Could it be that you just haven't become accustomed to the new sound FX? I'm not 100% in disagreement with you here, I'm just playing devils advocate. My feeling is that thus far the new sounds, if too similar are pointlessly remade if not similar enough, lack nostalgia factor. It's different with the music where I'm hearing a marked improvement. Those are my thoughts on the subject anyway.
Its nice to see people realize it won't be arcade perfect. Like others have stated, even emulators are not. SNES and SG versions sucked IMO, but we all loved those also. This is MUGEN, if the countless other MK projects have shown us anything, it cannot be 1:1 gameplay. The good thing is its MK1, and its a small game. The characters are similiar. So it should be "easy" Another thing to remember is hitboxes. Can they be duplicated 1:1? Anyways from what Ive seen, I would agree this project is head and shoulders above the rest. Hell, I cant think of a single MK Mugen that had its own soundtrack created. It is fresh and original. A real renaissance of MK Mugen.
Having said that, I dont see why it cant be better than the original. not by adding auto-kombos etc, but just by being able to pull off the old combos and maybe there will be a nuance or two of its own that will be new and fresh. My question is, will it be opensource? Will us players and noobs and fans be able to add to this much like MKP4.1? Can we fans make our own Ermac MK1s, etc.? Or will it be moleboxed and closed?
I dont think changing the sound effects is a good idea. For the same reason not to change the voices. The music is sounding wonderful, and the imagery is awesome. Its all so fresh and new. I thinking keeping with the old sounds and voices will give that nastalgic feeling and not alienate your player to far from the source. And no offense, but I just dont care for the current sound FX attempts.