twoleftears
Understandable. The O series is very finicky to set up in particular for soundstaging. I've heard them sound shallow, but also quite spacious and deep (the 96s, never got tons of depth from the 93s).
As for Audio Note: I auditioned their speakers in the usual corner-loaded configuration. They also had wonderful tone, sort of like the Devores. My only issue is that I found myself a bit too aware of the "trick," that is the corner-loaded bass. It sounded to me like I was hearing a sort of bass augmentation via room effects rather than "the real thing."
Also, I've found the purest timbre to come when being able to control some room reflections, and the audio notes tend to use the room for their sound.
That said, I HAVE heard the smaller audio notes at a show, pulled out from the room corners more in a normal set up and they blew me awaywith some vocal and jazz tracks.