Next Best Upgrade for Tidal MQA?

@bruxesq

From digital coax or optical 
When streaming MQA content there are 3 unfolds which must occur to receive fully rendered 192khz/24-bit MQA. The first of these unfolds is handled by the BluOS app and will output up to 96khz/24-bit audio. The next 2 unfolds are handled by the internal DAC of the Node to provide 192khz/24-bit audio.
If you have an MQA certified DAC connected to your Node 2i, you can enable this MQA External DAC option to have MQA content pass through the Node 2i untouched and allow your external DAC to handle all 3 of these unfolds. 

As for upgrade.. Good preamp makes difference but not sure inbuilt dac gives best result or future potential. I would say a seperate might be more sensible choice

Here are preamp, streamer and dac to check out or read up on. Someone mentioned the Schmitt Freya which runs 6sn7 tubes is a great suggestion. Also mentioned was PS Audio. I owned a PS audio PCA-2 preamp with outboard power supply and thought it sounded better than many tube amps I've owned including BAT, Bruce Moore, Audio Research plus others. I think the ps audio stuff sounds like tubes it is a little colored in a good way. For a dac check out chord qutest, RME adi2, Orchid, Denafrips, Musical paradise. Streamer an old Auralic Aries mini or Aries or lumin mini would all be nice. If you going to spend your hard earned money take your time.

@richdirector  I have it connected via optical right now and the passthrough is enabled so that the internal DAC in the Node 2i is bypassed.  My MyTek Liberty DAC is MQA-certified.  Regardless, I have read elsewhere that the Note 2i will still only pass through at 96khz.

@paulcreed   Thanks for the suggestions.

@snackeyp  Thanks for the suggestions, although I struggle to believe that the streamer is the single, next-best, upgrade versus the Pre-amp.  As of now, all the Node 2i does is act as a digital source, it is not doing the digital-to-analog conversion.  

@bruxesq Don't rule out the streamer.  The quality of the source with digital is huge.  The DAC is also hugely important.  Cheers