2015 - Good pads?

Alright, so my other soft pad recently decided to start acting weird (down button became super sensitive, like I wasn't even down there but it was still registering)
Does anyone know any good pads? I can drop $50, but I don't want to if I don't have to...
I've seen this thread but I'm not sure if any opinions have changed or anything.
Oh, and I play lots of ITG 7s and 8s, trying to get into 9s more now.

The Konami official pads are pretty much best quality as far as soft pads go you can still find DDR X bundles on e-bay super cheap, the d-force pads are likely second place and have USB connectivity, I would recommend them because they have a generous warranty. Foam pads and soft pads are made the same way, foam pads are slightly better because they should have a thicker plastic panel over the top of the four arrows, but the sensors inside are going to be the same, foam pads feel better to play on with the dense foam alot better actually but again the sensor inside will still break down like any other soft pad.

So basically pretty much all soft pads are the same, some slightly better than others, some of the Chinese pads on ebay are physically smaller than most pads, and there are soft-pad modding guides which pretty much amount to putting the soft pad on a hard flat surface and duct taping it down or stapling it down so it doesn't fold up when playing that will help the sensor last a little longer and should improve scores.

Here's a DDR X bundle for $10 although the pad may be used, it looks new in the picture.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dance-Dance-Revolution-X-Bundle-Sony-PlayStation-2-2008-/251866544574?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa46a79be
$16 new.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dance-Dance-Revolution-X-Bundle-Sony-PlayStation-2-2008-/251866507243?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa469e7eb
$19 new.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dance-Dance-revolution-Pad-PS2-Bundle-PS2-Game-Dance-Dance-Revolution-X-New-/181199779867?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a3059381b
They go as low as around $7 for official soft pads but that's if you're still using your PS2. I would still advise getting the d-force soft pad without foam and doing a plywood + duct tape mod.