After owning a DW Collector's for many years, and now listening to recordings of other DW players, I believe that the mounting system dampens the resonance a bit too much. The thin shells have a beautiful, warm maple tone, and the re-rings give them great punch/attack. But the tone dies off too early. That has been my greatest concern with DW for a while now. Excellent design and construction, but the mounting system (which is my favorite because it isn't bulky) just kills off that quality maple tone. Just my $.02