I have owned the Neotech NEVD 1001 for a few days now and I've run comparisons against Audiophonics Canare and Oyaide AS-808 V2. Both cheaper cables claim strict adherence to specification, they have a confidence inspiring build quality that feels sensible. Therefore one could assume that because Coax carries a digital signal, all three would sound the same. If only that was the case!
This is the slightly annoying thing about digital cables, that they obviously do not all sound the same, and you get what you pay for. This applies to USB cables as well as Coax. The Audiophonics Canare sounds excellent, and there's nothing obviously wrong with the sound. But when you step up to the slightly more expensive Oyaide AS-808 it's like the sound expands in every direction, with a larger and more "floor to ceiling" sensation to the sound stage. The improvement is most obvious with headphones. And when I then step up to the silver Neotech NEVD-1001, it again sounds much better than the copper Oyaide cable. With the Neotech you get maybe 2x better sound, for 4x+ the cost. If you know that your system is good enough, it's absolutely worth getting either this Neotech silver cable, or the equivalent silver coax from Oyaide or someone else.
The difference I hear with the Neotech NEVD-1001 vs the cheaper cables is that the cheaper cables have a heavier and slower sound, whereas the Neotech cable makes all sounds pop more, with more detail, texture and dynamics. You might have heard the expression that the sound has a "blacker background", and that's exactly the feeling you get when you remove that heaviness from the cheaper coax cables. Sounds seem to have more empty space around them in all directions, like they're floating in air against a black background. The way this sounds, as an example, is that voices have a more defined outline around them and are more clearly separated from the background instrumentals. This effect applies to all sounds, no matter what kinds of sounds they are, and no matter where on the frequency band they play, whether it's bass, the midrange or treble. It creates a more dynamically dramatic and interesting sound. The silver Neotech also makes it sound like the dynamic range is expanded, so that sounds can play louder with more intensity. It's like the cheaper cables only play to 8 out of 10, whereas the silver cable unlocks the full 10 out of 10 in intensity.
To conclude, if you use Coax a lot, and you've got a great system, maybe using €1000+ headphones or speakers in the €1500+ range, then you will most likely appreciate the sound of this cable quite a bit. Given how expensive cables can get, I think the Neotech is good value considering the obvious sonic difference I'm hearing compared against Audiophonics Canare and Oyaide AS-808 V2. The difference isn't subtle. But with that said, the cheaper Coax cables still sound excellent to my ears. We're talking Good vs Better vs Best. None of the cables sound bad when taken in isolation.
As a final note, maybe you've noticed that Neotech have two silver coax cables. The NEVD 1001 and the NEVD 2001. This more expensive 1001 model uses UP-OCC silver, whereas the cheaper 2001 version uses "normal" silver wires. Does that make a meaningful difference? Who knows! But I got the more expensive 1001 version because the price difference isn't that big.







