IMHO any [audio] system that makes brushwork sound like tape hiss, is not doing its job properly. as a restoration tech and musician [mediocre] for 3+ decades, electronic hiss "lives" in a totally different "neighborhood" than any drummer's brushes. it is something like the difference between rose noise and white noise. that little nitpick aside, the absolute sound can be approached generally at great expense both in $$$$$$ as well as energy [both psychic and physical], having to optimize room acoustics as well as the synergy of equipment working together and the right recordings. there are comparatively few recordings out there that "get it all right" in terms of making a good deep round sound which btw can be heard as such [to a notable if variable extent] even on much cheap equipment. such perfect recordings will of course on the best equipment will virtually transport you to their recorded venue which is the room where the mics were placed and NOT the control room. the majority of recordings out there give you the control room sound at best, IOW highly processed and markedly different from raw feed. all this said, i found some old advents or even old nova 6 speakers gave a surprisingly balanced and mellow yet clear [enough] sound for the vast majority of recordings i pumped through them, though the trebles were not the clearest, imaging was merely suggestive and the depth wasn't there, still they sounded nominally pleasing, somewhat musical [makes one's fingers snap and feet tap] and above all, inoffensive. on the contrary, many old recordings on audiophile equipment sounded borderline harsh [or outright harsh] and flat and, well, offensive to me. i suspect these recordings were tailored to sound "right" on typical consumer equipment of the day, IOW not really revelatory-sounding gear, with some euphonic coloration going on.
