The first answer, from any of us, would be “as many as possible” I expect. Having spoken to dCS my impression is that their product ‘roadmaps’, to the extent that they have them, are less well defined than I had imagined. I do know that a current priority is completing the Varese transport, but I don’t see any trickle down opportunities there.
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I don’t see a lot of opportunity for upgrades stemming directly from Varese. The architecture is so different that any hardware and software changes would effectively result in a new platform and therefore are more likely to affect new models placed under Varese.Existing V/R/B features could be modified indirectly but as we do not know the inner workings of any aspect of Varese it is not possible to speculate.
However Mosaic is continually under development which does not necessarily involve hardware upgrades. So even if Mosaic Actus is not adopted for the entire product lineup , I would not be surprised to find Mosaic drawing from it. Mosiac v.2.0 perhaps?
However dCS have a history of surprising speculators. So watch out.
Thank you @Simon_C and Pete. I tend to agree.
Because the Varese is a mono DAC and has a completely new cabling technology/architecture, my ideas are limited:
(a) Improved filters via software upgrade
(b) Replace the steaming/processing board to enable higher resolution DSD (don’t know if this is possible)
(c) Replace clock components for even further jitter reduction/higher accuracy
Others?
As always, I welcome the community’s comments
R
This would simply result in an enhanced user experience. It would not result in enhanced playback performance (quality, resolution etc.)
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What he said
That is why, as much as it is tempting, I still lean towards waiting for new models on the new platform. Now, if you told me these new models were, say, 3 years down the road, my thoughts might then change 
True. But I like the idea of improved user experience 
. So many issues reported here relate to aspects of Mosaic that could be improved upon including its initial visual impact.
It is fairly easy to imagine both software (the new signal path editor?) and firmware (more new filters and mappers?) advances developed for Varèse being back-ported to existing models.
From a hardware perspective it is harder to guess since aside some of the headline items dCS has presented (and most of which do not seem amenable to back-porting: dual mono, Differential Ring DAC, ACTUS, Tomix, flex-rigid etc.), we don’t know what specific advances have been made at the subsystem level and how amenable these are to packaging as retrofittable upgrades. I mean none of us really saw APEX coming did we? So with respect I think it’s a little bit of a pointless question to ask. What I am confident of is that this is something the good people at dCS are thinking about, or at least will be once Varèse is out of the door and stabilized.
As to when we might see a new model program at B/R/V price-points, well that’s anybody’s guess. I appreciate that people would love to know for their upgrade planning but unfortunately that’s just not the way things work in the real world since as soon as customers find out something is about to be replaced they stop buying it.
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I don’t believe it is dCS’s best interest to “keep it under wraps.”
I personally would value a simple but official statement like: “Future improvements to the V/R/B line are forthcoming.”
(I am so easily appeased!) : )
Perhaps you missed the following paragraph in the dCS article. Clearly, they have already made the statement you’re asking for
The advancements introduced with Varèse provide scope to create some exciting new products and features – but they also give us the ability to improve the listening experience for existing dCS owners, via updates to our current product range. We have always been committed to improving products throughout their lifespan, and ensuring that all dCS customers benefit in some way from our latest discoveries, and this is something we gave a great deal of thought to whilst making Varèse.
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I believe, to a certain extent, several have already started to embrace this practice. It will be interesting to see how sales of the current Vivaldi/Rossini progress this coming year.
Although I am fairly sure dCS will never disclose their sales numbers I’m sure you’re right Gregg. But the same thing happens with the iPhone every year and what’s more in that case the market knows, almost to the day, when it is going to happen well in advance. Apple’s playbook is well understood by now, soon-to-be superseded phones are sold at increasing discounts. Those who want the latest/greatest wait, those who want a bargain buy. Pretty straightforward really. At the end of the day it is all about supply and demand and how hot the competition is etc.
I disagree.
This is not because of the first sentence you quote, but the second.
As soon as the prior generation–Puccini, Paganini–had reached–in dCS’s sole discretion–the end of “their lifespan” the upgrades stopped.
This is because companies and engineers need to invest in the future of the business, and even an expensive upgrade like the Apex, is very small revenue relative to the sale of new product. If the only thing dCS did was sell a few Vareses and issue more upgrades to the current line, revenue would plunge.
The definition of “lifespan” for owners and a business is not logically the same. In fact it is frequently different.
From a company’s perspective, the current V/R/B line has already had major software and hardware improvements, and the Vivaldi platform was released 12+ years ago, Rossini, 9+ years ago. This is an eternity for electronics.
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Just one obvious flaw in your argument though;
In the case of Puccini/Paganini, they were discontinued when the next generation was announced. V/R/B have not been discontinued, they’re still current. Take the Bartók Is a proof-point - it was not discontinued even after Lina was announced/launched, and we got the Apex upgrade for it.
No doubt V/R/B will eventually be discontinued, as all models do, but for now, it seems quite clear that dCS have made the exact statement that you’ve specifically asked for. They wouldn’t have included that specific paragraph if they weren’t expecting to honour it.
So, I disagree with your disagreement 
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It’s not a flaw in the argument.
Since dCS has not announced its product roadmap, it could just as easily announce a Vivaldi replacement event on Monday, and then Vivaldi would have a successor, and could be deemed end of “lifespan.”
This exact sequence will happen at some time in the future. And at some point before that announcement, likely several quarters before, upgrades will stop. Nothing lasts forever… ; )
Cheers.
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So, let me understand this correctly.; despite including a paragraph that pretty much exactly addresses the ask you had (let me remind you);
You’re now saying thats not good enough on the basis of conjecture that they might discontinue V/R/B without notice? 
Going out on a limb here, and truly playing devil’s advocate 
, so I will drill down on the words and say “listening EXPERIENCE” can refer to the new Mosaic - and the experience it provides.
They did not say “performance” which for me means measurable improvement in how the hardware performs
Either way, after 13 years, let’s just say the Vivaldis days are numbered. Maybe not 2025 however if not by then I say 2026. That would make is 15 year (?) anniversary?
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Isn’t that cherry picking slightly out of context?
The advancements introduced with Varèse provide scope to create some exciting new products and features – but they also give us the ability to improve the listening experience for existing dCS owners, via updates to our current product range. We have always been committed to improving products throughout their lifespan, and ensuring that all dCS customers benefit in some way from our latest discoveries, and this is something we gave a great deal of thought to whilst making Varèse.
Granted “update” could be software only. But it’s certainly doesn’t imply user interface experience only, no? 
Does not imply…however
Its hard for me to believe that im reading this. Rather than trust a company that you have each invested what we consider to be a large amount of money to continue to develop a product to benefit us we pretty much say we expect to be thrown under the bus any day and possibly hope it happens sooner than later. This isnt a-cell phone or a set of golf clubs. Is dcs really a bunch of gangsters or is the technology so antiquated. I guess im more trusting and optimistic… or is that naive. These expensive components have relatively few wearable parts and dcs has already stated and shown an interest to further develop the existing lines until they are no longer practical. I dont at this point see the advancement in technology that warrants a drastic change in direction on the general product line but if i were an opportunistic business owner i could certainly read that i have strong support to put out new product with minor enhancements and a new skin and collect my next payday. Give the masses what they want. Jmho
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I think @barryr1’s post sums up my feelings on the subject perfectly.
Just one more observation before I tap out. I can’t help feeling a deep sense of irony here. Let’s say dCS’s product cycles were half what they are. Vivaldi, launched in 2012, would have been replaced in 2019 and that replacement would be coming up for 6 years old. People would be saying the same thing, “cold product, bound to be replaced soon”. In actual fact the Vivaldi hardware platform (APEX aside**) is now 12 years old. So the skeptics (for want of a better term, no judgement implied) present this as an argument that it is even more inevitable that Vivaldi will be EoLed imminently and that it would be foolish to buy new.
The longer a product lives the older it seems (regardless of how conpettitive it remains) and the more inflated expectations of its imminent demise become. So in fact by (over-)delivering on their promise of protecting customers investments through longevity and upgradability dCS has only pushed the expectation bar even higher and made it harder for them to clear. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
As I said, it feels like we’ve started going round in circles on this one. Over and out from me on this one.
** Vivaldi 2.0 firmware is 7 years old and Vivaldi APEX, Stereophile POTY 2024, is now 2 years old.
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