Rega Elicit-R - Manual (Page 6)

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DESIGN INNOVATION continued
A few extravagantly priced, exotic, high-end amplifiers have used volume controls
with a few dozen switched resistors to alter volume levels. The Elicit-
R uses a
custom chip which contains 1024 resistors which alter volume and simultaneously
retain correct input impedance. Only the resistors operate in the audio/music
circuit. The programmed control and volume encoder are entirely separate so the
analogue music quality is not affected.
POWER AMPLIFIER TECHNOLOGY
The output amplifier used in the Elicit- R and Brio- R was born after extensive
research by our engineers to develop a low source impedance emitter follower
Class-A driver stage. This is based around a complementary pair of 150w Sanken
Darlington output transistors. The technical and sonic improvement gained by the
use of low impedance drivers is well known, however, it can feature high standing
currents in the driver stage when using standard transistor configurations.
By combining the low impedance driver with the Sanken Darlington transistors (with
their imbedded thermal bias network running at a lower standing current), this
combination forms a complementary emitter follower emulating Class-A conditions
with good thermal stability and lower standing currents in the driver stage.