I like my "synth-vocoders" (microkorg, mininova, jdxi) but they are not really good, speech is not understandable. In addition I use Waldorf Lector but I wanted a good and affordable hardware vocoder and V256 gives what I looked for.
Understandable, inst and MIDI control work well, slots for user settings, perfect for stage.
Assembling: Not a problem just a note: Potmeters are tight but their middlepoint is not "12" but between "11:15' and "12:10".