Rogue 99 pre vs. BAT vk30

I home auditioned the 99 Magnum pre and loved the sound. I would've bought it but I found the zippy buzz sound of the volume control annoying whenever I turned it up or down. The sound came through the speakers and the dealer said it was normal and acted like I was a dope when I said I couldn't tolerate it. I ended up buying the VK-30 but went back to all SS later because it suits my taste better. Sound-wise the Rogue would've been my choice-very rich with all the good stuff tubes offer and more solid than the BAT in my system. Great wide soundstage, too. I was bummed that the volume control issue ruled it out for me.

George, I wish the volume control sound was only coming from the servo. The one I demoed buzzed through the speakers at my home and in the store later and the dealer said that was normal. Maybe it was a bad pot AND a bad dealer. I was using Rotel's RB-1090 amp which put out 700 WPC into my 4 ohm speakers and that may have exacerbated the problem. The zippy sound got louder and louder as the volume increased when I turned it up before starting a song. If it hadn't been for that I would've bought it for sure because I thought it sounded fantastic. The same dealer told me my amp didn't sound good although he admitted he had never heard one himself. One of those types of dealers if you know what I mean.