OK Guys-Calm down! All i'm saying here is what I've read from industry insiders. I have 0 experience w/m-audio products. Just the same, I'm Very interested in listening to not only the pulsars, but especially the Sputnik.
The point being that the german mics have a long history of extremely hi qual. product. Nobody in their right mind would dispute that. BUT.. It seems as though there are products entering the market that emulate that great german engineering. As a matter of fact, there is a Telefunken mic made in China on the market, and is possibly inferior to it's US competitor, which is identical, but uses better components.
Remember, we are in times of a "global economy". Europe is no exception to this reality.