I haven’t denied that. When did Avid acquire Euphonics? Was it two years ago? Both Avid and Digidesign are companies that have a track record of favoring closed systems. I fear that there is a definite risk that they will turn the Artist control surfaces into a ProTools only product in the near future.
I am not concerned with the learning curve. I am concerned with the €2,700 investment, though. That is a substantial amount of money for me and I would hate see it wasted by Avid not supporting Cubase 8 (or maybe Cubase 9).
Along with ease of use, I feel that a Yamaha/Steinberg made control surface would be a much “safer” bet. Heck, Cubase still supports the ancient Huston surface!