What ignited your interest in high-end audio? Did it come from the music side or the electronics side?
My first paying gig as a teenager was playing alto sax in a Polish polka band, then baritone sax in a hotel dance band, a blind pig, a TV station, a theater pit orchestra, recording sessions, and many other musical adventures. I also had a part-time job working at a record store, and I listened to jazz on late-night radio. But when a friend’s father acquired a Garrard turntable, Ampex tape recorder, Scott receiver, and Altec Lansing speakers, I was hooked.
What was your first high-end system?
Dual 1218 turntable, modified Dynaco PAS 3 preamp, McIntosh 225 amp, and KEF 104 speakers.
What attracted you to the cable industry? How did VooDoo come about?
Decades ago, while working as a bench tech in an audio store, I built cables for customers and became interested in how AC power cords affected the sonic performance of components. I built a few prototypes and offered them to the store owner to audition. He just shook his head at the idea and said, “Sounds like voodoo to me.” The rest was serendipitous fate.
What differentiates high-end audio from other forms of audio?
High-end audio is the rigorous pursuit of focused listening for the advancement of music appreciation, or something like that. It also allows music enthusiasts and audiophiles a place to find a bit of solace and precious sanctuary from the noise of the world.
What is the greatest misperception people have about cables?
That the cable network is secondary to other components in the system. Cable is an essential component in the signal transmission path. Cable can be the strongest or weakest link. Your system will not sound any better than the cable you use. Guaranteed.
What interesting fact or aspect about VooDoo cables might surprise audiophiles?
Building high-end audio cable is like building fine musical instruments. A cable designer’s musical sensibility and consequent choice of materials and production techniques are his most important contributions to a refined audio cable. All our cable is hand-built to order. Our wire is not extruded onto spools at a cable manufacturing plant in Asia to be terminated and packaged here in the USA. Cryogenic treatment of all the conductive materials is important to the sonic performance of our products.
How will the cable industry adapt to the increasing popularity of wireless audio?
People often ask, “Isn’t everything going wireless?” This would have been an excellent question for Marconi, or even Tesla. But there really is no binary answer. If you remember, radio and television started out as broadcast (wireless) technology. Yet now we rely on a global umbilical of fiberoptic, copper coax cable, and satellite microwave for signal transmission. High-end audio systems can use some or all of the available means of Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and cable, because the efficient delivery of premium-quality signal bandwidth and linearity will always be in demand, regardless of how it is delivered. Marconi patented his “wireless” technology more than 120 years ago. Yet, here at VooDoo, we are still busy designing and building audio cable for markets around the world, and there appears to be no end in sight.
What are the greatest challenges facing the high-end audio industry, in general?
While business has been surprisingly good despite the challenges of the pandemic, the war against soundbars isn’t going to end soon. But I also believe a more significant challenge is balancing efficient production with distribution and shipping. During these precarious times, the delivery infrastructure of our industry is adjusting and evolving rapidly from local and regional to global markets. Getting products into the listening rooms of customers around the world with minimal delays or other cross-border problems requires special skill and expertise. Companies with tested logistics to distribute their products globally will not only increase their revenue and customer base; their brand equity should also increase.
Beyond audio, what do you do for fun?
I enjoy cooking, sailing, and wine tasting.
What (still) inspires you about your work?
I’m still inspired by the notion that the music of Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Puccini, Hendrix, Coltrane, et al. is passing through VooDoo Cable to the enjoyment of audiophiles around the world.
Tags: Q&A
By Neil Gader
My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.
More articles from this editor
