Drewski....I've owned my preamp since it was new back in 1998. Since then I've dealt with Melos while they were still in business, the first incarnation of MAR (with Brant Norlund (sp?)), and the present MAR minus Brant. My comments are drawn almost six years of personal observations and from speaking with many, many people who've been burned by MAR. So please, don't take my comments personally. Carlo is the antithesis of MAR. I could spend half the day writing about people who've had equipment damaged, intentionally downgraded with inferior PCB's, checks cashed without gear shipping for months if at all...etc..etc..etc.
BTW, I don't know what kind of volume control is in your preamp but I had Carlo replace the orginal pot (it was supposed to be a photentiometer but Carlo thinks it was a plain 'ol pot), which was damaged in shipping, with a DACT CT2. Bent Audio is on the verge of releasing a remote control kit for the DACT. So if you ever need to replace your volume control you can have a high quality stepped attenuator plus the convenience of a remote with no worries about it breaking. I'm going to be testing out the remote for John Chapman, owner of Bent Audio, within the next couple weeks. Just FYI.....