Why do McIntosh come with cheap plastic remotes?

You also have seen the same el-chepo remotes of Audio Research
supplied with the REF 3 REF CD 7

Maybe they assume that the end user will probably use a universal remote and the included remote needent be of high quality. But I must add that I have had a number of McIntosh pre-pros/pre-amps and the remotes we of a standard quality. My last peice MX135 came with a McIntosh backlit remote and a Harmony as well. So I assume that they have changed that? Too bad. And yes the ARC remotes are light duty at best, I agree.

For one thing, plastic is light and fairly resilient. I think a lot of members and professional reviwers make far too big a deal of the way remotes look and what they are made of.
Complaints about the way they are layed out or how they function are valid. Poorly designed remotes can be annoying.

Agree with Hansk46 and Theo, ARC take the cake for cheap remotes that are not remotely commensurate the with quality of its components. The remote for the CD-8 is an embarrassment. Why not add ARC to your thread title? The McIntosh remotes may not be perfect, but they're nicer than ARC. OTOH, compare, for example,Conrad Johnson's fine quality remotes (at least for my Act 2.2), now there's a company that accessorizes with pride.

Have to disagree that the remotes are somehow substandard. Both of my new Mc units (C50 & MVP881BR) came with back-lit remotes that work very well. The soft-touch coating on the plastic has a nice feel and doesn't collect dust like the NOS replacement remote I bought for my MAC 3. That one wasn't back-lit and had a glossy metal function ID plate on the top. It scratched the moment I wiped dust off it. All the remotes are readily replaceable through Audio Classics at about $50 or so. Considering the cost of the equipment and how quickly the magnetic contact closures fail regardless of what the external housing is constructed from, I feel Mc has done a smart thing.