While I agree with:

>> Fools and their money, etc etc

And certainly Mc is not what it used to be (the MC-1700 receiver for example, was great)... you are slamming an "empty box" unfairly. It has:

  - A light, well, ok, pretty empty.
  - Removable back wall. Eh, ok.
  - A IR to turn on and off devices.  Hrmm. 
  - It can control other DinkyLink devices (I did not make that up)
  - Trigger control to control other audio devices. Hrmm. 
  - It is a sturdy metal box (go online and purchase a nice one, I bet they are hundreds of bucks)

Not that it is worth $1500, maybe $300, and at the same quality as that box looks with the glass front, probably $500, but again, saying $1500 for empty box is kind of unfair.

To be honest, I have paid $300 for nice rackmount enclosures with handles that were custom made.