MQA Dac playing non MQA sources

there will be no problem with an mqa-able dac playing non-mqa music

an mqa capable dac simply has the ability to sense a digital fed signal with mqa encoding, in which case it will do some additional processing to take advantage of mqa ... if no mqa signal, it will play the music normally

Agreed you should consider a streamer and ripping your cds a ripped disc on a good streamer feeding a good dac is the way to get the Best sound out of digital


You may want to reach out to us we have on of the largest selections of digital products in the country we represent nad,aqua hifi,ifi, lumin, t+a,bricasti roon, 432evo reference music servers
And a few others

This is the server https://youtu.be/m_sYbgFvUO

The server comes with a ripper has a large 2 to ssd comes with an outboard linear power supply and offers up gradable hardware so you can improve the servers performance down the line

The quality of the data stream truly matters the cleaner the signal you feed your dac the better the dac will sound

Dave and troy
Audio intellect  nj
Us importer 432Evo music servers

Check out a REAL dealer like SUNCOAST who carries MUCH better streamers than listed above PLUS also has some of the best Disc Spinner/DAC Combo's available (Esoteric/MSB/Gryphon etc).  Never listen to a dealer who only "talks his book". You will get a biased opinion based on the inventory they carry. Notice there are no quality brands in the lineup for CD Players?  Of course somebody like that will tell you STREAMING is the only way to go since he offers no alternatives. (I expect he will tell you T+A is right up there with the above mentioned brands.....not even remotely in the same league spinner wise)

I actually looked at streamers last night online .. primarily looked at the bluenode 2i and a Cambridge model. I can see where this would benefit me and what I want to achieve. Looks like the Node will play MQA if needed say with Tidal. That being said I can come out of the Node to a external DAC then to the McIntosh and the quality outstanding - Right?

op

Looks like the Node will play MQA if needed say with Tidal. That being said I can come out of the Node to a external DAC then to the McIntosh and the quality outstanding - Right?

short answer is yes

the node 2i does mqa decoding but it has a ’starter level’ (read: very mediocre) onboard dac... most folks seeking very good sound will use the node 2i as streamer, take its digital output and send to a proper and higher quality outboard dac... then you need to make sure that the outboard dac decodes mqa if you want to really hear what mqa does... (bear in mind, many/most believe mqa gives inconsistent and questionable sound quality gains compared to very good dacs that don’t bother with mqa)

+1 to jjjss above.

Not all MQA is equal either. Lots of MQA files are 16/44 so basically CD/FLAC. Some are 24/96, some higher, and a *very* few go all the way to  24 bit / 352 kHz.

Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful. When you read about MQA , it does look like there are strong opinions of both sides with everyone. I don’t have to have it. I just wanted to make sure I was not cheating myself by not getting it.  I’m retiring in a year and plan to get this all in place soon.  Thanks again..

@canoe

if you spend a little time, describe the rest of your system (be specific) and room, and musical preferences, the type of sound you like (lively, smooth, warm, super clear/crisp etc etc) we here would be happy to make specific suggestions for you, give you the type of sound you seek

you know that if you want to play with mqa, you will need a tidal masters subscription yes?