Well yes excellent drums of course but seriously different sounds from all those drums

COB Powertone: compressed, brassy, snappy, lo-fi sound but cool

Dynasonic: tight, snappy, toppy, funky

BB: snappy, crunchy, powering

Super: meaty, powerful, brassy, snappy

Just my observations made quickly YMMV - pk

I second troutstudio's comments. All are great drums, not better, just different. I have all three. My personal favorite is an old beater 6.5" COB Powertone. My least favorite is the COB Dyna. But that's just me and the applications I use them for.

I have a 67` seven line cob Dyna and a 79/80 Black Beauty and both are absolutely wonderful snares.Tough call here as to which is better and i have to agree with the above comments.They are two completely different animals and both top notch snare drums.I`ll walk the fence here and have to say i love them both equally.

Wayne

Don't forget to include the COB Slingy Krupa and Buddy Rich TDR snares. My all time favorite brass snare is a 6.5" TDR.

Steve

I love the sound of my COB better than my Dyna, or Powertone. It's all personal preference as to which is 'better.' But for my money, the drum that kicks them all in the ass is Ludwig hammered bronze snares. I think they are the best sounding and playing metal shelled drums ever made. Better than any brass drum.

Each guy that responds will have a different favorite among that group. Truth is they're all good. One mans trash is another mans treasure.

John

Everyone has their own taste. I will throw another snare in the mix:

Gretsch 4160 - This is a GREAT sounding snare that might be a little drier because of the die cast hoops

Powertone - Very honest snare with good all around response

You can't go wrong with any of these snares. I will say that I do prefer the COB snares over Ludalloy snares. I just sold my cherry Supraphonic for this reason. If you are comparing a Ludalloy Supra vs. a COB Rogers or Gretsch then I think the COB snares win.

To my ears I just prefer the small difference from a COB vs. a chrome plated snare of other metals. I would still be very happy with a new Ludwig black beauty honestly vs. going the vintage Super Ludwig. Both are different animals but the black beauty is an honest snare.

Just my two cents.

Manny

i just discovered the COB powertone in the last year. bought a decent condition mid-60's on ebay. i dont' know if it's the lack of snare beds or what, but this drum is the easiest tuning drum i've ever had, and it comes closest to sounding like the sound i have in my head than any other snare i have (and i have a modern black beauty and 70s supra and supersensitive).

What I dig about it is that you get the same sound all around the snare. It's a keeper in my book!

I have a Powertone and a 6.5 Black Beauty. I like the sound of the Black Beauty better overall, but sometimes I just want that Powertone sound. They're all good.