OK, maybe a better way to word my question, plumber explained old valves worked by tightening down on something, now have disc cartridges, etc... Bottom line is the tub fillers I look at go from 300-500 range, to the 1200 to 2000 range (Grohe, etc.) without anything in the middle, and I can't determine if the more expensive ones use a different type of valve? Other than brand name, what justify s the jump in price are innnards the same in regards to the type of valve?

"I could also just get a pull-down faucet for the sink and aim it at the tub to fill it." You could - but you won't like it. The most one of those will fill is 2.2 gallons a minute - some less that that. Divide your tub's capacity by that and you're looking at 20 minutes to fill +/- Not good. beekeeper - I have one of these and have placed more than half a dozen in projects over the past few years. What you get for your money is a machined brass body that mounts in the ceiling or wall and a plated trim piece. The body is a substantial piece of hardware and chrome,brass, nickel plating costs $$$ too. Whether that's all worth 500 + bucks, is up to you. Like davidro says, it doesn't matter what the delivery system is, this is just an opening for hot water to come out of, albeit one with a bit of engineering. GD & Spanish - the splashing is very much dependent on the mounting height of the unit AND the tub selected AND the location of the water column inside the tub. Mine hardly splashes at all. The ones I have seen that splash only do so for a minute or so until their is enough of a pool in the tub to counteract it. Flat bottom tubs with tall ceilings are going to splash more than one from 7' into a sloped contact point in the tub. Besides , we're talking water in a bathroom, generally tiled so what's the big deal ??? It's not like the amount of splash is the same as taking a shower and leaving the door open. 2. While you are correct in that "the water cools off much more than it would from just a regular tub filler", it's not as if it cools off enough for anyone without a thermometer to tell a difference, and a very sensitive one at that! Sure the air cools the water more from a stream falling from 8 feet than one falling from two feet. But bath water that is 100 + degrees is not going to cool down to 90 deg. in the xtra 1-2 seconds it takes it to fall from the ceiling- get real. Additionally , that filler produces a very dense column of water (laminar) that has little to no air in it, so one might argue it will be hotter and less prone to heat loss than a "regular" filler that introduces room temp air into it's stream - thus cooling it off on it's way to the tub. So don't worry Spanish -your tub will still be plenty hot with that filler if you choose it. IT'S A NON -ISSUE people. I've already alluded to the real issue for lower tub temps - FILL TIME. That's directly related to the delivery system ( valve). If your valve and accompanying filler will only deliver 5 gallons a minute it's going to take a while to fill an 80 gallon tub, and there will be some heat loss. Select a valve that delivers 20 gallons a minute and you can be soaking quicker that most people can undress. Here is a link that might be useful: laminar valve body - see page 2

Email a few manufacturers. Tell them in one sentence you want flex lines, remote valves, and high flow. like the examples you will give them, the ABC and the YXZ. They will all respond. It's all mix and match these days, with remotes and flex lines. Last week I saw that Kohler's Oblo 3/4" valves would do fine for what you need. Geberit's Cascading Overflow will also do fine. In Italian, "erogazione" or erogation will bring up some other results like this. The tub fills from the same place as the overflow hole. Any remote valve will do.

I would call the plumbing supplier to help with this issue. Try Ferguson. They deal with many major brands and can help find you a suitable spout. https://www.ferguson.com/contactUs