I've used my 9K Ref (with matching stands) for 3yr this Jan and have only found a synergistic match for them last year. I started off from new with the 9Ks and an Accuphase E-270 integrated amp. After ~90 days of continuous play to insure both were broken-in, one of them had to go and the Accuphase (as one could imagine) sold first. Since then I've tried various other solid-state amps from Bryston and M-L and better cables from WireWorld in a biwire configuration. After never feeling they reached their potential, I decided to trade them towards a pair of Devore 0/93 last Jan. I picked up a Cary Rocket 88 20wpc Class-A KT-88 based amp for the future Devores and, since I had the amp, decided to give tubes a try with the 9Ks. Amazing. They were simply waiting for an amp they liked to sound as I had hoped they would sound from the start. Another upgrade to the speaker cables and they are now the best sounding stand mounted speakers I've owned (Krell, Joseph Audio, PMC, Paradigm, Focal, etc.). So much so that I'm still listening to them to this day and rather than the 0/93s I'm thinking the Canton 7K Reference are the way to go larger. The only thing holding me back is just how good they sound every day. I'm talking to Iso-Acoustics about how to configure a set of their Gaia isolation pads (under the stands? under the speakers? both?) as a tweak for the best results. If the 9Ks are happy with your amp & cables they really sing (I'm primarily classic jazz, classical & opera with some classic rock thrown in) and listen at moderate to low levels. As stated above, the fit & finish is superlative. Mine are piano black and are stunning. Especially as they now sound as good as they look.
Just noticed that the OP & I are the the same age. Luckily, my ears (and hopefully, his) are still good enough to allow for enjoyable listening.
And, I do not find them to be any more directional than the other stand mounted speakers I've used in the past. I listen in a fairly large room (12x24x7) and the speakers are about 6' from the front wall, 2' from the side walls and I sit about 10' away. No toe-in/out, which is pretty much how I've listened with all my stand mount speakers.