Speaker placement & wall brackets

[Tony01]

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??

[Macca]

You'll get the same boost in the bass from the wall regardless of whether it is stand or a bracket. Only the distance from the wall matters.

Having chimney breast in between isn't ideal, though.

[Tony01]

You'll get the same boost in the bass from the wall regardless of whether it is stand or a bracket. Only the distance from the wall matters.

Having chimney breast in between isn't ideal, though.
Stand or bracket isn't the choice, nor the question really.

The question is whether adding a (wooden) back to a wall bracket would give a similar effect as placing the speaker against a (brick) wall. Obviously not the *same* effect, but an improvement on no back to the bracket?

Removing the chimney breast isn't really an option either :( I'm trying to get the best outcome within the constraints I've got!

[Macca]

I see. The answer is no. It won't have no effect at all but it won't replicate a room boundary. I've tried it.

[Pharos]

You need surface area behind the speaker to reflect rear radiated sound fully, a 2' square piece of wood will not be enough, you need to prevent air going behind the speaker, thus adding to forward energy.