MQA Dac playing non MQA sources

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?