Angling speakers up instead of high stands

Why not simply try it and see.

Of course too much up angle is going to cause increased ceiling reflections but every room/speaker/listening position is different.

In general music sounds better with tweeters/midrange AT or ABOVE ear level. This is why stands are so popular.

Something like this?
http://www.mapleshaderecords.com/audioproducts/speakerstands_hub.php

My experience is that ear level or a bit higher is the best, and the heavier more solid the stand the better.

I tried the maple shade stands, refered to above, with over all lousy results. Soundstage was esentially gone, imaging - gone, detail - gone. For what it is worth, my attempt involved three different sets of monitors (Jamo, Talon & Opera) with multiple speaker cords. The results were the same for all permutations. If the wood they used wasn't so ugly, they would make good door stops.

Those maplesahdes are very reasonably priced at least.

-Rob