OK, I got the CA-14 from Chris Church yesterday (the deal was not so sweet as I had to pay custom tax) and did a brief test. I recorded two Slovakian punk bands from a VERY BAD spot as I was in the photopit - basically right at the stage but couldn't hear properly neither the stage speakers, neither the big venue speakers. But both were punk bands, I had the same position and roughly the overall conditions were very similar.
Unfortunately customs tax/duty are a necessary evil that most of us can't avoid. As I also live in Canada, I had to pay 13% tax on the full order I made recently but that's just the way it goes.
Back to your mics... I would find it very odd that the CMC-8's would sound "more clear" than the CA-14's and since you didn't power the CA-14's properly, that could add to your lack of clarity. I've owned both mics and the CA-14's do a MUCH BETTER job than the CMC-8's ever could image doing. Regardless, standing in the photo pit and running mics that pic up audio "in the distance" equates to a "hot mess" of a recording in my mind. I'm guessing the club you were at was rather small. From where you were, omni mics might have been a better choice although you weren't really in the path of any mixed sound and that recording with omnis wouldn't have fared much better.
That said, if you're going to run cardioid mics, I suggest you try and stand back a bit (perhaps closer to the venue's sweetspot which is usually at or close to the soundboard area. Your results might be better without much mucking around. Another thing is to *NEVER* run bass roll off (high pass filter) on cardioid mics as there is no need. Hope this helps.