0 bit= muting FETS are clamped down to ground.
Gain is gain, no matter if you do it at a "line driver" or an amp.... Lose the line driver, more gain stages=more noise, there is no physical way around that. Amps have gains for a reason.
I've always said, I get small number milivolts from a stage through 200' of multicore, dunno why one can't get 2V to the trunk of a car.