Thanks for all the feedback, guys! This thread has definitely taken an interesting turn...
I will email Doug and ask him about the R-44 thing... I bought my mod directly from him (2 years ago, I think?) and don't recall him saying anything about differences between 1/2 and 3/4. IIRC, he didn't send any info or anything at all except the manual and original packaging.
As far as the results go, I don't want to say anything yet. I'd like to get a few more votes and/or comments in from "blind" testers before I spill the beans. In fact, I'm going to post something in the AKG team thread in case anyone over there hasn't seen this yet. I should have done that in the first place. I also should have added 2 more options to the poll: "I like A, but have no idea if it's the mod" and "I like B, but have no idea..."
I guess I was originally targeting this towards people who were either users of these mics or very familiar with their sound, and thought folks might have fun guessing.
I will say this...
The comps have sort of reinforced my preconceptions I had, but to a much lesser extent than what I thought would happen. If that makes any sense at all ; )
I had a quote somewhere from Jim Williams, explaining exactly what he thought he had accomplished with the mod sound-wise, but I can't seem to find it in my files anywhere.
Of course, he's no longer doing mic mods, but I did find this from a Wayback machine search of his web site:
AUDIO UPGRADES PRICE LIST:
typical modifications include replace op-amps, E.Q. caps, coupling caps, direct-couple audio path, install feedback caps and more.
(snip)
AKG 460B $175.00
The stock has a transformer, the mod does not.