I can see both sides of that. From the company side this is a high quality way to give people a look at all the various finish options without having to photograph every single one.
That being said, when it comes to higher end drums and finishes I would like at least a single tom etc. in an actual high quality picture to confirm the finish before forking over 2-3K
Exactly!
Many companies offer a 360 view of the kit. You can see all the finishes & configs they offer.
But nothing beats sitting down & hearing it in person.
The sad part is, who stocks that many kits these days?
No one.
You'll be lucky to walk into a Sam Ass or Guitar Sucker & see a varied assortment of drums. Then finding a "drum guy" at all is a whole other deal.
Sound clips? Yeah...for the most part. But who knows how they tweaked it to sound better to make a sale.
For me, It's like drum sticks: If I can't handle them in person, I'm not buying.