Why do McIntosh come with cheap plastic remotes?

It should be made of titanium and have mini-me meters with an option to turn them off.

On the upside of cheap remotes - had my LM-215 CDP remote been made out of cheap plastic instead of "brick-like aluminium" my vintage coffee table would not have a sizable corner dent in it from dropping it less than a foot from the surface during a listening session...

Good news , ARC also has a metal remote for the ARC REF 3
preamp and also for the REF CD7.

Visiting this thread from 2 years ago. I still find it unjustified to have cheap remotes on mega-dollar gear.

When you put your name on expensive audio, there should only be one quality standard across the board.

However well a cheap plastic remote can work, it is an extension of the product.

Ever seen a brand new Omega or Tag watch with a cheap $15 expendable wrist band on it instead of solid link stainless steel? Doesn't affect how the watch works of course, but still totally impossible.

If you want elegantly and solidly constructed remotes: buy Balanced Audio Technology gear. My VK-D5 came with one, carved out of a solid aluminum billet. The, "guts" are absolutely NOT at all the, "same" as any other, being of the same high quality construction, as the main unit. The sole downside would be a replacement price, which I understand to be around $500.00. On the other hand; mine has been functioning perfectly, since 1998, as has the CDP(or all else would be irrelevant).