I personally feel that they sound better at ear level. I started with 9" stands angled up at approx 15 degrees then tried straight. At that low height the angling sounded a bit better but lost the bass reflections from the floor. Then I switched to 19" stands and tried straight versus angling (approx 5 and 10 degrees). I prefer straight but also found that 24' stands would be best with my speakers firing straight/level. As I lift monitors higher I loose the bass but gain soundstage and imaging. I added a sub and never knew monitors could sound so 'full'.
