I've had the Pearl sensitone 14x5.5 aluminium snare before I purchased this one. The quality is better, feels more ridget and the die-cast hoops really help prevent from chipping your sticks away in a single month; they're a bit thicker, which I like. The snare has a nice, dry sound. It's best played on higher tunings for funk / jazz, which I mainly use it for. You can use it for any other style though, it's very versatile. I have only one slight complaint; The bearing edges are sometimes not even on all sides. I guess that's because it's aluminium, so harder to deal with. But that has not been a problem for me. All other aspects of the drum are flawless. The throwoff is nice too :D