I own the LS-2 which does not have a remote.
There are times when I wish I did have a remote, usually when listening to CD's, SACD's etc.. (Digital sources) as I could handle all the switching chores from the couch.
However, since I just got back into analog, and I have to get up anyway to cue up or remove the record from the turntable, it is not nearly as important. (Volume control would still be nice though).
As far as the sonic degradation of having the remote, it might be there (I don't have one, so I can not say for sure), but probably not enough to offset the convenience of having the remote.
Therefore, if you could buy one for an extra couple hundred dollars, I would recommend it, especially if you are a CD/SACD listener. But if you could save a signigicant amount of money by doing without, I would probably tell you to go that route, especially if you are mainly an analog listener.
Those are my recommendations, based upon my experience with a similar preamp. Tough choice, I know! Good Luck!
There are times when I wish I did have a remote, usually when listening to CD's, SACD's etc.. (Digital sources) as I could handle all the switching chores from the couch.
However, since I just got back into analog, and I have to get up anyway to cue up or remove the record from the turntable, it is not nearly as important. (Volume control would still be nice though).
As far as the sonic degradation of having the remote, it might be there (I don't have one, so I can not say for sure), but probably not enough to offset the convenience of having the remote.
Therefore, if you could buy one for an extra couple hundred dollars, I would recommend it, especially if you are a CD/SACD listener. But if you could save a signigicant amount of money by doing without, I would probably tell you to go that route, especially if you are mainly an analog listener.
Those are my recommendations, based upon my experience with a similar preamp. Tough choice, I know! Good Luck!