Partingdon Dreadnought Broadside review

Most speaker stands these days are supplied partly dismantled and hence come in modest boxes.

This one, however, is assembled, filled and sealed at the factory and comes in a large and very heavy package. The simple reason for this is that this stand is built for utter rigidity and stability beneath any standmount speaker, no matter how large or heavy.

Big on bass

The rectangular central pillar is already very solid, but with the four outriggers the assembly could probably serve as a (short!) extension to a construction crane.

Everything is well damped with sand and resin and when you tap it you aren't sure if the sound is coming from the stand or your knuckle. The floor-mounting spikes are tastefully hidden, which does make them slightly awkward to adjust, but is no big deal.

It's no great surprise that a stand built like this gives superb bass from the loudspeakers placed atop it - the laws of physics, and experience, both point that way.

Audio improvements

Larger speakers firm up and gain extra definition, while smaller models suddenly discover an extra half-octave of extension that before was only hinted at. What we hadn't quite predicted was the extent to which the rest of the band improves at the same time.

Extra little details suddenly appear in the midrange and treble, while images seem distinctly more precise than previously. It's also worth experimenting with different supports between the top of the stand and the speaker: Partington supplies little metal support cones, but a thin compliant layer (strips of neoprene sheet) also gave us good results.