VAC preamps - too expensive?

Kmmd, so whats your point? U seem to,have a problem with my comment.

its a side room on opposite side of wall. Quite nice.
Even if the vac box was visible its still super annoying remote lacks input capability. They go to trouble of doing a bypass special button which seems kinda pointless as input selector is sufficient. 

but then what do i know  just a dumb guy willing to shell out $25k for an electronics box.

Nope no problem at all. The expense will be there for long cable runs whether they’re XLR or speaker.

Using a Cinema / HT bypass button or knob allows you to use your Marantz AVR’s volume control for all channels and not try to level match the volume of your mains set by the VAC to the volume of your center and surrounds of an AVR.

So the lack of imput functionality on VAC remote is not a concern to those using it as part of ht system.

so for the next 20 yrs plus, assuming vac will be a long term possession, i have to get up and go to vac to change sources.

Guess i just want it all

The VAC preamp lineup is not "clever" marketing trying to trick people into spending more. It’s true high-end gear for extreme enthusiasts who love the VAC sound and are beyond their phase of continually churning through $2K - 10K models on audiogon, doing the inevitable give-and-take sidesteps with each trade.

The Sig IIa SE is the result of a long evolution of their previous flagship preamp; the Master is a trickle-down cost reduced version of the Statement minus its over-the-top cosmetic perfection. The cost savings of the Sig IIa SE vs Master is more significant when you add in the 6-tube phono stage to each unit (28K vs. 40K), which is a beyond excellent stage - VAC’s tube MM phono sounds particularly amazing (add your choice of SUT for MC or use its built-in Lundahls), so as full function preamps their sound is hard to match or beat at any price.

The fact that the Signature preamp still lives in "IIa SE" form (first the "II" then "a" then "SE" upgrades) also gives past Signature customers an upgrade path.

I only use one source on my Master - vinyl. I have no use for the HT bypass; in fact that once got accidentally engaged and it took me an hour to figure out why there was no sound.

@jumia I'm sure there is a Denon amp with a feature-packed remote that will more than meet your needs at a fraction of the cost of a VAC.  I'm so glad that VAC didn't needlessly place additional wiring and circuitry into my amp that could only degrade (not enhance) sound quality.  Criticizing VAC for a lack of robust features on it's remote is like criticizing haiku for its brevity.