Love it! What a great idea. Not sure how we pull this off Internationally though. The issue (one of them) is shipping. Overseas (and even across your border) can be a serious problem.
I am leaning towards the idea of having one of our CMs make a kit for folks. The good news is anyone willing to upgrade their DS is, by default, ok with DIY. We could probably make a kit for something less than $1k. I just wonder if enough people would be interested.
I am sure there may be a more objective way to estimate demand, but count me in for the kit option. Hate that nearly an entire DAC is just sitting there.
Love it! What a great idea. Not sure how we pull this off Internationally though. The issue (one of them) is shipping. Overseas (and even across your border) can be a serious problem.
Not necessarily.
The local distributors could assemble the new DACs and also be involved with selecting schools and assns in their territories. Great way to pull the “family” together and for good cause.
So in a way customers, PSA, distributors and donors are all involved in the process.
You could always look for an old MKI to upgrade
Instead of using the PerfectWave case, how about putting out a case based on the P3 or NuWave styling. That would be a little less expensive. And I happen to prefer the P3/NuWave styling to the PerfectWave style anyway. Yes, I know… To each his own. 
J.P.
SF said You could always look for an old MKI to upgrade
This is true, but I expect that the number of these will dwindle… already, they are somewhat rare on Audiogon. If I had a PWD mkI, I would have several options if I wanted to keep feeding the Audio Dollar Monster: I could sell it or upgrade to the mk2 or DS. Personally, the latter two options are much more desirable, particularly now that there are used mk2 parts around after DS upgrades. This leaves a relative deficiency of cases compared to working DAC circuitry.
I see a market (likely to be on the small side, admittedly) for a kit option. I agree with J.P. that the case probably doesn’t need to be a fancy one, especially if functionality could be maintained without the touchscreen.
Personally, I would like to purchase a display and controller board. Then I could cook my own chassis.
Just wondering, here: What did people do with their old boards when they upgraded to MkII?
The Mk.II kit was sent with instructions to return the old board to PS Audio.
I liked my Mk.2 and would love to re-use it in a second system. I’d stuff it all in a cardboard box if I could get it to work, but I’m not that good with electronics. I think the price-point is less than $500 for a case, seriously. Nothing fancy.
I think one of the risks PSA would have to deal with if a case were offered is if someone were to build up their PWD in the new case and then sell it to someone who thinks they may be able to get service since the whole thing would technically still be a PS Audio product. I suspect the disclaimers necessary if a case were offered might make this a bit of a problem.
As a DS kit purchasor I would happily pay $500 plus freight to the ends of the earth (NZ) for a good used or new PWD case (230VAC).
If this came from via a local dealer it would be even better.
I don’t want to beg but will if it’ll help ;-0
Whoops, I dont need the PSU as the MKII one will do fine. Perhaps put a “MKII Kitset” label on the box if that helps with “authenticity”.
Has there been any progress on a new chassis or are the parts needed to complete a PWD Mk2 after the DS upgrade available (possibly in a kit)?
I am afraid that PS Audio has little intrest in this kind of project. Personally, I would like to see something based on the P3 case.
I guess the real question is what more than a display module would be needed to get the electronics working so we could build our own case around them, and would PS Audio even be willing to sell us the necessary components.
It really would be nice to resurrect the guts of a DS upgraded PWD. Certainly I do not wish to decommission my fine PWD just to get into a DS a bit cheaper.
J.P.
I would love the idea of another case for my Mk.II internals. My 2nd system would really benefit from a PWD MkII. (Naim ND5XS).
wingsounds13 said I am afraid that PS Audio has little intrest in this kind of project. Personally, I would like to see something based on the P3 case.I guess the real question is what more than a display module would be needed to get the electronics working so we could build our own case around them, and would PS Audio even be willing to sell us the necessary components.
It really would be nice to resurrect the guts of a DS upgraded PWD. Certainly I do not wish to decommission my fine PWD just to get into a DS a bit cheaper.
J.P.
We would all love it but I would be shocked if it happened. They would make very little on the cases while flooding the market with cheap functional PWDs at the same time they will be disposing of the PWDs they take as trade-ins. They would gain a lot of goodwill from customers, but that’s about it.
I agree with Stevem2. Sadly, most of us will eventually have to trash our MkII innards.
DS is brand spanking new, the project took a few years to complete and I think all can understand that the R&D costs must have been huge. Rigth now, in its price category, DS shines … But, you cannot stop technology. The competitors are bound to catch up, and - as with all new technology, prices will drop (for similar sound quality units). In a year’s time (with R&D recovered), DS will probably be cheaper if it is to remain competitive (unless of course there’s a DS MkII that ups the ante …). This will drive the value of a MkII further down. I therefore do not think it’s a sensible idea to spend money on a case and display …
Meantime I’m enjoying the excellent music from my DS.
[Remark from SA reviewer: “I remain amazed at how much music there is …” 
]
wglenn said Personally, I would like to purchase a display and controller board. Then I could cook my own chassis.I'd be very happy with this approach. If we could buy the necessary components we could make our own DIY DAC, with no recourse to PS Audio.
Even a parts list and recommended suppliers would solve it for me.
Maybe someone would offer to build them for people for a bit of cash like digitalpete does for Audionote kits?