I'm with you 100% on this one Peter. Both lifts and remotes are absolute necessities for me, and I can't understand how a simple lifting mechanism can increase the cost of a multi-thousand dollar turntable in any noticeable way. The same goes for remote controls and multiple disk transports, although with these I can see where the additional complexity of the mechanisms might require a bit of care to add properly. Still, to not even have the option to pay a little extra for these amenities seems like a quick way to pare down the potential market for any product. I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me (and I'm sure many others) to have to trade off great sound against a few simple, inexpensive features.
For as long as I've been around audio, there has always been a certain appeal to the "minimalist" approach in high end gear. For a lot of folks, the lack of features seems to be one of the definitions of truly great audio equipment, and the addition of 'convenience' functions only serves to reduce the appeal. Im guessing that this attitude is strong enough in the marketplace to continue to provide incentive for manufacturers to produce products along these lines. For me though, the ability to have wonderful music to listen to and not have to work for it is one of my great joys :-).
-- Ken
For as long as I've been around audio, there has always been a certain appeal to the "minimalist" approach in high end gear. For a lot of folks, the lack of features seems to be one of the definitions of truly great audio equipment, and the addition of 'convenience' functions only serves to reduce the appeal. Im guessing that this attitude is strong enough in the marketplace to continue to provide incentive for manufacturers to produce products along these lines. For me though, the ability to have wonderful music to listen to and not have to work for it is one of my great joys :-).
-- Ken