Help with my first DAC under 2K.

guessing with 30K tunes on your ipod it's low resolution so just get any Ipod doc. you didn't say what you wanted to spend. generally inserting a dac to your stereo from your pc means you want higher fidelity....there are many under 2K dac choices right now.

The Cambridge Dacmagic is popular DAC.

I agree with Larry that if you want better sound you should probably rip your files at a higher rate.

Towards the top of the 2K limit I would check out the Simaudio Moon 300D. At a lower price I would try its little brother, the Moon 100D, or a used Apogee Mini-DAC. An Apogee Duet is an interesting option if you have a Mac, especially if you want to record as well.

However I have to agree with Larryken and Daverz: if better fidelity is what you want, you need to rip at the highest resolution you have room for. Any of the outboard DACs mentioned above will make you music sound *better*--even squished mp3s--but if you want *more* music you need higher resolution.

One last thing. Specialty playback software can make your music much clearer-sounding. On a Mac, these are the free (for now) AyreWave from sbooth.org/AyreWave/, PureMusic ($129) or Amarra (price varies depending on version).

Another last thing: don't forget a good USB cable. My stock cables sound lifeless compared to the silver one I bought from Audiogoner Acreyes, and there are many other good ones available too.

Get the Wyred DAC 2 and use the USB port from your PC. I heard it recently and thought it was stellar.