I recently inherited a pair of AE1s. Even to my ears, they sound much better than what I had before.

But they seem to sound better still when placed with a wall close behind them (which is where my father - who had reasonable hifi knowledge - had put them).

My problem is that, due to room layout, placing them with a wall close behind means that they'll be rather close to our multi-burner stove that produces a lot of heat - i.e. on the face of the chimney breast. The best option I have is to put them at the front of an alcove (either side of the chimney breast), but the wall, which is mainly window anyway, is then about a metre away.

So, the question.

I'm going to make the wall brackets to hold them. If I make the brackets with a back to mimic placing them against a wall, will I get a similar effect?

The brackets themselves will be made out of whatever wood I choose, so will be heavy, and I could use a dense wood for the backs rather than anything thin or flimsy.

Thoughts??