Great post, thanks. Having owned and enjoyed the 40.3XD and giving up on them, maybe I can offer an opinion. The 40.3’s are “good” at many things, to my ear they weren’t great at anything, though the upper mids are a standout. That said, I’m not sure if the mids were outstanding because the rest was more average. I also found the bass response lacklustre, especially at low and mid level volumes.
For context I am running Allnic A6000’s w/ an A4000 pre
A whiffed attempt at something off the grid, I paired the aforementioned gear with Sabrina X’s, different, perhaps better but not captivating
In walked Audio Note AN E-D - again, to my ears they smoked the 40.3’s and Sabrina’s, they were less than half the price of the others no less! Plus the added real estate they provided due to placement
in my humblest of opinions, I would give the AN’s another serious audition
listen well and enjoy the ride