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Life without a remote

I am considering a pre-amp that has no remote. As I sit here listening to music, I have adjusted the volume multiple times in just the last few minutes. I adjust so I can pretend I'm listening to my wife when she tries to talk to me. I adjust for different songs. I adjust in the middle of a song. I tweak to get just the right level from my listening spot.

So for those of you that don't have a remote or don't use one - how do you do it? Is there an adjustment period? Is listening more enjoyable because you can't easily play with the volume?
maineiac
dgarretson
2,609 posts
 
In addition to the good sound, there is something about moving through the detents of a high-quality manual stepped attenuator, like the gates in a Ferrari shifter.
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jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Man, you guys are scaring me. Loving the feel of that stepped attenuator???
Maybe you need to get out more. ;D

Cheers,
John
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dne
141 posts
 
Contrary to most of these posts, I had no problem in getting rid of the remote. Of course, I did like it, even loved it, but I found I was using it too often to make slight adjustments in volume in a single song rather than listening to the music. I would turn up soft passages, turn down loud passages, etc. etc., and found myself listening more to the volume sometimes than the song.

My friend had no problem without a remote on his older ARC preamp. So, when an opportunity developed to buy a component without a remote, I did it. And, it's worked out fine. Now, I set the volume and tend to leave it that way. If it needs adjustment every so often, I get up and do it. No big deal. It's more relaxing.
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