Pontus ii and Hi Res

The pontus doesnot do mqa no big loss,  it’s not better then hires files anyway 

just go to QObuz.

My Terminator dac will not go higher than 44.1. The later models (2, Plus, and Plus 12th anniversary) will do 48K.

Pretty sure the “MQA to external DAC” option turned “on” means your Node is not performing the first unfold since it expects the external DAC to do everything, and in that case your non-MQA DAC will always see 44.1 kHz. Disable “MQA to external DAC” and the Node should do the first unfold. 

I think rockrider and dinosore are going in the correct direction.....I however only use Qobuz, so I can't confirm. My equipment Node 130 USB to Denafrrips Iris DDC, I2S to Pontus II DAC. Here is an excerpt I found:

"The way MQA describes their content is as origami with 3 folds. These folds consist of the decoding and rendering which when fully rendered will output 24-bit/192KHz audio. When streaming MQA through the Node 2i, the BluOS app will handle the first decoding stage which will process the MQA file to 24-bit/96KHz audio. The next 2 rendering steps are then handled by the internal DAC of the Node 2i which will then allow 24-bit/192KHz audio. 

When using coaxial or optical cable from your Node 2i, you are bypassing the internal DAC of the player which is resulting in only the decoding stage occurring and only outputting 24-bit/96KHz audio. To get full 24-bit/192KHz audio you will need to use the analog RCA outputs of the Node 2i to have the internal DAC of the Node 2i process these 2 rendering stages and output fully unfolded MQA".

Good luck

@rockrider Yes, I turned that off. Just spent the last hour+ directly comparing Spotify set on its highest resolution to Tidal Hifi+. Opera, jazz and classical. Back and forth between the two with the same exact recordings on each. Guys…maybe it’s my tin ears but when normalized for volume, the SQ and image difference was negligible at best. That’s either a testament to the work of this DAC, my room or again…my (in)ability to detect a difference. Gene Ammons tenor on My Romance gave chills regardless of which streaming service I played it on.

I paid Tidal for a month so will continue to play with it for a bit before deciding whether or not to keep it. Thanks all for the comments and advice. Oh, and yes @fuzztone , I can Google with the best!