Grinding noise from front of car.

[anduro]

Hello all,

My car is making an unpleasant noise, and I have a couple guesses, but I'd like some extra opinions. I'll try to give as much detail as possible.

Let me start will the car: 2002 B6 A4 Avant 1.8T w/ 5 speed manual.

Problem: I'm noticing a grinding coming from the front of my car. Sounds rotational. It doesn't happen when freely revving the engine not in gear, so I'm thinking not turbo or fuel pump related. I also don't notice it too much at parking lot speeds. I mainly start to hear it around 15mph. It seems to increase in frequency in relation to wheel speed. That is, it will sound the same at 40mph in both 3rd and 5th, but 30mph sounds different than 40mph. I'm not 100% sure if it happens while coasting. I tried getting up to 35mph an coasting, and I thought I might be able to hear it the tiniest bit, but I was listening very closely for it and still couldn't be sure. However, I can clearly hear it under power, including cruising at a consistent speed. This made me second guess my initial guess of wheel bearing. Happens whether the A/C is on or off. It's not what I would call "loud" (music can pretty easily cover it up), but it's definitely not hard to hear. i heard it on the way to lunch today, didn't hear it on the way back, and did hear it on the way home from work. I also haven't noticed it any extra while turning, but truthfully I haven't specifically listened for that.

EDIT: Turning yielded no extra noise, and the wheels don't seem to have any play in them.

Sound familiar to anyone?

Thanks in advance!