Hyperspin is dead easy to set up and not really resource hungry in this day and age....
A lot of builders are using older computers for a MAME machine especially when concentrating on the classics. That's when HyperSpin may not be the best choice.
Hyperspin does look nice I agree, but the list creation methods are not as simple as other front-ends.
Agreed. HS is a great front-end (and I'm currently using it, as a matter of fact) but that's one of its weaknesses. Making custom gamelists in Mala was simple and painless. It doesn't bother me much though because, as I said above, I only show games that have themes - and I only download themes for games I want to play.
If we're comparing front-ends, I don't think you can go wrong with HS, Mala, Mamewah or Maximus. Each has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Examples: HS is the sexiest, but is deficient in a couple of key features like proper gamepad/joystick support (it supports the U360 but only to navigate - not button presses)*. Mala is more intuitive but there's more legwork involved if you want something sleek looking (text lists are not exactly eye-catching). And so forth.
(*In all fairness, Hyperspin is relatively new to the scene and many concerns will be addressed I'm sure. It's not a completely fair comparison for that reason, I know, but for the sake of making a personal front-end choice, it's necessary to bring these issues up.)
At the end of the day, I love the bling of Hyperspin and use it for that reason. But I still love Mala too.