I really don't like that! Do they need that for cooling? First thing I've seen about it that makes me go - "nope....
I agree ..the downside to a small chassis and substantial processing power - this thing is wide open for cooling. ...Most of these floor units have ways-in to some degree. Even the AX8, I was worried about the encoders if somebody spilled on it, or if it got rained on a little - still a concern, but it has held up pretty well for having been spilled on a bit, and sprinkled-on (c/o mother nature), a tiny-bit, too. Having said that, I don't think a floor unit wide-open to such an extent as this QC is a preferable design for rough conditions.
This QC is pretty futuristic though! 'Hat's off to them for that... Maybe the next iteration will have a more tricky design better able to limit that kind of venting. ..If I didn't have an AXE III I might like it for a home studio? Used as a desktop processor-I would be more interested. But, I have an AXE III, so I'm set there.
Getting back on subject, I have owned all kinds of BOSS/Roland stuff - Got bunches of it on shelves, amps too,. ..to my ears Boss stuff has a different sound - an over-produced 80's/90's type sound. For me, it's very-easy to get those kinds of sounds from BOSS stuff. This new tech QC etc., (Fractal too), seems to be more in a heated race to utter perfection. Sometimes perfection isn't the noise in my head. Sometimes (all sacrilege aside), the sounds in my head are more easily grab-n-go from older Line6, Digitech, or BOSS products. ..So I am interested in this 1000Core..
I have a GT-001 ..this 1000Core will likely replace that.