I'll admit this post is part wanting advice and part typing out my thoughts to help clarify for myself.
I've been going through recordings deciding on a set of starter mics. Given my current financials I can't budget more than *at most* $300, but any better deal would make such a purchase more palatable for my SO (when I mentioned a $200 price she thought that was high itself, we're not exactly made of money).
Anyway, my shortlist was Avantone CK-1s, Busman BSC1s, and Line Audio CM3s. As part of my regular Craigslist trawling I came across someone selling a pair of the like-new Avantones for $200, which I'll try to bargain down to $175. At either price seems to be a fairly good, though not amazing, deal. Judging by YS posts, it looks like the price of the Avantones has been fairly steady over the last several years. Is there any strong reason to avoid the CK-1s? There really only seems to be a smattering of mics available at the price range I'm considering, and the 3 interchangeable caps seems like a huge advantage, especially for a starter set of mics. What major considerations might I be overlooking? I like how they sound, particularly the clear punchiness of the low end.
I've been interested in taping for around 3 months now, and I guess my main question is am I making this decision too quickly? I've been spending a good bit of time reading the forums, and I've used taping as a springboard into learning about circuitry, electronics, soldering, etc. so I don't think that my interest in taping is a passing phase (badum tsss). Yes, I recognize that no one can really answer this question for me, but I figure some experienced tapers who have gone through similar experiences might help guide my way.
Anyway, thanks in advance for the input. Already received great advice from a number of TS members, including some unsolicited PMs that I really appreciate. Y'all are a great bunch and I'm quite grateful for having found this corner of the internet.