Finally, the "piped to preamp" step, which is often neglected in reviews/previews/analysis of DACs. People sometimes go on and on and on about Wolfson this and Burr-Brown that, when it's this output stage here where we separate the men from the boys. Trebejo
In my view this is THE most significant stage in the process. I've come to this conclusion after trying to beat my old 20 bit cdp with newer, more sophisticated cdps. None of them come close and I believe it is the analog output stage that is the difference.