I have a pair of AKG C391's that sound really good. A taper friend of mine has a pair that he likes almost as much as his MiLab VM-44's, which are at least 3 times the price. I wouldn't buy a new set at $500 each, but you can find a good used pair for a lot less. A Chinese mic that is really an excellent value is the SE Electronics SE8. Low noise, flat response curve, excellent mic, $500/matched pair. Rode NT5's are another good value that's not mentioned much here.