Page 3 - Conclusion
The Cooler Master MasterHUB shows a lot of promise, hoping to target the market of users wanting better controls in a personalized package. With our assessment complete today, there is no denying they have nailed the hardware. Their solution of magnets and pogo pins work well to make a modular control deck that you can swap on-the-fly. As for the modules, Cooler Master has offered a handful of different inputs and outputs. They have metal faders, wheels, knobs, and easy-to-see screens. Better yet, these physical adjustments are precise with notched incremental changes. Once you plug things in, MasterHUB and its accompanying software seems intuitive at first. Setting up the different inputs is generally straightforward. However, you will notice its shortcomings too. For one, the software only currently supports streaming and Adobe products. I would like to see more integration with other software or popular games. Next, MasterHUB should automatically import any application icons for launching. I also want some sort of persistent memory, so I do not need to run MasterHUB all the time, and I should not need to worry about losing my settings. These might be small items individually, but they each take away from a finished feel. Finally, Cooler Master should include a taller stand for an upright view of the inputs. At the time of the review, the Cooler Master MasterHUB is still not launched, but its base kit has a suggested retail price of $400. The individual modules come in a range of prices, although it is not clear if all of them will be available separately. At the end of the day, the Cooler Master MasterHUB has a very solid foundation of hardware to build upon. If they can improve the stability in the software and add further integration with third-party applications, I think this can be a terrific addition for any power user.
Cooler Master provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 6.4/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Cooler Master MasterHUB is a modular control deck that shows great potential of customization in both hardware and software.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Conclusion
