OK, you wanted opinions on the pair up of 170i and DacMagic. I have both in my system, so I can give my 2cents. First of all, I use Analysis Plus Digital Oval in between the two and Solo Crystal Oval out to my McIntosh MA6500. I think the cabling has made a dramatic improvement in sound quality and musical enjoyment, so I have to mention them. I'm extremely pleased with this combo, and my wife and friends are also impressed by the sound. I personally am amazed that the ipod is capable of this kind of good sound. I'm also enjoying the improvement the Little Pinkie power supply has made. I use Little Pinkie as a power supply for the DacMagic and a Musical Fidelity X-CAN v2. I think it is a worthwile upgrade for sure, if you can find one at a good price seems like a new one is around $350. Overall, We are very happy with the sound of this setup and the upgrade bug has not been biting lately.