If you want something stealthy, new CA-14s (if you're willing to wait for them to get made - 2-3mo) are cheaper than the used 853s. Given the relative similarity in quality, I'd buy new 14s over the 853s.
no offense, but I think that's goofy. to me, the U853s clearly sound better than any mic Chris Church has ever made.
Both are good mics (I have both). The CA-14's are much cheaper and many of us think they sound similar. While I respect that the fact that the 853's sound clearly better to you and are what you recommend, I certainly don't think it's goofy for someone to recommend CA14's over 853's. Many others have done so previously.
I would recommend 853's to someone who wants the ability to switch caps or to someone who wants to record events that are not too loud (853's w/o the 4.7 k mod are 10-11 dB more sensitive, I think, and if you want to record very quiet and very loud stuff you could get them with a CA-9100 or 9200 with a switchable 4.7 k mod).
For recording mainly loud stuff, I would go with CA14's due to the price (and the fact that the 4.7 k mod is already included in the price). I would buy them in the yard sale, if possible, due to Chris Church's 2-3 month turnaround time. I've bought a lot of new stuff from him, though, and it was always well worth the wait.
Topic: AT853a vs. U853a Audio Technica Cardioid Condenser Microphones & CM100 (Read 8673 times)