A previous theoretical study [L. Huang, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119, 2628-2638 (2006)] shows that, in a duct, a simply supported plate covering a side-branch rigid cavity can function effectively as a wave reflector over a broad range of low to medium frequencies. In this study, analytical formulation is extended to the boundary condition of clamped plate, which is easier to implement in practice. The theoretical model is tested experimentally using balsawood, which has a very high stiffness to mass ratio. The spectral peaks and shapes of the measured TL are in agreement with those calculated theoretically, attempts are also made to account for the considerable sound absorption in the rig. Further numerical studies based on the validated model show that, for a uniform plate, the optimal stopband is narrower and the lower band limit is worse than that of the simply supported configuration. However, a wave reflector using nonuniform, clamped plates with thinner ends out-performs the simply supported configuration in every aspect. Analyses show that the improvement is attributed to the increased acoustic radiation efficiency over the bulk length of the nonuniform plate, which behaves more like a rigid plate.