As much as I'd like to say that the stage 2 mod will be available on such and such date, I really can't.
Jeff has a pair ready for me to pick up again. I have to get them, burn them in for 25 hours then A/B them taking notes as to the strengths or weaknesses of each...
This isn't one of those deals where we swap out this or that parts with what we think are better and call it a great mod. We want this to be the most worth while mod that it can be and that means really listening to know what type of parts will make the most difference and what parts will have the best synergy with this DAC.
If you are in hurry and can't wait then don't. Order one now with a stage 1 mod. It is the most bang for the buck by far of anything that could be done to this DAC. Then you can send it in later for further stages of mods.
We were hoping to have this stage finished at the end of last month, but it just didn't happen. There are other things that we really want to try. I don't want to have to tell someone that , oh yea, we figured out a way to make it better after we have already sold it to our customers. I don't want there to be a new mod every month.
With what is being done to the DAC in the stage 2 mod, I would expect the price to come in at around the $1,800 to $2,000 range (including the price of the DAC).