The Aesthetix Callisto is the best preamp in the world (obviously my opinion), regardless of the remote control mod or not. The remote is a convenience, and nothing more.
There are many people who will not consider a preamp without a remote. I have owned both types and get accustomed to either. I have to get up to change the LP anyway, so tending to the volume may be done at the same time. It is nice on recordings that are off balance or cut low or high to have to option to tweak from the sweet spot, but not a life or death deal. I buy what sounds best and live with whatever is required to reach that goal.
In my dreams, transistor units the size of a cigar box and an iPod or CD makes perfect music. Imagine how much more space could be dedicated to software :^).
Until that happens we all have to decide what's the breaking point and how much hassle we're willing to put up with to get each increment of performance in search of perfection :-).
