Some of the Fostex drivers are kind of
piercing from my experience (and, of course, my perspective).
Some are less so.
One of the Massachusetts gurus had a pair of Cain & Cain Abbys in his kitchen, powered by a Mac MC-225 (not a
shouty amplifier) and I pretty much couldn't stand listening to them playing "pop" music (i.e., multi-track mono mixed to pseudo-stereo, with lots of compression, EQ and other studio trickery).
Getting good
balance out of many of the Fostex offerings takes some perseverance, methinks.
Less so than with a pair of Lowthers, though
(again, IMO, IME, YMMV
and de gustibus non est disputandum.)