...I bought a Classic kit last September.
I had been drooling over it for almost two years before pulling the trigger on the deal. The shell pack consisted of a 22x14, 12x8, 14x14, 16x16, and 14x5" snare in the vintage marine pearl finish. I do not know how these drums would stack up sound wise to the vintage, or new classic Ludwigs, but compared to my collectors kit (24x16, 13x9, 16x16, 14x6) these drums have all the warmth, and BOOM, with much stronger projection. I swapped the snare with a 13x5.5" Craviotto, which to my ears gives me a tighter more cohesive overall sound.
Here they are in the 22, 14, 12 combo. I had tried a few different head combos, but find the stock coated ambo top and bottom to give me the best sound. Two ply heads just turn these into cardboard.
As far as cost goes, these drums had sat in the shop for a couple of years, so I was able to work out a very favorable deal, which incidently was less than what it would have cost me for a similar Star Classic, or Pearl Refference kit.
I also ordered a 24x14" bass and a 13x9" rack tom to complete a second kit. These drums were priced the same as the collectors with the specialty lacquer finish.
Barry