Topic: Help me replace my mics....

[divamum]

So my CMC 8s disappeared... - I think my mic bag must have fallen out of my big bag on a train and by the time I noticed...  . Aargh.  GUTTED.   Loved those mics.  Keep hoping the bag will miraculously turn up somewhere (hey it could happen, right?!?), but in the meantime, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and replace.

So, seeing's as I'm going to have to invest again (wahhhhhhhh), I'm shopping around again.  My situation:  opera singer, thus classical singing + orcherstra in mixed venues ranging from small practice rooms to large opera theaters and beyond.  Stealth required.   I run 2 rigs - 1 is straight into an iRiver 120, the other is via a super-basic Reactive preamp into a JB3. 

Dream mics: 
DPA4060s. 

WAY out of my budget even 2ndhand, so they'll have to stay a dream for the time being.

Real world options:

SP CMC8 omnis - iow, just replace what I had. They're great little mics.  HOWEVER... by the time I've added in the clips etc, the price diff isn't SO far from the

SP BMC 10 AT899 "ultra premium" mics at SP.  I've searched in here and I don't see that many comments about these mics, particularly in comparison to the CMC8s.  I gather that they're supposed to be AT's answer to the DPAs.

So, my question I guess is how do the 899's compare both to the CMC 8s and the 4060s?   Does anybody have any side-by-side clips for comparisons?   If they're going to be a further step up from the 8's then it might be worth the extra $100 or so (and then if the 8s DO by some miracle turn up it means I'll have both. I would LIKE that...

Thanks, as always, for your patience and expert advice!

[divamum]

Also should have said - if there are any OTHER options out there I should be considering, please suggest! Thanks.

[Unitmonster]

my recommendation would be to go with something that has switchable caps, so that as you invest a bit more in the gear, you'll be in a better position to record in very different style venues.  Sound pros and AT both offer that feature.

[audBall]

my recommendation would be to go with something that has switchable caps, so that as you invest a bit more in the gear, you'll be in a better position to record in very different style venues.  Sound pros and AT both offer that feature.

As a CMC-8 owner, I second this statement.  I bet those 899s are nice, though, and I'd love to test them binarally  as a comparison to the CMC-8's.  However, the interchangeable caps can really help, given a certain environment.

[divamum]

Thanks for the replies, guys - much app'd.  I hear ya on the caps, but I do still have my set of AT831s which are cards, and having used those for a while before getting the CMC8s (as omnis) my situations seem to do better with omnis - I often have no control over how the gear bag will be handled by whoever is carrying it for me (I'm onstage so don't get much say in it once I've handed it off!).  However, worth factoring in, I suppose....

As a CMC-8 owner, I second this statement.  I bet those 899s are nice, though, and I'd love to test them binarally  as a comparison to the CMC-8's. 

As I say, I was VERY impressed with the CMC8s when using them this spring... but if those 899's are even a step further towards the DPA sound, then I'm still considering.........  Has ANYBODY used these things?  Any reports of any kind?  Still just hoping for some more info so's to make a decision... gotta order something this week so I get them in time for my next gig....