Getting what I paid for - gut check please!

@kennyc "buyer concerns should be handled before the sale transaction, not afterwards." 

Dead Wrong.

Forcing UNDISCLOSED problems on consumers, for the sake of moving otherwise problematic gear,  is absolutely unethical a can only be addressed after the sale...  

UNDISCLOSED - all are non-standard practices...

a.) Color of the faceplate

b.) Color of the remote

c.) Length of the Warranty.

This has all of the earmarks of a 'sucker punch' that so many hi-fi buyers have experienced.

+1 @thecarpathian  - Return it out of principle AND look for a more honest vendor.

There should have been a good discount being a older model .,

and there should be a full mfg warranty  from date of delivery ,

I was a Audio dealer for a decade , Thst is shady business practice !!

As @inagroove says the manufacturer is 100% in the wrong here.

You absolutely should return the item and get a full refund from them. 

If they try to resist, don’t take no for an answer.

I think you’re right not to blacken their name at this stage. Give them a chance to rectify the problems first. It may be a one off case with an otherwise fair manufacturer.

Sometimes when we fall foul of sharp practice we feel guilty as if we are at fault. This is clearly not the case here and you have genuine cause for complaint.

Conmen thrive because honest people feel gullible and are afraid to speak up. If this manufacturer gets away with it this time, he may try it again on someone else. 

"I don’t see any evidence of shadiness..."

"Upon pick up, I discovered the item’s faceplate and remote were a different color than what the manufacturer had indicated prior to purchase.  Upon getting it home, I learned by reading the materials that the warranty period had started at the date of manufacturer, not the date of sale, meaning the warranty period was about one-third the length it would normally be."

"The manufacturer is offering to replace the faceplate with the correct color for a fee.  He says the warranty "is what it is.""

"I do wish they had explained before I paid (which I had to do via bank transfer prior to pickup) that this was an ex-demo unit, not just an NOS older model..."

That  is shady...

But also, these are questions that should have been asked and answered prior to purchase.

I have never heard of a date of manufacture warranty. I had always assumed that the warranty started when you registered your product. At least now you’re gonna have an opportunity to see how the consumer protection bureau is working these days if you do decide to return it.   

                                                      gkelly

As far as I know, most consumer protections were eliminated by DOGE.