Understood! Yes there are definitely more ways to BREAK bit perfect (and thus lose MQA) than there are to maintain it
But rest assured that MQA definitely works on this DAC, should you ever choose to use it. I think MQA is the main reason Gustard upgraded the XMOS chip from XU208 in the original A18 to XU216 in the 2nd Edition.
I realize X16 is all the rage right now with it's phenomenal measurements. But I feel very fortunate to have gotten this DAC when I did back in November, before it's production was suspended. I see it is now listed at $649 both on ShenzhenAudio and Apos, $90 above it's previous price.
I bought it along with an SMSL M200, in order to compare them feeding a Bryston power amp and PMC speakers. I was hoping that the M200 would be good enough, both because it's half the price (back when A18 cost $559) but also because its large display is much more convenient for living room use.
M200 is an amazing DAC for the money, but from the very first day there was no doubt the A18 sounded better: Completely effortless, where the M200 was a tad screechy and fatiguing. (My ears are oversensitive to freak harmonics in the 3-8 KHz range). A18's imaging is very 3D vs more 2D on the M200. Again, effortless across the range is how I'd describe the A18.
My wife has better hearing than me and did most of the blind listening (volume matched, of course; filter matched too): She preferred the A18 in 100% of comparisons on well recorded classical and acoustic tracks and 75% of average (studio processed) tracks.
Even after that, I spent a month agonizing, trying to convince myself of the M200, mostly because the A18's small display really is quite impractical. In the end my wife pointed out that we'd never be able to live with the lesser sound quality after having heard the better one. A18 is end game for us, where M200 would have been a fine interim solution.
So, I finally returned the M200 and yes, I enjoy this DAC a lot
Edit: Oh, and you stay safe as well. Goes for everybody!