With the prices I see around nowadays I think the Performance is priced correctly. You'll usually see the Performance kits sold with a snare drum, so that's why I think they seem to be so much more expensive than the MCXs ($1799 MCX vs $2250 Perf w/snare). If you added a snare to the MCX kits or subtracted the snare's cost from the Performance then they'd pretty much be equal. Both kits sound fantastic and are well-built. I agree with spx118's sentiment that the big differences between the two kits will be subjective. That being said I do have to give the DW the nod for producing more low-end out of a given size drum while the Pearls offer a much more focused tone.
Jan 29, 2018 - Forgot I did a serial lookup years ago, but this what I've been playing for. I bought my first DW kit back when there were no 'model lines' and you placed. In the exact shell configuration as a performance kit it probably makes sense. Yammy- PHX series- not that many retailers will carry cos of the Price-. Only at Sweetwater! FREE Tech Support, FREE Shipping, and FREE 2-year Warranty for DW Performance Series drums!
But also keep in mind this is just comparing the two in a vacuum, these are both high end maple kits, so in the grand scheme of things they both sound huge and powerful! Other than that I think each kit gives you one unique advantage. With the Pearl you get a huge selection of add-on drums.
Do you have to special order some of them? Sure, but they are available.
DW only offers even sizes and only offers those sizes in a single depth choice. So if having a specific add-on drum is important to you (like a 13'x9' rack tom), then the Pearl is the clear winner.
With the DW you get 9 color options, 4 of which are wraps. Pearl offers no wraps and only 5 colors (I say 'only' as a comparison, not that 5 colors is unacceptable). So if you're planning on gigging with one of these then that's a strong selling point for the Performance. Now there's also the argument that Pearl will often honor legacy orders, so that definitely expands the MCX's finish options to include all of the finishes that have been offered over the past 5 or so years, but then I think that also sort of defeats the purpose of having a nice off-the-shelf kit. The only experience I have with the dee dub performance is a 14x6.5 snare I had awhile back. Honestly, it sounded worse than my pacific birch snare. (I did some blind comparisons of me playing each snare behind closed doors and the listeners deciding which one they liked better.
All three that listened preferred the Pacific snare). I buy kits based on features that I want, and I like the MCX because it comes stock with diecast hoops (which I prefer), and the drums just sound fantastic. I definitely prefer DW's tom mounting system over Pearl's, but Pearl's isn't too shabby by any means. So, if I were to purchase a new kit right now, it would be the MCX (in ash tamo fade, or quilted bubinga.wow!). Or if I were to take a step up, it might be a DW collectors; who knows!