I “recently” (probably a couple months since) saw a video of a company talking about how they had a whole team design “world’s best volume control knob”. They worked on it for a while, it was exceptionally smooth, etc.
If I recall correctly, it was a French company.
p.s. TOMT = tip of my tongue
I found the answer myself:
Recently stumbled upon the Transrotor headphone amp (it does not have a name).
They decided that having voltage-controlled amplification would be better than having a potentiometer in the signal path, and I think that makes theirs one of the best volume controls.
Cool! Never heard about it, to be fully honest.
This one was just in the back of my head because I remembered that it was incredibly smooth, was designed and planned for a long time, changed the volume faster depending on the speed of rotation, etc.
I just wanted to find the video to find out what company was behind it, and then I found it on YouTube =D
Oh the giant knob on JDS EL and element gear is really nice. Never heard channel imbalance and it’s quick enough but weighty enough to have precise volume control.
Singxer SA1 also has a great knob as well. More weight but it’s buttery smooth.
This is all from feel/sound no science behind it and I can see this thread becoming hilarious in an immature way lol.
too bad it’s too expensive for most of us… 
My thoughts? Convenient. However, I REALLY REALLY like the idea of dedicated volume control knobs. Like, imagine a giant smooooth volume knob sittin on your desk. Inconvenient, sure, but that’s just an orgasmic experience (imo).
For me it’s on Denon’s AV Receivers, they have a marvelously bumpy digital volume control that I love to use. I’ve gotten a non-denon replacement (onkyo) since, and am still thinking of tracking down that part and seeing if I can modify the new receiver with that Denon switch.