Answer:
There are three major perks in the campaign that causes confusion. We would like to clarify any confusion now.
(1) 2015 ESS DAC 9018AQ2M Upgrade --
This is one of the most popular upgrades that almost every backer purchased. After you purchased this upgrade, your DAC IC will upgrade
from ES9018K2M to ES9018AQ2M. (The Current specification inside Wave is ES9028Q2M. That is exactly the same IC with the new updated part number from ES9018AQ2M.)
Starting 18 months ago, we found that there were roughly 95% of people who upgraded to ES9028Q2M. We decided to reach out to the remaining people who didn't. Most of the people agreed to upgrade to ES9028Q2M. There were a very few people who didn't who we will keep in contact with before shipping. So problem solved: We could use one kind of the DAC IC for Wave. And no worries - no one will get it for free.
(2) Dual ESS 9018M DAC’s Upgrade
This perk is NOT a standard for everyone. So for the people who didn't purchase this Dual DAC upgrade, they won't get it. Although we will reach out again before we ship it to see if they want this upgrade of not. We use the same PCB with different populating profiles to solve the ONE DAC or TWO DAC problem.
(3) Standalone DAC Upgrade --
The same thing like above. And for the people who didn't have this upgrade - their Wave software menu won't even have that option to work as a stand alone DAC. This upgrade is NOT FREE. Although a lot of backers have it. But we will still have different configuration option for this one.
So the overall principle is the same in order to reduce the total configuration numbers of Geek Wave. Example: When one is the kind of the perk that more than 95% already bought it. We will try to pursue the remaining 5% and let this feature become standard. For example, the ES9028Q2M upgrade. But for the rest and most of the perks, it is NOT standard. And no one will get these features for FREE. No worry!
Thanks,