Best connection for Node 2i and Mcitosh for MQA

davide alessio

• March 19, 2020 02:01

hello, my setup: Mcintosh MA6700 and Bluesound Node2i

which is the best connection to use MQA files from Tidal?

(or, better the best connection in general)

I dont' want to buy another external DAC and I want to use Internal Node DAC

0

• Official comment

  

  Wesley P.

  • March 19, 2020 13:53

  Hello Davide,

  To get fully decoded and rendered MQA from your Node 2i to your Mcintosh amplifier, you will need to use the RCA outputs of the Node 2i. Since the rendering stages of MQA are handled by the Node 2i's internal DAC, you will need to ensure you are using the DAC and outputting over RCA to get full 192/24 MQA where available.

  By using the digital outputs of the Node 2i (optical or coax) you will bypass the Node 2i's internal DAC and MQA will only be decoded and not rendered. By skipping the rendering stages, the most you will be able to get from your MQA content is 96/24.

  Regards,
  Wesley P.
• 

  davide alessio

  • March 19, 2020 14:09
  • Edited

  sorry why if mcintosh digital input accept until 192000/32 I will get only 96/24?

  with rca I will create a little background noise (more than digital)

  0
• 

  Wesley P.

  • March 19, 2020 14:14

  Hello Davide,

  The MQA rendering stages which are handled by the Node 2i's DAC are what bring MQA content from 96/24 to 192/24. If you bypass the internal DAC of the Node 2i by using digital outputs, these rendering stages will not occur causing your MQA content to only be decoded and limited to 96/24.

  Regards,
  Wesley P.

  0
• 

  davide alessio

  • March 19, 2020 14:28

  thanks for infos and sorry for clarification but..... dac has not a clean digital output?

  0
• 

  Wesley P.

  • March 19, 2020 17:15

  Hello Davide,
  
  Since the DAC is a Digital to Analog converter, any content processed by the internal DAC of the Node 2i will need to be outputted in analog through the available RCA outputs. Both coaxial and optical output bypass the DAC and will provide digital output as it has not been converted to analog.

  Regards,
  Wesley P.

  0
• 

  davide alessio

  • March 19, 2020 19:51

  so the question is: better a digital connected sound @ 44/16 or an analog MQA @192/32?

  0
• 

  Wesley P.

  • March 20, 2020 14:40

  Hello Davide,
  
  As mentioned previously, if you are using the digital outputs of your Node 2i to bypass the internal DAC while listening to MQA content, the highest output you will receive is 96/24, not 44/16. When using the analog outputs of the Node 2i, you will be able to get the best available quality out of your MQA which is 192/24, not 192/32.

  These limitations only apply to MQA content.

  Regards,
  Wesley P.

  0
• 

  davide alessio

  • March 20, 2020 14:46

  yes I understand and thank you for your explanation I correct the question:

   

  better a digital connected sound @ 96/24 or an analog MQA @192/24?

   

  0

Please sign in to leave a comment.