mahogany or birch

What pricerange and what type of mahogany? Will you be using the kit primarily for recording, live playing, or both? If it's a cheaper set, it is probably Phillipine mahogany, aka luan. Not that it's terrible, but it is the most common wood on entry-level kits and is not really the same as African or Honduran mahogany. Birch and maple can be found on nicer kits, but the sound choice is up to you. Heads/Tuning and bearing edges will also have a big impact on sound.

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/id14.html
 
Maple. If you can't do maple (gretch has a 6 piece for only $700) then birch, a crispier drier tone than maple. Luan mahogany will sound ok, still better than basswood or other fillers, but it doesn't have the tone or projection of the harder woods.
 
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