Here is my recent cogitations on drum reproduction -
I work in a receiving room of a ware house - the dimensions are about 30' by 50' by a 15' ceiling. I recently built a Bofu BIB to entertain me there, powered by a 25W/channel Amp6 (class D).
It's loud in there, but since no one cares, I get to listen loud too. One of the things that has struck me was how good drums sounded coming out of this modest setup. They really make different drum recordings and recording styles sound different - like there is a really big, obvious difference between the Beatles and John Cougar Mellencamp. I'm especially surprised by the drums on some John Cougar stuff - they sound unusually unprocessed - upfront, but in a good, realistic sounding way, not much reverb, not much compression. I used to play and record drums, and I really like the 'dry', natural presentation.
So my guessings as to why they sounded so good: first of all, a large room, and secondly, playing the recording at a 'normal' level, as if they were actually being played in the room (loud in other words). I 'see' sound a lot like a picture or movie - the closer it is to 'life-size', the more realistic it seems. Similarly, you need a lot of space to create a soundstage that is the same size as real drum kit - hence the improvement that comes with a 30' by 50' room. You just can't jam a phantom drum kit into a small room - it needs space to develop, and not smash up against all the other instruments.
Maybe the BIB being a horn has something to do with it, I don't know - but all my other listening setups came nowhere near portraying drums well, even though they were all probably 'nicer', more costly, and higher power. The biggest difference seems to be the size of the room.
YMMV
