Volume leveling - MQA

Hi guys. I have an iFi Micro iDSD that I’ve just updated to have MQA (can decode and render). I have to say I am impressed with the sound quality of Tidal masters in this format.

A quick question - if I have volume levelling turned on (with core MQA turned off), does that destroy any of the MQA data that gets to the DAC?

My initial impressions are that core MQA decoder does not sound as good as leaving it to the DAC completely. And it is better without volume levelling. But I don’t know whether that’s a perception only due to the volume being louder.

I think so. I seem to think that the best option would be to set the DAC up as Decoder and Renderer. This will let Roon know to try and preserve the MQA signal from any DSP being done on it before sending it to the DAC.