"What interests me is not how the drum sits in a mix (that can be adjusted) but the quality of the sample."

I agree. Especailly after making some of the adjustments that were sugested to get a more live sound, I'm much happier with my T2.

I get confussed sometimes, when people say that don't like a certain brands drums, are they taking about the sound, balance or what? For example someone told me that they didn't like the Yamaha country drums kits.

To me the sound of Yamaha drums sound nice, but the patterns/grooves/styles don't sound like a live band. The Audya drum patterns sound much more like the real thing.

I do like Beakybirds idea of just comparing a few audio samples of different drum patters.