High and mighty
Hi-Fi Choice|July 2022
There are small speakers, tall speakers and speakers like the Voodoo which just make you stop and stare. David Vivian takes it on
David Vivian
High and mighty

DETAILS

PRODUCT Ophidian Voodoo

ORIGIN UK

TYPE 3-way floorstanding loudspeaker

WEIGHT 59.5kg

DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 304 x 1,300 x 365mm

FEATURES

● 22mm fabric dome tweeter

● 80mm aluminium cone mid/bass driver

● 2x 265mm aluminium cone bass drivers

● Quoted sensitivity: 87dB/1W/1m (4ohm)

DISTRIBUTOR Ophidian Audio Ltd.

WEBSITE ophidian.co.uk

Does size really matter? Experiencing Voodoo might well provide the answer. No, I don't mean Hendrix, Winwood, Mason, and Cassidy giving Voodoo Chile the full business. Which isn't to say Jimi won't get his turn later because, for our purposes, Voodoo is what you see here - specialist British speaker maker Ophidian's XXL statement on the art of go-for-broke, flagship floorstander.

Believe me, pictures give very little idea of how big and heavy it is. Let's wheel in B&W's 702 Signature (HFC 480) for comparison. It's 994mm tall and weighs a beefy 29.5kg. Certainly large enough to get noticed. Not weedy by any stretch. Yet you could hide a 702 in the shadow cast by the Voodoo. It would be like Tyson Fury putting a protective arm around Tom Cruise. The Voodoo is 1,300mm high, 304mm wide and weighs nearly 60kg. It needs as much house room as a floorstanding Wilson Audio or Magico. It's taller than my mum.

Ophidian's founder, designer, and boss, Gareth James, delivers the Voodoos to me personally which, to say the least, is a welcome pair of helping hands for getting it setup.

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