Physically connect a Bluesond Node 2i to a downline, stand alone Chord Qutest DAC

rhlijazz
Thanks for helping.  If I run a digital from my Bluesound node 2i to another DAC (in my case a Chord) does that bypass or eliminate the DAC in the Node and let the Chord's DAC take over? 

Your other suggestions are intriguing though with switching and A-Bing the two!

When you run a digital cable it bypasses the original units DAC.

Yes, the digital out from the Node bypasses the internal dac.  Therefore a straight comparison between dac of the Node versus the dac of the Chord is possible.  All you need to do is switch inputs on your preamp.  You will also need to adjust the volume control since the sound level between the two will likely not be the same.  In my case, volume compensation was necessary.

I have a Bluesound Node 2i feeding a Chord Qutest by both Tributaries Coax and by Audioquest Vodka Toslink.   Both sound very good, but if pressed I’d choose the Vodka Toslink.  YMMV depending upon the actual cable employed.   BTW, one of the nice things about using an outboard DAC with the Bluesound Node, is that for MQA the Bluesound does the first unfold, getting you all the way to 96K.   IMHO MQA via the Bluesound / Chord combo sounds superior to my ears than MQA full unfold via the Bluesound’s analog outputs, even though the Chord is not an MQA DAC.

I also have the same setup with Node2i digital to Qutest which then connects via RCA analog cable to my Parasound P5 preamp.

I found the Qutest outperforming Node2i's own DAC by a wide margin.