I got a brand new hw97 and fitted new guides top hat etc de burr polished short stroked and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. I then got a Paul short stage 3 tuned hw97 with titanium piston etc and the difference is massive and I would definitely say it is worth it. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t get the work done just came across the gun but I can now appreciate the work that has been done compared to my original gun. End of the day both guns are better than out the box in terms of smoothness and recoil.