I have strong opinions about remote controls. Mostly they have too damn many buttons that you'll never use. Second they don't work unless you have a clear line of site. Which gets me to my all time favourite remote control. My first generation Unison Research Unico integrated amp came with my ideal. An ergonomic wooden remote control with only two buttons. One makes the volume go up and one makes it go down. Simplicity itself. That's all my lazy ass requires. But wait, there's more. The very best feature is that it's radio frequency controlled. So I can be in another room and it still works. I can be facing away from my amp and it works. I can even be upside down and it still works. Amazing. Why did some obscure Italian company write the definitive answer on remotes and no one else copies this (at least to my limited knowledge)? Is there something degrading to our sacred audio signals that radio frequency does? I dunno, but I'd gladly sacrifice that last bit of sonic nirvanna for the functionality this thing gives me - all wrapped up in a nice piece of mahogany. Sure you probably can't use it as a weapon, but in a pinch you might be able to start a fire with it.
What's the best Remote you ever used?
- Thread starter frank.hardly
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-- Hi Frank, Welcome & Happy New Year! :b
- My surround sound remote is the Logitech Harmony 550 Universal remote; I paid only fifty bucks, brand new, for it (I even bought two of them). It works like a real charm, and it does exactly everything I want it to do for me.
And you can even bounce its command signal from the side walls and ceiling and floor, even the windows and flat panel HDTV (or projection screen). ...So you don't have to directly point it to your components. It can control fifteen components, and it has Activities, of course, from which only one press of one button puts you in charge of the entire 'experience'. ...And you don't even have to look at it. ...But you can; it has a screen with pages for more elaborate (obscure) commands. ...It looks real cool too with that 'snow blue' light. ...And it's extremely comfortable to hold in your hand (perfectly balanced like a precision scalpel surgeon knife, with an anti-skip grip).
- My stereo system uses no remote control at all, and it too works just like a charm. :b
- My surround sound remote is the Logitech Harmony 550 Universal remote; I paid only fifty bucks, brand new, for it (I even bought two of them). It works like a real charm, and it does exactly everything I want it to do for me.
And you can even bounce its command signal from the side walls and ceiling and floor, even the windows and flat panel HDTV (or projection screen). ...So you don't have to directly point it to your components. It can control fifteen components, and it has Activities, of course, from which only one press of one button puts you in charge of the entire 'experience'. ...And you don't even have to look at it. ...But you can; it has a screen with pages for more elaborate (obscure) commands. ...It looks real cool too with that 'snow blue' light. ...And it's extremely comfortable to hold in your hand (perfectly balanced like a precision scalpel surgeon knife, with an anti-skip grip).
- My stereo system uses no remote control at all, and it too works just like a charm. :b
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This is my Marantz RC9500 programmable learning remote, which was based on a Philips Pronto.
- talks to IR repeaters via radio
- each IR repeater has a wired IR transmitter which you can attach to each piece of equipment you own
- support for macros. Push one button and it turns on your entire HT system, selects the right mode, etc.
- important feature - has hard buttons for vol up/down, channel up/down, and programmable hard buttons
Sadly, Philips has closed down the Pronto division so this product is no longer made.
The remote on the defunct Proceed AVP gets my vote. Best ergonomics in a pre/pro I've ever tried.
For pure audio.........don't need one. I need the exercise more.
For pure audio.........don't need one. I need the exercise more.
the darTZeel remote that comes with the dart NHB-18NS is simplicity perfected. 3 buttons, up and down volume and mute. heavy enough to feel scecure and quick and easy. nicely built. of course, you do need to buy the pre to get it.
then i have the i-pad that i use only as a remote for my music server upstairs which plays thru my Playback Designs dac. it uses Emotion software and wifi to select tracks. i like it because it has one button dark screen for quick changes and then there is no light to distract dim light listening.
then i have the i-pad that i use only as a remote for my music server upstairs which plays thru my Playback Designs dac. it uses Emotion software and wifi to select tracks. i like it because it has one button dark screen for quick changes and then there is no light to distract dim light listening.
Yes, the Dart remote is very nicely built, robust and ergonomic. But it is a pity that Herve forgot to put some form of volume indication in the preamplifier. For me it was too much simplicity. The only good thing is that it makes DBT tests even more complex and difficult to carry!
This is my Marantz RC9500 programmable learning remote, which was based on a Philips Pronto.
- talks to IR repeaters via radio
- each IR repeater has a wired IR transmitter which you can attach to each piece of equipment you own
- support for macros. Push one button and it turns on your entire HT system, selects the right mode, etc.
- important feature - has hard buttons for vol up/down, channel up/down, and programmable hard buttons
Sadly, Philips has closed down the Pronto division so this product is no longer made.
Gee, thanks.
You get me all excited and then tell me it's no longer made!
Yes, the Dart remote is very nicely built, robust and ergonomic. But it is a pity that Herve forgot to put some form of volume indication in the preamplifier. For me it was too much simplicity. The only good thing is that it makes DBT tests even more complex and difficult to carry!
agree on liking the difficulty for DBT.
there are 2 choices of volume control with the dart pre on the preamp itself. you can have it so the volume nob controls the entire track of volume steps in one sweep. in that case the light on the dial does show volume. or it can be made with many more steps for finer tuning and then it would take 4 rotations of the dial to go from lowest to highest. in that case the light on the dial does not show correct volume. in actual use i like a finer control of the steps (i've used it both ways). especially with the remote i can get it easily to the exact volume i like.
if i need to keep the volume constant i simply don't change it.
no approach is perfect for everything. i love the choices Herve has made.
added note; the choice for volume control approach must be made when the pre is built or at the factory. it's not a switch or anything like that.
I don't understand how a remote with either just volume up or volume down or another remote which has volume up, volume down, and a mute button are the *best* remotes for a two channel audio preamp. What's wrong with being able to change phase and gain from your remote? Are people voting for the most simplistic remote control or just the remote they happen to own which also happens to be a very simplistic remote?
Personally, I really don't care about remote controls because my entire audiophile life I really haven't had them for any length of time and I'm used to getting up and making whatever changes I need to make. It's second nature for me. My McIntosh C2300 preamp had a very useful remote for all of its Swiss Army Knife functions including changing the loading for your MC cartridge, but I dumped the preamp because I didn't care for how it sounded in my system. My ARC LS17 had a remote, but again I didn't care for the preamp. My Krell KRC-HR has a remote that you can run a Krell system from and it includes the ability to change the gain, phase, and adjust the volume. Plus it is made super-well from heavy duty machined aluminum. However, I see a common thread emerging here with preamps that have remotes, I can't seem to fall for them. The Krell KBL has no remote, and I'm starting to convince myself it is the better sounding of the two preamps regardless of what I have been told, but that is another story.
Personally, I really don't care about remote controls because my entire audiophile life I really haven't had them for any length of time and I'm used to getting up and making whatever changes I need to make. It's second nature for me. My McIntosh C2300 preamp had a very useful remote for all of its Swiss Army Knife functions including changing the loading for your MC cartridge, but I dumped the preamp because I didn't care for how it sounded in my system. My ARC LS17 had a remote, but again I didn't care for the preamp. My Krell KRC-HR has a remote that you can run a Krell system from and it includes the ability to change the gain, phase, and adjust the volume. Plus it is made super-well from heavy duty machined aluminum. However, I see a common thread emerging here with preamps that have remotes, I can't seem to fall for them. The Krell KBL has no remote, and I'm starting to convince myself it is the better sounding of the two preamps regardless of what I have been told, but that is another story.
if you listen to analog mostly all you need is volume and mute. phase can be changed for my Playback Designs for digital, but i rarely use it. certainly not enough to have it be important as my main remote. and 'gain'?....how is that any different than volume? changing inputs is not important to me on a remote.
i agree it's a personal choice kinda thing.
my perspective about remotes starts with the quietest, most transparent volume attenuator. that is most important. from there i need to be able to mute and adjust the volume with a high degree of precision. and i want it easy to hold and use with a minimum of my brain power. almost as an afterthought. i don't want to come out of my music focus.
the dart remote does those things for me.
I appreciate your point of view, but as with mine its one of 7 billion - so we can agree the dilutive effect of this renders it insignificant. Glad you like more buttons - I don't. There's a great quote from a French philosopher that I find apropos to many design items : "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away" Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The point of my starting this dialogue is to see what people find interesting re remotes and I don't even know what phase change and gain (isn't gain synonomous with volume?) apart from volume will do. I want to spend time listening to music not spending hours trying to program a damn remote. And when I'm enjoying music but the sound mixing guys have screwed up the volumes beyond what a live performance would allow for in volume changes, I like to change the volume - something I can do with my eyes closed with only two buttons to worry about. Now as to your commitment problem re pre-amps, this could be the subject of another interesting thread ...
-- Methinks that for a high-end stereo system, no remote is the best remote; just put the preamp at the rear (or side) near the listening position. ...For Gain & Balance (if incorporated).
Better yet, maybe some one could design a crotch rest for the pre-amp with balance designed so it doesn't tip over and burn your naughty bits.
I will tell you how it's different than volume. Both the Krell KBL and KRC-HR have adjustable line stage gain (so did my Counterpoint SA-5.1). You can switch in an extra 6dB of gain. With the KBL preamp, if I have the extra 6dB switched in when listening to digital files, my volume control barely gets turned from being *off* before I have a Maxell ad on my hands. However, I need the the other 6dB of gain for phono. Having the ability to switch in or switch out 6dB is what allows you to use the volume control in the optimum portion of its range and not be stuck at the very bottom and barely being able to turn up the volume control.
Mep,
My ARC preamplfiier remote has several functions - balance, mono, sources - and they are a nuisance. Sometimes I press the balance by mistake and start checking the position of my chair, speaker toe-in, my ears (!), just to find the balance is slightly offset. For me, in normal conditions volume and mute are enough for stereo listening. I have an old learning OneForAll Kamaleon that has now the volume, mute and the CD command keys in the same screen and it is my current preferred remote.
What functions do you think are needed in daily use in a remote?
what you call 'gain' i call 'input offset'. my darTZeel pre is capable of having input offsets for sources which have non-standard input gain. but in my case two of my sources are internal phono stages, one is the Playback Design, one is the King-Cello, and the other is the Ampex ATR-102. they all have standard level input gain so i don't have need.
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