The ONLY problem with the 414's or any LD mic is when you are in a large hall & far from the soundsource.
The new 414-XLS' have double the sensitivity of the 414-ULS. The XLS should be no problem in a large hall or far from the source. I taped with them in the back of the section at Mountain Jam, and they did a very nice job. But if you are too far from the source, shit, shotguns are the way to go for that.
I just found a stereo matched pair of the 414-XLS on ebay. $1600, BFN, shipped. I just posted it in the eBay forum. 1 day left on the auction. Killer deal.
I am also going to put up a sample of the 414-XLS w/ Busman2's UA5 mod. I'll put that in the preamp forum.