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Is Remote Control Important?

How important is Remote Control to you when selecting components for your system. Do you consider buying products that don't have Remote Control, or only ones that do? If you had the choice of a CD player that was the best sounding, but had no Remote Control capability, would you buy it? Or would you buy the next best thing that had a Remote Control.

One reason why I ask this is, I have a friend who just sold me his entire LP collection because he said that he would never play them again, because he would have to get up off the couch to change records. When this same friend's reciever broke, I offered to loan him one of mine, but he refused because it had no Remote Control, and he would have to get up to change the volume. In his opinion, no music was better than having to get up to change the volume. And no amount of performance would substitute for a Remote Control.

Is this a predominant view in the audiophile world? Is convenience more important than performance?
twl

Showing 2 responses by gunbei

gunbei
2,327 posts
 
I've owned a Blue Circle BC21 preamp which doesn't have a remote for almost a year. I guess the remote would be convenient and that's probably why Gilbert Yeung built one in to the newer units, but I've found that I can get around it since I usually listen only at 9 o' clock or somewhere between 8 and 9. I don't change the volume much so it'a not an issue for me. However, for my home theater I couldn't imagine living without my RC2000 mkII.
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Twl, obviously for me I chose performance over the remote, but on my limited budget I was trying to scrape all the performance I could get.

It sounds like your friend was dealing with much higher end equipment and therefore probably couldn't justify buying such a big ticket item that didn't have a remote.

On the topic of convenience, I find that a remote is vital in my home theater with all the different components and listening modes.

Also, the size of the room and the distance from listening chair to equipment is a strong factor. In a large HT room I think a remote would have to be considered as carefully as any other piece of gear in the system.

On the other hand, My 2-channel environment is something I would consider to be somewhat near-field. I sit in a Herman Miller Aeron chair which is easily adjustable and is on rollers so I can move backward or forward in relation to my setup which is only 6-7 feet away. And, I only use two or three volume settings on those big dark cherry knobs. Nooo, I'm talking about volume and source!!

From a psychological stand point my guess is that I perceive 2-channel as being superior, so maybe in my search for purer unadulterated sound I'm able to discount a remote much easier for than I am when watching movies.
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