Having been a staunch Ludwig guy all my life, I thought it would be nice to buy this imported kit and use it for some of my lighter weight gigs. When I opened the boxes the first thing that hit me was the beauty of the lacquered flamed birch outer ply. Once I got the drums set up I was very surprised to find that the rack toms had already been tuned, and even with the stock heads sounded very good. I outfitted the kit with Evans G+ heads and Rem-O's for focus, and I cannot believe the sound that comes out of these drums. I have owned them for about 6 months now, and am still blown away by the sound. I own 2 Ludwig maple kits that do not produce the volume and tone that these drums produce. The 16" floor tom was slightly damaged at the factory but was easily repaired at home. Meanwhile, Ludwig sent me a brand new replacement, no questions asked, and even let me keep the damaged one which i converted to a kick via conversion kit. The suspension mounts are good quality, the hardware is nice, and the finish is gorgeous. After 35 years of drumming, I am honestly stating that these are the best sounding drums I have EVER heard. Period. I bought a set of A Zildjian Armand series cymbals with 21" ride, 16" and 18" medium thin crashes, 14" hats, and a 10" splash for this kit and WOW! What more can I say! 5 stars all the way!