Dual volume control - it should be standard

That's great if you're listening to mono recordings, but how do you know where to set the relative balances if the channels are different? Maybe some of the sounds are supposed to be off center. It would be hard to set stereo recordings by ear until you have spent quite a bit of time listenign to the recording. By then you've spent too much time obsessing and too little time enjoying.

There's more to enjoying reproduced music than getting the best possible sound. If you end up missing whole sections of songs because you are jumping up and down to adjust volume and balance, it will be very difficult to enjoy the experience. I find that I often reduce the volume as I listen to music, not sure why, if my tubes are warming up and it is actually getting louder, or (I suspect the real case)I am relaxing into the music and can focus on it more as time goes on. I also find some discs have tracks recorded at different volumes, and like to adjust accordingly, which is so much more enjoyable with a remote. My analog rig does not have a remote, and I find myself listening at volumes that are not ideal, because I don't want to interupt the music by running up and adjusting the volume. Remote control is a real advance in music enjoyment, as important as any advance in sound reproduction. "Lazy" for not wanting to interrupt the performance? Words of someone who really doesn't get it.