I ran 481>DMIC20 from 1999->2003 when I got a V3 and I did pull some smokers with that combo! If the DIP Switches for gain weren't such a PITA it would be a great lil Pre/ADC Combo for a small 16bit rig! Ive seen people mod the dip switches with some gain knobs on the top of the unit! Always wanted to try that when I had mine back then, jus5t to avoid the dip switches lol
And as far as I know, you CANNOT bypass the ADC stage, unless you mod the inside chips or something like that most likely!