In doing so you lose 9/10 of the MQA unfold.
Actually you lose 2/3rds. A full MQA decode unfolds (3) times. The Node2 does the first unfold via it's digital outputs.
I have been told that the first unfold is the most critical, however I haven't been able to verify it.
In my setup, the Node2 out to my DAC, (via coax) doing the first unfold, (on MQA material) sounds better than the full MQA decode via the Node2's internal DAC. My standalone DAC is not an MQA DAC.