I've had the V-DAC for a couple of days now, with probably only 10 hours or so on it. I'm also completely new to the DAC-world. Of course we've all been using DACs whether we know if or not, this is my first dedicated DAC.
First I love the size and build. It' looks great with my SR-71 portable amp sittin' on top. It matches the look and feel of the no-nonsense workhorse amp -- black, metal, well built and down to business. I like the blue light in the front for power and the green light next to it comes on when the USB cable is connected to the puter. Simple, effective. Also in front are the USB, Coax, and Optical inputs. The rear end has the RCA outs going in the SR-71 via a mini. It's small and it's portable, perfect for a laptop/desktop setup OR easy enough to hide with your cables if it's more "permanent."
Naturally not ever having a serious dedicated DAC in my system, this is very much a wonderful upgrade. Previously I was running out of the analog outs on my DVD player, into my Onkyo receiver, then out of the headphone jack into my SR-71. Sounds convoluted, yes, but the sound was quite nice. The receiver had a "direct" mode that bypassed all the signal processing and running out of the headphone jack, I was able to crank the receiver and get a nice crisp and powerful sound. It was this power that I was afraid of losing.
I'm happy to report this DAC delivers power. It's got a great full and very powerful sound. Also it's more balanced. It's got great bass and very detailed, and very smooth highs. The highs are not fatiguing at all. There's no glare no bite...just smooth and liquid. The treble is so gorgeous! The mids are interesting -- I've never heard mids like this. I've heard it described as creamy smooth. I couldn't agree more. There's no grain. There's a wonderfully supported and voluminous mid-range. As well the bass is certainly more detailed. I was used to the solid knock of a kick drum, but now there's more air getting pushed after that attack. There's more force and it's a richer smoother bass. There's also wonderful decay all around -- reverb is present and spacious and you can watch it fade.
The soundstaging is nicer than I'm used to. It's precise and easy to look at all the instruments. Overall there's increased visual character. In the end, I come back to three things: the clean even power, the detail/visualness, and that creamy sound signature that sparkles so beautifully. So it's been an outstanding upgrade for me. Probably the most significant upgrade I've made, with the exception of getting good headphones. And I'm happy to report the SR-71 is right there able to effortlessly take it all in and deliver it right back out -- which reminds me of why I bought that amp in the first place -- being able to take on upgrade after upgrade.
Sorry I can't compare it to other DACs, but just thought I'd share -- for what it's worth -- my experiences with the V-DAC.