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I've only listened to the Lambda's and never really cared for its tone and that midrange "etch". The fact that you need a dedicated amp was another turn off for me.
This is really not the case. You don't need a dedicated amp. Transformer energizers work quite well, but they need an amp that can drive a fairly large peak to peak voltage swing to get the Stax headphones to sound comparable as those driven off dedicated amps that generally swing more than 700VP-P.
I'll pick on the Schiit amp since it's the FOTM and is being advertised in what I feel are very misleading ways based on undocumented test conditions to achieve the peak voltage and bias levels. I'm skeptical it can deliver that peak bias level and therefore, peak power at its normal operating temperature once the MOSFETs thermally stabilize. But for the sake of argument, let's use it's advertised 20V peak voltage swing since it should be able to maintain the peak voltage unless the transformer is really undersized and it sags under load even after the bias settles down well below the 315mA maximum. So we have 20V peak into a stock Stax transformer box. Stax uses a 1:25 voltage multiplier so the 20V peak of the Schiit becomes a 500V peak to peak swing on the Stax headphones. Listenable with Lambda Normal bias cans and many of the older Stax, but nowhere close to enough drive for O2s or newer SR-404 variants. But when you feed it with something more powerful with 35V+ peak like a F5 or a balanced amp then we start to get into nice voltage swing off the energizers. An amp like a balanced B22 can actually push more voltage to the secondaries than the insulation is rated for (1KV insulation) so some care has to be taken as more is not always better. The only caveat with an energizer is that Stax uses small iron and small iron has limited bandwidth. Stax chose to sacrifice the bass in favor of keeping most of the highs, so Lambdas on an energizer sound a little bass anemic versus being on a dedicated amp. But, with properly spec'ed custom iron and DIY bias board, a full bandwidth is possible and my iron is rated 10Hz to 40KHz with 10W input, impulse tested at 1KV for 30 seconds too so they can handle the power from a balanced B22 if i keep the levels reasonable.
But as Beefy mentioned before, you can pick up a set of Lambda Nova Signatures or Normal bias SR-Lambdas for under $300 and SRD6 or SRD7 for $100 or less. Pair it with a good higher voltage swing amp and you can have a great setup for both high-end orthos/dynamics and 'stats. That was my point long ago in this thread. As long as you don't expect to drive O2s from a stock energizer, then you should be pretty happy with the results.
As far as the etch, that must be something prevalent in Pro bias Lambdas because it simply isn't present in the Normal bias Lambdas, or it's an artifact from poor synergy with the amp/source because my Normal SR-Lambdas were at CanJam on the eXStatA SS and nobody seemed to complain about midrange etch. Over all most loved the synergy of the two together. It was only topped by the synergy of the eXStatA Hybrid and the HE60s. Funny because the HE60s are notoriously called bright and harsh too, but those traits simply don't appear on the eXStatA Hybrid.
The 'stats are a different sound signature than the LCD-2s though. I wouldn't call one better than the other. They're just different. I loved the LCD-2s off the Liquid Fire, but I love my Lambdas and the HE60s will be added to my collection to be driven off a modded eXStatA Hybrid in the future. My collection will be rounded out by my SR-003s, TPs and my Kenwood KH-83 with hybrid drivers. I'll make it a half dozen with a set of custom Toshiba electrets, and the rest of the cans are at great risk of going to new homes. I have my eyes open for a set of LNS too, and may the best Lambda win.
But after that, I'm really done. I'll be happy with the headphones and my amp collection will be rounded out by four future Cavalli Audio amps and two tube amps I'm designing for my own enjoyment primarily to drive FR speakers. Add in two DIY phono stages, three DIY DACs, a DIY CD transport, a DIY TT, three sets of DIY speakers, and two refurbished consoles and I'm done. I'll start airbrushing chassis again after all my DIY stuff is done as I will have spent my time and money where I want and I'll be happy...
Until the LCD-3s or TP-2s come out.
Oh, and I do want a Decware Mini Torii amp. So I'll have to sell a few of my other amps to fund that one. Then I'm done. Seriously.
Stop laughing, I mean it.