I'm still confused.
The Features tab of their L1 page (
here) has a section on D/A (pasted below for convenience):
Modularity
Three L1 configurations are available:
- Monaural operation, with 8 inputs
- Stereo operation, with 8 inputs for each channel
- Monaural operation, with 16 inputs
Volume control
For each channel two R-2R ladder network in balanced mode control the volume. Tight tolerances high-grade metal film resistors as well as fast switching, distortion-free analog switches are used to adjust precisely the listening level. Each ladder has the following features:
- 20bits R-2R ladder network
- 118dB volume range in 0.5dB steps, from -100dB to +18dB
Analog signal path
Extreme care has been given to the timing of the audio conversion. The clocking section of the C1 is based on two ultra low jitter digitally controlled VCXOs to support synchronously every available audio sampling rates.
When equipped with the optional synchronization board, the C1 can be used with external clock generators or it can transmit the D1 SACD/CD drive a synchronization clock in order to slave it.
D/A conversion
The digital to analog converter boards are full dual mono with one board per channel. A dedicated set of regulated power supplies has been built for each channel in order to keep the channel separation at its maximum. Each channel is using four R-2R converter in a balanced design to create directly from the D/A conversion process an analog balanced signal.
Volume control
An integrated volume control is embedded into the C1, which can be turned off in case an external analog preamplifier is used. It has been done with a mix of analog and digital steps to ensure the best possible resolution at all listening levels. Coarse steps are done with relay-driven resistor-based dividers, while the fine steps are done into the DSP engine in floating point.
Analog stages
All analog stages inside the C1 are built only with discrete components, no operational amplifier have been used into these sections. This deliberate choice warranties the shortest path for the audio signal and allows the use of custom-made building blocks. All analog stages have the following features:
- no use of global negative feedback
- operating mode in pure class A
- fully symmetrical design
No capacitors have been used in the signal path to ensure the maximum transparency.