Cibernetico: Keep looking around, if you're persistent and explore all options, eventually an affordable MVS cab will emerge. That's basically how I went about it.
PureYeti: Yeah, the only saving grace with this particular layout is that I've got lots of SoulCalibur experience under my belt, so I've worked quite a bit with setups that are very similar. LOL
Just added Real Bout 2 to my library today. I was surprised to find a copy locally for $40.