Review: VooDoo Reference Bi-Wire Speaker Cable

[vman71]

This review is for the VooDoo Reference Bi-Wire Speaker Cable.

I purchased these speaker cables because I thought my system was lacking in the area's of imaging, resolution, clarity and dynamics. My comments, with respect to the source material used for testing, are the things that I heard and noticed while testing. The results are my opinions and were a result of my testing conditions and specific equipment used for the testing.

My source material for testing consists of the following:

The Eagles (Hell Freezes Over) – “Hotel California”
Diana Krall (Stepping Out) – “42nd Street Jazz Piano”
James Taylor (Gorilla) – “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”

Components used for this testing:

Sunfire Theater Grand II Pre-Amp
Sunfire Cinema Grand II Amp
Sony DVP-S500D DVD/CD
Klipsch KLF-20 Speakers

The source material for this review was specifically picked out because of my familiarity with it and also because it really challenges an audio system.

The first song I started listening to was The Eagles (Hell Freezes Over) – “Hotel California.”

I was amazed at how my system became more powerful yet at the same time it became easier, more controlled. The soundstage expanded and at the same time became more detailed. The imaging of their voices presented themselves right in front of me as if I was sitting 10 rows back from center stage. The bass came across with authority and tightness. There is no doubt that the VooDoo Reference speaker cables elevated the musical presentation.

I then started listening to Diana Krall (Stepping Out) – “42nd Street Jazz Piano.”

This is clearly a song with a vast amount of details. The improved transparency gave way to incredible separation between all of the instruments; it was like being enveloped in a 3-dimensional spatial ambience. The clarity throughout the song, from the top end to the bottom end, can be described as accurate and detailed. The piano might as well have been in my room from the way it sounded. Each note was clearly pronounced and I almost couldn’t believe how distinctly I was hearing it!

The last song I listened to was James Taylor (Gorilla) – “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You.”

With the VooDoo Reference speaker cables, there was a noticeable improvement in details and resolution. His voice and guitar seemed so real and alive in my room. Every note that was strummed on is guitar was crystal clear and smooth. His voice was crisp like the fall air.

The VooDoo Reference Bi-Wire speaker cables brought new life into my system. I’m very satisfied with the addition of the VooDoo Reference Bi-Wire speaker cable in my system! The VooDoo Reference speaker cables are very well built and demonstrate a high degree of pride, craftsmanship and commitment. I’m certain that I will own more VooDoo products throughout my audio journey!

Mike

[foobagger]

Thanks for your testimonial on the bi-wire product. Your experience :-D is very different from mine. Both my speakers and amp have bi-wire facility (extra sets of binding posts). I checked the owner's manuals for each product. Neither offered any justification for using the extra terminals - just a statement that they are there if you think you need to use them. That seems a strong clue that they are there to help move gear out the door rather than for audio enhancement. I can't for think of any reason why 2 pipes would be better than 1, assuming the 1 is properly sized, but since I happened to have a couple of very different speaker cable sets lying around, I said what the hey, let's hook 'em up. One set came with my used speakers (I would never have bought such); it's a funky braid of 8 individually jacketed 23AWG wires. The other is my standard bulk 12AWG zip. Since the braided cable has less than half the inductance of the zip, I decided to use it on the hi side. At least one speaker manufacturer says using different types of cables will ruin the sound. OTH, the owner's manual for mine suggests using different type cables. Go figure. Doesn't exactly sound like science going down here. Cutting to the chase, my system sounded great with one pipe and it sounds great with two pipes. Am I happy? You bet. I hate to see things go unused (personal hang-up). Now all my binding posts are in service of my sound. Yippee. YMMV.

[ToddB]

Hi Mike. Thanks for the review, but you've put it in the wrong section of the website. This area is for requesting products to be added to the database, and once that's done, THEN reviews can be submitted for them. For example, I've added your speaker cables, and their review page is now here: http://www.audioreview.com/PRD_323091_1584crx.aspx

You'll be able to find that page by going through the "Cables" link on the main review page, and then clicking on the letter "V". You should be able to cut and paste your review over to there, instead of having to type it all out again, and then you can submit it into the database for everyone else to read. If you leave your review only over here in the forums, not as many people are going to be able to find it.