Agreed. Now we are getting somewhere… : )
Yes, and another option:
New 3-product stack from dCS to replace Vivaldi, priced below Varèse (~$100-$150k US):
Clock, Upsampler, single box dual mono DAC, all connected by Actus
Some users opt to buy the entire new stack.
However, the new Dual Mono DAC has both Actus and other protocols to enable Vivaldi owners to use their existing Clock and Upsamplers (and cables) so they can upgrade incrementally
Eureka!? Thoughts? : )
me like….
That’s not going to work unfortunately - AES on XLRs are so fundamental[ly] different from ACTUS that you’d need a rather complex box to convert one to another, i.e. a Varèse Core (with it’s AES/WCLK IO module). Special Cables alone are not going to cut it.
Well let’s see where dCS goes next, as i am sure they know
Whilst I’m aware that when Varèse first came out it was positioned as “above Vivaldi, not a replacement for Vivaldi” (of course, given the price point), I can’t quite see that there would be enough of a market to justify as many as 4 platforms in future, so am thinking there will be something between Rossini and Vivaldi and maybe with a clear upgrade path to full Varèse stack similar to Rossini to Vivaldi. Then the new portfolio would be Lina / <new, ‘Varèse light’>, Varèse and with B / R / V dropping off over time. I don’t think there will be any gradual path from legacy B / R / V towards Varèse light / Varèse. The changes in technology are just too significant over 10++ years. But my guess is just as good as anyone’s 
I have to say that I’m not a big fan of multi-chassis solutions. I love my Bartok; it’s my digital Swiss army knife. However, I can think of two improvements I would like to see: inclusion of DSP software, such as Dirac, and an analog digital converter that would allow me to connect my turntable to the DAC and use it as a full function preamp. Yes, I am willing to concede that the latter may require a second chassis.
2 great addition features that would be nice to have, even better if they did it so you could slot them in on the back like an expansion slots.
As no everyone would want it and it would certainly push the price up
My concern would be the possible introduction of noise and heat from additional hardware in an existing box
Maybe that can be dealt with by design? Cages to trap noise and ventilation for heat dissipation?
As a friendly fyi, this is precisely the architecture that MSB uses, previously in its DACs, and currently on the Digital Directors of the Cascade and Sentinel.
Albeit, in MSB’s architecture, those pluggable modules are limited to inputs only. Whereas with Varése, if I’m not mistaken, pluggable modules into the Varése Core support both inputs and outputs. So, quite possible for the architecture to support Room-Correction DSP modules or A-to-D modules in the future if there’s customer demand. 