To evaluate the effect of using both the Statement and the Ultimate stands in the behavior of the reference system, the two Tandems successively replaced the stand normally used to support the Parasound HCA3500. In both cases, assembly is rather simple (there are not many steps to make mistakes…) and the leveling is also a straightforward process, as the large diameter of each mounting point allows for its easy rotation, by hand. The Ultimate needs a little more attention, especially if the floor does not help, as it has four mounting points. The whole process will not take more than one quarter of an hour from the moment you open the packaging.
Starting from the Statement, the first impression created by listening to the system is the improved clarity, especially as regards the details of the stereo image. The soundstage seems to be better defined, the sound sources appear more stable while the depth and the clarity of the mix are more easily perceived. These differences, of course, are not large, but they are, after all, of importance, especially if one looks to reach the limits in performance of a given system. Those improvements also involve a sense that the system becomes less airy. After a while, however, you realize that the "air" that was lost was -actually- an ambiguous attribute of the sound field and that the total information is now more distinct and clear. Changes were also perceptive in the low frequency part of the spectrum. Although the system did not appear to gain something in bandwidth terms, the feeling was that the control was better with an improved feeling of timing, especially at the release part of percussive sounds, but without losing volume. Imposing sounds remained impressive with very good description of their dimensions in space, but there was a distinctive feeling of increased discipline and of a better transfer of the pulse and the dynamics in the rhythm section.

Transition from the Statement to the Ultimate stand, also brought some changes for the better that in fact were cumulative in nature, added to the improvements already mentioned. The system was shown to maintain the purity and clarity achieved by Statement (relative to the relatively simple stand we use on a regular basis) but moved a step further (a small step but noticeable, nevertheless) offering improved performance in micro-dynamics (i.e a better description of the temporal characteristics of the program). This improvement was manifested mainly by a more relaxed character, where the listener becomes recipient of small details in an easy manner, without getting tired while the whole system “vanishes” from the soundstage in a very convincing way. Under these conditions it's quite easy to leave aside the technical part of the listening session and focus on the music part (which is good for your music enjoyment, but not so good for a review process...) and enjoy the details and dynamics of the program. In fact, I remained with the impression that the Ultimate is simply a much better Statement, offering better clarity, better imaging and even more discipline.

Conclusion

Although one is entitled to think that a different, well-designed and meticulously crafted amplifier stand can only offer a negligible or, in the best case, a minimum improvement (unless we are talking about an amp with serious problems in its chassis support method), in practice this "minimum" proved enough to grab our attention and, possibly, of any audiophile caring for the small details. Tandem's basic design principle, to provide a fast and more efficient transfer path for vibrations to the floor seem to have applied here successfully and the result is the improvement of the system in critical areas such as the imaging, the clarity and the micro-dynamics. Both the Statement and (even more), the Ultimate stands appear to work perfectly as Tandem intended, and are highly recommended. Given the opportunity, we suggest to listen to them carefully!

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