The two are very similar and share some of the same components, but there are some differences. The primary ones are as follows:
Chassis
The Bartók uses a simpler chassis design which is not only less expensive from a materials and machining standpoint, but also easier to assemble. Our mechanical engineer spent a lot of time figuring out how to make it less expensive on the manufacturing and assembly side while not compromising the fit and finish and still maintaining a high level of performance. The 3D printer was working overtime in the prototyping stage.
Power supply
The Rossini uses two independent power supplies which are split between the analog and digital sections. In Bartók these are combined into a single supply with a single transformer for both functions. If ordered with the headphone amp then a second, separate power supply is dedicated to the headphone amp.
Software
While the hardware between the two products is similar and they’re built on the same processing platform there will be some software differences. I won’t go into it more than to say that there is a software update planned for Rossini which should make Rossini owners very happy.
Bartók is very much an ‘economy of scale’ product for us. By getting the hard costs on the chassis and power supply down and taking advantage of greater buying power on the electronics we were able to keep the price where it needed to be. If we’d gone down the path of trying to build a cheaper product from an electronic standpoint we would have had to develop a new platform and that would have driven the cost up (even with cheaper parts).
This has been discussed at length internally and as of yet there’s no decision. The reality is that there’s not much we could do to make the Rossini clock more affordable and even a less elaborate faceplate wouldn’t impact the cost that much. We’re taking a wait-and-see approach here to try and determine demand.
No, and it’s unfortunate that we didn’t get final metalwork done in time to have photos for launch. The DAC-only version will have a different faceplate that doesn’t have the two cut-outs for the headphone outputs as well as one fewer button (the second button from the right on the headphone version switches between line out and headphone out).