These results aren't too surprising. The 853s and CAs' typically will sound very similiar, and while the 943s are good mics -and I've listened to tons of shows with the ATs- more often than not, the 853s will sound better than the 943s (the 943s always seem to sound "thinner" to me)
Yep, the 853 are certainly warmer. We agree on something!
I bet most choir directors arn't that concerned about the low end, so i guess the 943 does just fine for them. Perhaps the "thinner" sounds translates to more "clarity" for those folks....
Ironically the shotgun caps for the both the 943 and 853 have remarkable low end. The frequency graphs for these caps look more like an omni than the omni!
I have some 943 shotgun recordings that have too much low end to play in my car....