Bolero:why can't my system reproduce snare well?

The stock Mac tubes are OK (better than when the first of the current version 275's first came out in 2004) but you can do way better. Nevertheless, they should still reproduce snare drums well, and unless there is something terribly wrong with the ML's, like loose diaphragm(s) that's not it either. I would try and find other recordings with similar material, unless you can say you've heard this Bolero on other systems and it sounded great (which you didn't say ;~)

I use a 275 w/ my ML's and it sounds fantastic (see my system)

Are you paying attention to vibration control of the speakers?
Upon what are they resting? I have found this issue to be important on
my Prodigys. Play with this aspect, and it might benefit the whole sound spectrum...

Also... are all of the screws securely tightened? How about toe in of the speakers, their position in the listening room, and your position when you are listening to music? Raising my seating height makes a difference, for me!

The recording quality is not the question, but the mic placement. An orchestral recording with minimalist/distant miking may give you the sound of the snare drums that you are reproducing - try a nice Jazz trio

I second the comments about recording technique and quality.

Also, to be sure that nothing simple is being overlooked, are you using the 4 ohm taps on the amplifier? If not, that is undoubtedly part of the problem.

Also, given that the impedance of the speakers descends to very low values in the upper treble region (as is typical of electrostatics), if your speaker cables are particularly long and also have highish inductance per unit length that could be a contributing factor as well.

Regards,
-- Al

Are you comparing to how this recording sounded with your previous (Genesis?) speakers? Do you notice this with other recordings with snare drums as well? Also, noticed you were asking about speakers you could place close to the wall in a previous thread. Do you have the MLs placed in close proximity to the wall? If so maybe try pulling them further into the room just to see if that changes anything, and maybe also try playing around with toe-in (not sure how that works with MLs though)?

As for recordings, if you have it try Patricia Barber's Modern Cool -- if the snare sounds like mush to you on that recording then that may be a concern. That said, I do find my friend's MLs project sounds like snare drums in a slightly more diffuse manner and with a little less snap and drive than my dynamic speakers, but it still sounds good and realistic but just in a different way. Best of luck with this and hope this helps somewhat.