(This may have been covered in another thread, if so, please include a link)

If manufacturers have such a hard time creating silent analog controls for volume, balance, etc., wouldn't a digital control be more quiet, precise, durable and efficient? I'm thinking of the Conrad Johnson SC-26 for example. Now it isn't one of their highest rated models, but I would think it would be pretty good.

And if it's just an interface issue where owners "prefer" analog dials, couldn't manufacturers just create an analog dial on the front of the component but with a digital interface inside the unit?

I'm not an electrical engineer, so I don't know all the technical details about this, but I was just wondering.