it is an interesting comparison from shop to shop. the "stage" term has always kind of bugged me alittle. as dwayne said, there's just no standard in the industry to support one stage of work vs. another. i like his way of thinking on it though. i've had heads at our place that were supposed to flow some big #'s that just didn't live up to them, and some that were very good from other shops. i won't mention any names so no war gets started, LOL. AFAIK i haven't had any of moderncylinderheads come through our shop. i have had heads from dwayne porter in there and i know the quality of the work he does. i'd trust him to port any head for any given combo based on what i've seen and the results i've gotten with his work. i quit porting heads some years ago due to lack of time, but it's pretty easy for anyone with experience to tell the real good head porters from the wanna-be's at a glance of their work. i'm sure moderns work is good also, based on what i've heard. one day maybe i'll get to see some of it.