No-one is more aware of the old 'you get what you pay for adage' (or the
various issues with cheep Chinky stuff) than I am, but my
curiosity/interest in a valve microphone has had me punting a relatively
paltry £132 (inc. postage) on this little lot:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=011


Haven't had it going yet but the *apparent* VFM is beyond ludicrous by
normal 'valve microphone' standards - if nothing else, at 5 kg for the
whole thing (inc. the PS) the weight of the package was a shock:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Mic%20Kit.JPG


So far, the view inside is more or less what I expected and is not at
all disappointing:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Inside-01.JPG

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Inside-02.JPG


I will probably post some clips shortly, in case anyone is interested -
my guess (if it works at all) is it'll be at least OK and the 'magazine
review' would end up summat like this: "Not up there with the best and
not recommended for professional use but, at the price, this Oriental
offering cannot be entirely discounted by someone wanting to add the
warmth and versatility of of a valve microphone to their Home
Studio...." ??

We shall see....