Splash cymbal: 16-inch vs. 18-inch - Which one if you can only own one?

[Mike]

I know the thread is slighty old, but:

More than half a year later I have finished my quest for THE ideal cymbal in my timbales cum conga setup...:

16" Sabian El Sabor Picante Handcrash mentioned in this thread remains for handcrashing and adds up perfectly
for accents when playing the congas. It would be a pity not to play it with your hands.

So now I recently purchased a used

18" Meinl Candela Timbale Crash/Ride as the cymbal for my vintage Afro timbales - ay candela, a hot sound!

Wow, what a cymbal! Now I´ve got the jazzy cup sound I have been looking for for so long.
Ride/campana patterns sound somewhat airy or silvery -pardon my strange poetic words
whereas the crash sound is really down-to-earth, shimmering yet with a dark undertone.
Highly recommended! I also stumbled across an older thread on timbales cymbal matters here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3645&p=8492&hilit=meinl+candela#p8492

All in all this second purchase has made me a happy man, also the one-and-a-half-year-old cymbal
is in in perfect condition and cost 1/3 of the regular price only. I would really recommend it as an only timbale cymbal.

I enclose a pic of my setup. (BTW you also see a Sabian 10" HHX Evolution Splash I "borrowed" from my drumset, but I do not alwys need it - it´s nice though)