, but do not expect them to grow with you or work with future console choices.

Definitely will not buy again -- and will need to buy something else, as I'm on a PS3 now, and none of the dance pad adapters for PS3 work with the CFs. Go figure."

"I ordered my Cobalt Flux on 30 Mar 2007. It is now June 19th and I just received it today. I was highly upset with the wait time. I was informed that it would only be 4 to 6 weeks. It took a whopping 12 weeks to receive my pad. It wasn't until I inquired about the status of my order did I find out that they were backordered on the control boxes needed to operate the pad. I have no problem with that, but I would've appreciated it if their website was updated to inform customers about the backorder; or just send me a courtesy e-mail explaining the backorder situation. I became frustrated with waiting and decided to cancel my order and order an Afterburner dance pad after waiting for 9 weeks. They said that they could only refund me half of the shipping costs for an object that hadn't been shipped yet. What is that about?? HORRIBLE customer service in my opinion.

The pad, however, is excellent. Everything came in working order. I hooked it up and plugged it in and played. The only complaint I have is how cheap the control box looks. I waited 6 extra weeks for the thing and I expected them to put as much thought into that control box as they did the pad itself. It looked like something I could build and solder together myself. It does appear solid enough that I don't predict any problems with it in the forseeable future. But that remains to be seen.

Overall I am pleased with my purchase. Only time will tell if it is truly worth the wait. I figure if I'm paying $350 on a dance pad I should at least get decent customer service. Is that too much to ask for in this day and age?"

"Cobaltflux sells the worlds greatest pads at a fraction of the cost it would take to get a real arcade cabinet (though $350 is still a nice chunk of change). This pad is defineitly worth the 2 week to 1 month wait. It's extremely high quality, it can survive several vehicles running it over, and it's sensitivity is unmatched. Best pad money can buy, period."

"Great service, easy to order from. A little on the expensive side, but extremely high quality. Choice of shippers could be better - nightmare of a time with FedEx, but no issues with shipping on the part of Cobalt Flux."