Life without a remote

My last two preamps have had remotes, I couldn't live without it.

I generally don't use a remote. Never bothered me one bit, but from what I have seen, for most audiophiles, it is a requirement. It seems we're now willing to compromise sonic performance (presuming a unit being considered without the remote is superior to one being considered with it) for the convenience.

But, who am I to judge? I listen to CDs at almost all times, knowing full well their inherent inferiority to vinyl.

Joe, I think presuming that a preamp w/o a remote is superior to a preamp w/ a remote is a real stretch. As I said earlier, I've owned a few 'high end' preamps w/o remotes from manufacturers like Coda, Krell, Threshold, Conrad Johnson, etc. I have also owned preamps with remotes from manufacturers like Threshold, VAC, ARC, BAT, Krell, etc. As far as what I've heard, the preamps overall design is much more important sonically than whether the preamp has a remote or not.

Grant's preference for the Lamm over the ARC would probably stay the same if the Lamm had a remote and the ARC did not. I've heard enough preamps to know that I believe the remote is a non-issue sonically compared to the design of the preamp. FWIW, I've found that I prefer tubes over SS preamps. That is a major difference to me. Arguing over whether a remote improves or degrades the audio experience is like arguing over whether a phase switch is necessary or not.

The enjoyment of sound is in the design of the preamp, not the bells and whistles. That's my $0.02.

Cheers,
John

In 1980, my Navy roommate (uncle Chuck) and I were approached by a salesman putting the hard sell on us to buy a remote controlled tv.

Chuck acted very annoyed, stared the guy down and said in a stern voice 'sir, the day I am too dang lazy to tell my wife and kids to adjust the tv- I'll buy one!'

Uncle Chuck was a funny guy..,,