I have been doing research for a friend to try an d find the best unified remote out there. Both the Pronto and the Madrigal look like the prime candidates.
From the literature and web material I must say that the Pronto looked most tempting - Big beautiful display, very little wasted footprint, a couple useful real buttons.....But no software? (but apparently the Marantz 5000 already comes with software) And such a hefty price tag?

Being in Canada I have a tough time justifying such a hefty price tag for a product I must order from the states without testing first - so my next choice is the Madrigal.

The Madrigal didn't impress me as much as the Pronto - but it does have software and still some very nice features. - Well!, today I went to a store to look at a Madrigral.

It was a lousy experience. The display did not sense some key presses - in some cases I had to make the LCD liquid 'warp' before the unit would beep for me. The wheel made a funny grinding sound and I found the buttons way too large and somewhat awkward. The salesman kept saying things like "the batteries are almost dead - it works much better than this with batteries" For some reason he never took me up on my suggestion to find some new batteries. I also found the shape quite cumbersome - the bottom battery unit helps shape it into a wedge. I dropped the unit once when it almost squirted out of my hand. Due to the hard plastic, shape, and top heavy nature of the unit, I found I had to concentrate not to drop it (I must be a pretty lame klutz)...

I told the sales guy I would be back Saturday to give him one last chance (with the new batteries). Although the experience scared me, $600 is about the limit for me when just buying a remote - I may end up buying it.....

I'll see if I manage to chicken out and wait until I can afford the more expensive Pronto.