I suspect most recordings of cymbals have a fair degree of compression applied, given the dynamics (of course there will be exceptions). I’d expect much of the impact to be lost in the recording & production process, so it wouldn’t surprise me if playback on even the best loudspeakers would be compromised (given the upstream processing). Just an aside, as this made me consider if I’d ever heard a fully realistic cymbal with full dynamic range within a commercial recording (I don’t think I have).
Thing is ‘cymbal’ is a totally useless general term that is meaningless when describing subjective hearing.
Ride cymbals, crash cymbals, hihat cymbals, china cymbals, thin, medium, heavy, 10”, 14” .. 22”.. diameters , played on the edge, played on the bow , played on the bell, played with a nylon tip or wooden tip stick, struck with a soft mallet, vintage or modern, played by a competent drummer or an idiot, which alloy - B12, B10.. , hammered, lathed, both … machine made or made by hand … profile of the bow, size of the bell ….dark, brilliant, trashy, mellow …
Seriously folks - cymbals are designed to have a ‘sound’ and drummers choose them because they want a particular sound .
Can we please stop talking about ‘cymbals’ sound in these generic ways
Happy to talk about Jimmy Cobb’s famous cymbal crash on Kind of Blue and how that specifically sounds . That is meaningful and more objective