I would bet the average Joe could not discern a VX-1 from a VX-2 of same size/power simply by looking through it. 1-4x20, 2-7x33, and 3-9x40 are VERY comparable, glass wise. The VX-2 has Diamondcoat, VX-1 does not. It may increase scratch resistance, but not so sure about light transmission, or how much. I can't see much difference, if any, in some of them...
