Does remote control degrade the sound of tube preamps?

It's my understanding the incito s from aires cerat does not offer standby functionality. So it's not a fully functional remote. I believe the Power switche is on the back. very disappointing way to design something. Think of all the people who use this and get frustrated. my family would never go for this. Very sad as it's probably a really great preamp

It’s my understanding the incito s from aires cerat does not offer standby functionality. So it’s not a fully functional remote. I believe the Power switche is on the back. very disappointing way to design something. (@emergingsoul)

This requires the unit to be always on, and shut down partially with remote. This is not the way Aries Cerat does things.

Very sad as it’s probably a really great preamp

Indeed, it is not nothing short but stellar.

Therefore a last CORRECTION as an aside, before we get back to @chungjh ’s initial question.

Aries Cerat preamplifiers (including Incito & Incito S) provide control over the folllowing points:

• volume control (stepped attenuator)
• balance control
• mute control
• input switch control
• display control
• standby control // ERRATUM

(Interestingly, there are even 2 versions of that preamp: low gain or high gain. This is purposeful, as with the typical (and constant) high gain of modern power amplifiers today (+maybe good/high efficiency speakers), it can become difficult to play at very low levels late at night, when the kids or the spouse are sleeping, or if the user lives in a block of apartments in town, with neighbors. For the sake of adaptability, the high-gain version can also be provided with an optional -6dB switch (at the back ;-) - not a big issue as this is a configuration you do just once, given the constant gain of your power amplifier)

orfeo_monteverdi

orfeo, you made a comment below that seems to suggest you can shut down partially with remote. Is this true? Once you turn it on it's at full power and you leave it on, is this what aries cerat really recommends??

“This requires the unit to be always on, and shut down partially with remote. This is not the way Aries Cerat does things”

How much power is being used by this when it is left on?? This seems incredibly wasteful. So should I leave all my Amps on too?

@jumia ,

[please forgive my poor English]

Sorry if my post was not clear. I cannot edit it anymore. What I meant is:

Generally speaking, a standby mode leaves the unit always on, and shuts it down partially with remote.

Aries Cerat does NOT want its gear to endure such constraints, especially as they use tubes. Therefore, Aries Cerat does NOT provide any standby mode.

So, the remote of Aries Cerat preamplifiers controls the following functions:

• volume control (stepped attenuator)
• balance control
• mute control
• input switch control
• display control
• standby !!

I hope this clarifies.

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IF a standby via the remote control is absolutely mandatory for practical reasons, THEN I can’t help but mentioning the very good NuPrime AMG-PRA that I own in a second system (see details in the Toggle Details button on that page). Class A, genuinely balanced, the number of inputs is limited though (1XLR, 3 RCAs). Also provides a phase inverter, but only by a switch on the front fascia (not via remote).

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Sorry for the thread drift.

looks just like a primaluna preamp remote. 

There is nothing that makes remote controlled volume control inferior in sound quality.  If it is implemented with a motorized potentiometer, the quality is entirely dependent on the quality of the potentiometer, not on the motor whose only job is to twist the shaft just as your hand would also do.  Even if your volume control is a rotary step attenuator, it is possible to physically move the dial under motor control (Ayre does this).  Many very good attenuators are ladder step attenuators that are switched by relays, and the relays are always remote controllable.

It is so important to get volume set just right to get optimum sound quality and satisfaction, and that can only be done practically by remote control as you sit in the sweet spot and instantaneously hear the result.  Remote control of volume is pretty much an essential feature, not merely a convenience.  Without it, one tends to just live with something close to the right volume instead of actually determining what is the right volume.

And they look cool when the knobs move.
It is pretty slick (IME).

I had never seen one until I got a used preamp with this sort of remote, and I like it conceptually and also in action.

As a manufacturer we tried so many controls and recently replaced a very high priced control $400 that we added Audio Note resistors to with a basic ALPS, darn if we could really hear the difference.  BUT I an sure there are difference depending on what your system can show.

I doubt I'd hear any difference at all, and the convenience of having the remote would far outweigh any miniscule difference there could possibly be.

I've got a Herron Audio tube preamp, and I think at one point, Keith Herron did not offer remote, but there was enough demand for it that it now has it. For a great, great product, this is the cheapest remote I've ever seen in my life - all plastic, weighs almost nothing, and it's less than 4" long! Gets misplaced very easily, too! Maybe this was Keith saying 'OK, I'll give you a remote, but .... '

It seems that the consensus is that a remote will not result in an audible degradation of the SQ. Thanks to all who have posted.

I have Coincident Statement linestage, dual manual transformer volume control. They offered stereo volume control via remote for a short period, inferior sound quality vs dual mono. In some cases, this linestage being one, fully balanced, even to extent of volume controls, any blending of two channels will negatively affect sound quality. With total mono even through volume control sound staging is more precise, and center images are absolutely locked in, stable. MkII with even better volume transformers and my added Amtrans selector switches, extreme precision  switches only add to this precision.

Bottom line, volume controls come in many varieties, remote may or may not impact performance. IME any balanced pre using stereo volume control is compromised to some extent.

Bottom line, volume controls come in many varieties, remote may or may not impact performance. IME any balanced pre using stereo volume control is compromised to some extent.

Some have a motorised control, they manually moves the knobs.
So there is not obvious compromise in that style.

@holmz I get that. In my admittedly rare case with dual mono volume selectors one would have to rig up gear system to synchronize selectors, and then you'd lose ability to alter individual selectors.

My other argument would be that stacked stereo attenuators may be inferior design to two mono attenuators. I'm thinking in terms of crosstalk, separation. Not the remote per se that makes it inferior, rather solely design of attenuators.