My budget really was very low to start recording shows here on Maui. While I would love to have a pair of Schoeps, reality (and my wife) dictated that the price needed to be kept down.
I found the Audio Reality Binaural mics and have had pretty good luck with them and a SONY MZ-RH1.
http://www.audioreality.com/
They come with a battery box.
John Ramsey is the guy who makes these and seems to be kinda like Chris in that he's willing to discuss various aspects with you. He's a radio/audio engineer as his full time gig.
Anyway, I usually wear them attached to my eyeglass frames towards the very front of my face. The recordings are more "stereo" and better suited for speaker playback since I very rarely listen with headphones.
There are a number of shows up on LMA where you can hear samples.
Aloha
Those are standard mics everyone is making.
I would put Chris Church (as well as Soundproffesionals and Core Sound) mics well above those in quality. There are several factors, including both capsule quality and design/packaging (mounting, wiring, etc).
I'm not saying you can't build your own... I have. But I would look at other options before spending hard cold cash on these.
Richard
Aloha:
Please keep in mind that this is still from a relative newbie.
As the original poster spoke about budget, this too was my concern.
I've listened to a few of the links I found at various places to hear the Church Audio mic results. When I listened, they sounded good. But they didn't sound so good as to disparage Audio Reality and discount them as summarily as has been done.
I haven't done spectral analysis, etc. I rely on my ears and based on your earlier posts, so do you. I also base my judgements on performance vs. price. Yes, I know certain mics will perform better but are they worth X number of dollars more?
As an example, compare Audio Reality with Neumann KM184's > Edirol R4 at
http://www.archive.org/details/dnb2009-01-23.flac16http://www.archive.org/details/DNB2009-01-23The difference is that the Audio Reality mics were stage right and the Neumann's were stage left. To my ears, the Neumann's had more of a higher end but they also had more of a mid-range sound that I always found somewhat annoying about audience recordings.
If time permits I will have a comparison of Eddie Vedder at Maui Arts & Cultural Center comparing Schoeps mk5's with Audio Reality. The Schoeps mics were in row E and the Audio Reality were in row X. I will admit that the Schoeps sound great (that's why I lust after them!).
However, if you compare the price points for someone at my rudimentary level of recording and wanting to hear shows I've attended, I am extremely satisfied with Audio Reality.
To take it a step further, there are a number of shows I've seeded using Audio Reality and these are some of the responses (copied & pasted) received from downloaders at bt.etree.org and dime:
About a Sheryl Crow outdoor show from a downloader on the island of Malta:
as always great sound from nassau73.
thnak youuuu
About this year's slack key guitar festival:
BIG HEAD'S UP, fellow Dimers...if this year's edition is anywhere near the quality of last year's offering, GRAB THIS! This guy knows how to tape, and the feeling really IS like lounging in Maui, soaking in this wonderful music and vibe. To the taper and uploader, many, many thanks!!!
About the Maui Bela Fleck show last December at bt.etree.org:
Nassau73, I just want to thank you for a truly masterful recording of this AWESOME music! I* am making 50 copies for my best friende as Xmas presentd. Thank you for a true masterpiece recording. It is being spread to many people who dont know Bela Fleck. Conciousness is rising!!! Again, many thanks!!!!!
Anyway, trust your ears.
Aloha from Maui