Well, there's sound due to the drum, and there's sound due to the player, true? I'm certain that if ANY good player pulled up next to a set of piece-of-junk congas, that player could make those drums sound wonderful. Give many of us the best drums to be found, and they'll probably sound just 'okay'--in my case, they won't sound THAT good.
I agree that each player may have his/her preferred drum due to sound. But there are other reasons for drum selection! In my area there is little to choose from, it's either buy Tocas, or special order LPs (in most cases). Plus, in my area, I have not yet found any live music that includes the conga--I have seen ONE live performance IN MY LIFE that used a conga.
So, I selected the LP Galaxy Giovanni based on what I know of the hardware, its aesthetic appearance, and the reputation of LP and Giovanni himself. If it turns out I just can't play, they make realtively inexpensive end tables or decorator items in the home
My ability to resell them was also a factor--I'm pretty sure I can get the bulk of my money back should I, god forbid, give up. And, I picked what I felt were the 'best' drums I could afford, thinking I would NEVER be able to blame the drum for crappy playing.
I wouldn't pretend in a million years to have selected these drums based on sound--I never heard them except to hear Giovanni play them via MP3.