I had Vortices on my short list for a long time. I ultimately chose a different route for similar types of sounds. I was planning on pairing it with the Worng Soundstage. I thought that might give me the best of both worlds. Only issue with the Soundstage is the lack of integrated individual VCAs, but that's easily handled upstream in a larger rack.
I know what you mean about the Vortices cable spaghetti. I suppose it's a good design if you are looking to save space, but if space isn't an issue it becomes an ergonomic concern. I have mixers at the bottom right of my rack, and had planned to put Vortices there even with the funky I/O setup.
Good luck finding a spot for it.