I don't necessarily disagree, although it's a bit unfortunate in my opinion that the "meter bridge" actually sort of "undoes" the otherwise relatively low profile of the device. The low profile of the Avid s3 and Artist are to me great selling points. The Behringer looks cheap and is bulky; the Mackie looks better but is also a bit bulky. So from my perspective this would have been a really nice product if it wasn't for that bridge. Completely unnecessary for me.

I also think people will still complain. If you read threads like this one it's often a matter of having wildly unrealistic expectations. So we already have the X-touch at $600, and I don't really see how any of the people who want more for less would buy this new controller for $1,000 instead. And quite frankly it's priced so "high" that the Avid Artist mix begins to look very appealing.