I just traded my PSR9000 to a friend who was liquidating his 32 track studio, so I took lots of studio goodies as trade bait. I wound up with a few more AKG C1000s's,
a pair of Shure Beta 87a's, and . . . . . . a Neumann TLM103! Woah mamma!
I've used the high end Neumans before but this was my first chance to try the 103.
VERY "live" clear sound. You can really hear the subtlties in the voice. Unfortunatly, it also punches up the breath and popping noises. I use a double screen pop filter, and that helps, but I think to really get the most from this mic, a gate is a neccessity. There is just so much outside noise that I never heard with my other mics. I have a Marshal Electronics 2001, that I LOVE. It has a sound very close to the 103, but it only cost's $200! With a great shock mount too!
In contrast - a small budget studio, like mine (8 track digital Roland VSR880)is better served with the lower end mics. I get great results with the AKG's too. They are one of the most versitle mics I've ever owned. Don't get me wrong - this Neumann is terrific. I just want to warn you small owners (like me) that just because the name is well respected, that will not gaurentee a better end result. I've found that mics - ALL mics, must be tested in many positions, and levels before the best results can be achieved. I'm pleased with this last session, but it was a spoken word project and not singing, so I still need to make some more comparisons. So far - the $600 difference is NOT worth it over the AKG or marshal mics. It's nice, but maybe I need to gate it to get a really clean product. The frequency range is great, and the clarity is marvelous. But it picks up the nose hairs rustling! (Do your nose hairs russle?)

[This message has been edited by Uncle Dave (edited 08-26-2001).]