You can and should obviously try both ways, but I’d be surprised if the Asgard’s multibit DAC wasn’t noticeably better. And a good digital cable is a must so don’t skimp there. Also, if I was you I’d definitely get an external LPS for the Node from the likes of Teddy Pardo, etc. unless you’re planning on upgrading your streamer soon as it can provide significant improvements for not that much $$$. Best of luck.
Better DAC: Asgard 3 w/ multibit DAC vs Bluesound Node 2i
I have a Rega Elicit-R integrated arriving on Wednesday. I am moving the two front channels from my Marantz HT to the Elicit. I plan to use the Elicit's Direct In from the Marantz receiver preamp outs so I can use the Elicit amp to drive the front speakers (Kef R3 non-meta). Then, for 2-channel listening, I'm going to stream from the Node 2i to the analog inputs on the Elicit.
I also have a Schitt Asgard 3 with the multibit DAC module that I'll use for headphone listening (the Elicit has neither a DAC nor a headphone amp).
Does anyone had any thoughts on whether I should run analog out from the Node 2i to the Elicit -OR- run digital out from the Node 2i to the Asgard, then let the Asgard convert D to A and run that to the Elicit.
1. Node 2i analog out -> Elicit analog in
2. Node 2i digital out -> Asgard digital in -> Asgard analog out -> Elicit analog in
Am I missing any better options?