This hoop, being made of steel. is very stiff, snare tuning is very easy with it. It seems to be actually stiffer than Tama zinc die cast hoops, cranking my (only 6 lug) 13x5,5 Tama Starclassic Maple is easier with this hoop, even die cast cant really hold such a pressure with thicker heads. Thats why i wanted to try it and really helps in this regard.
Soundwise, it still produces the triple flange hoop like overtones, which might help your snare to get through dense mix, but with a tad more body. But i will probably stay with the firm, dry die cast sound.
I do not like it for toms very much, sounded too muffled compared to regular flanged hoops. But then again, my Ascents are pretty dry already, so might work well with different, more lively drums.
So i give it five stars, even though i prefer the sound of a die cast. Thats just a matter of taste. It will work very well if you know what you want.
Last note: be aware of the fact, that mic mounting systems usually dont hold very well on these hoops, if at all.