^I'm no authority and could very well be wrong..... but doesn't Busman upgrade the critical internal guts.... which creates his own sonic signature? I don't know how much difference it actually makes, but I'm pretty sure that Chinese mics don't feature van den Hul wiring.
I agree.... not all Chinese mics are the same. That's why it can be a crap shoot with em...... poor quality control.
Semantics probably, but when I'm talking about chinese mics, I'm talking about components from china, particularly bodies and especially capsules. I've heard some allusions to busman's new modified capsules, so I don't really know about those, but the BSC mics had originally been made using chinese bodies + capsules. Busman definitely had his own stamp on them, either by specifying what electronics went into them or by stuffing and soldering them himself (don't know which one it is).
But this isn't different from any of the other companies selling "chinese" mics -- they aren't just one exact kind of mics with different brand names on them. There probably are lots and lots of different "chinese" mics based on internal designs and component selections. A smaller range in capsule as many mics use the same capsules, though there are also some different capsules used in the various china-sourced mics.
Studio Projects and Behringer are probably specifying what they want too, like busman. But I know that Pelusos and Charter Oaks are done the same way as Busmans -- use the chinese bodies and capsules and then provide their own electronics and components (again, I don't know if this is specified and then done in a chinese factory or done in-house by these microphone companies).
Clearly the boards, circuit designs, components, build-quality, reliability, etc, can all vary on the chinese based mics. I'm sure Charter Oak and Peluso are just as proud of their mics are as Busman is, and their users are likewise just as proud (I know I have a high opinion of the Charter Oaks I have, having owned and used many of the other ones). To me though, that doesn't change the fact that they all fall into the camp of "chinese" mics.
Again, semantics really, but if Busmans (at least the original bsc mics) don't fall into the category of chinese mics, then neither should Charter Oaks, and Pelusos, and ADK's, and Avantones (and Rodes, and AKG Perceptions, etc, etc).