Just my 2 cents: I have the new remote for about a year, and the buttons don't fade at all (and I use it every day).
Among professionnal people, RME is well know for their rock solid drivers... You can check that anywhere on the web, pro users said that. And not about 2 channels DSD on an exotic audiophile software player, but on professionnal machine with 16+ channels, I mean real pro usage.
I haven't checked my screen with a magnifying glass, electronic microscope or a special light, but no scratches or big dust that I can consider as a problem on mine... And BTW, on any polish glass surface, you can reveal micro scratches with the appropriate lighting: this work even on my brand new Leica M lenses...
Just want to put things in perspective, when I read this post, it's like RME quality is crap, and really it's not the feeling I get despite of 2 years of reading this forum and 2 years of using their product on a daily base.
Sure, some issues happen (like on every product!), mine have the defective volume pot for instance. But it has been replaced for free and now works like a charm. And besides that, for me the quality of RME is really top notch: drivers, manuals, lockable power cable, features on a so small package... And the way I've seen the firmware constantly improved based on the feedback of the users: unique and precious, really...
The chassis is of better quality than those of much more expensive hi-fi devices I have encounter, that you won't screw twice because the screw thread is dead after one unscrewing... And for me it's really more relevant than some micro-scratches on an acrylique screen...
ADI-2 DAC (with stock PSU) - Neumann KH 310 A monitors - Cheap USB and XLR cables