Did you tune the firecracker?? You cant judge a drums sound off of a shelf. Drums are very rarely tuned at a drum shop...and even if they are, people come through and mess with them all the time anyway. My Mahogany snare is supposed to have a ring to it as well, and it did. But I tightened my snare side 1/2 turn tighter than batter, and the ring is gone...Its all in tuning and head selection.
Another drum to look at may be the Popcorn Pacific...that is in that price range too...They are pretty nice.
God Bless