What the 10-bit R-2R architecture means for your signal chain
The MX7520JCWE+ is a 10-bit multiplying DAC built on an R-2R ladder architecture, giving you a current output that scales linearly with the digital code and an external reference voltage. Its 500 µs typical settling time means the output reaches within 1/2 LSB of the final value half a millisecond after the parallel data bus latches — fast enough for closed-loop process control or audio-level trimming, but not for video-rate waveforms. Because the output is current-unbuffered, you connect an external op-amp to convert to a voltage; the R-2R network itself draws no static power from the reference, so the reference load is code-dependent.