Not a former Vega owner but I've spent considerable time with it in my system over the past few years. I think if you desire "that" type of sound, Vega is among the best out there at any price. My Calyx Femto is similar and at times I think slightly better in a few areas but overall I'd give the nod to the Vega, despite costing less than half the price and weighing quite a bit less too. My Esoteric D-07x is in the same boat.... more expensive, bigger/heavier, more flashy looking, but overall probably not as enjoyable in most systems. Vega is an excellent DAC and reminds me of the older dCS stacks (maybe the new ones too but I haven't experienced those).
Most people I know who moved on from Vega did so to achieve a more "musical" sound. One friend moved around for a while and settled on a Modwright Elyse, another ended up with some expensive APL beast, and another went with the Resonessence Labs Invicta (after hearing mine in his system, he was hooked!). All of these sell for considerably more than the Vega, which is a testament to the achievement Auralic has made. Seriously, as much as I enjoy the Taurus, I think Vega is a more "significant" product in the grand scheme of things.
