I was a professional touring rock drummer for several years, and somehow still have intact hearing at age 43 despite having a monitor blasting 110+dB into my left ear for about 150 nights a year.
I don't expect recorded music to approximate live drums, especially in loud rock recordings. It seems like the more instruments are layered into a recording, the more compressed the drums become. I don't worry about it too much either. I really enjoy it, though, when an engineer can make drums sound like live drums in a room, minus the dynamics. Brendan O'Brien does a great job in that respect.
I primarily look for tonal balance so that nothing seems amiss, and especially seek to avoid tonal imbalances that make bad recordings worse.
In my opinion, the two system characterstics that make recorded music more engaging are fast transients and a big, holographic soundstage. The system I have now accomplishes this, and it makes good recordings sound great and bad recordings more than tolerable.
I don't expect recorded music to approximate live drums, especially in loud rock recordings. It seems like the more instruments are layered into a recording, the more compressed the drums become. I don't worry about it too much either. I really enjoy it, though, when an engineer can make drums sound like live drums in a room, minus the dynamics. Brendan O'Brien does a great job in that respect.
I primarily look for tonal balance so that nothing seems amiss, and especially seek to avoid tonal imbalances that make bad recordings worse.
In my opinion, the two system characterstics that make recorded music more engaging are fast transients and a big, holographic soundstage. The system I have now accomplishes this, and it makes good recordings sound great and bad recordings more than tolerable.