Here's a shoot-out/writeup I did in 2013, that was once posted here, but the URL broke. 
 
If you want to know more about an AKG C12, Telefunken ELA M 251, and a U47, here's an article I wrote to compare these to some tube clone-ish mics I bought. Enjoy!
 
http://randomconflict.com/files/Mic-Shootout-2013.pdf
 

Nice!  A very interesting read...

Good read. 

i have an ADK Hamburg, that i really like.....
i've heard it against the avantone c12, 
and it hangs.
 
i think out of all that bunch,
at the cost vs bang for buck, that avantone looks like the dealio.
 
but since 2013, a lot of new mics have hit the market,
that review is a little bit light

batsbrew
i have an ADK Hamburg, that i really like.....
i've heard it against the avantone c12, 
and it hangs.
 
i think out of all that bunch,
at the cost vs bang for buck, that avantone looks like the dealio.
 
but since 2013, a lot of new mics have hit the market,
that review is a little bit light

Yeah, there's definitely other great mics that have hit the markets. There's even MikTek, here in Nashville I would have loved to get loaners from. You can see the three mics I bought as my avatar. One of the attractions I had to the Peluso is that he worked for a physicist who once worked for Georg Neumann. At least that's part of the NPR story. 
 
So, really, I only had the three mics I bought and the three I rented. Well, and the two AT mics. I would have loved to spend much more time with all of these. If I could've, I would have them all thoroughly compared. The best news was merely that, you can gain awesome recordings with all of these mics. Sure, there's differences, but it's stunning how good these clones are becoming. 
 
The Avantone was beaten up by another mic-maker who believed he could do much better. In order to do that, I would have essentially spent an extra $1K on gutting it entirely, or have just bought his mic. But that defeats the purpose. I'd question whether his mic was any closer to the c12 we rented or not. Either way, the Avantone cv12 performed quite well. There's something magical in the upper mids I liked better of the AKG c12, but it wasn't worth $8,000-$12,000 or more to me. It's owner is a better buyer for it than I.  
 

One of the attractions I had to the Peluso is that he worked for a physicist who once worked for Georg Neumann.

He's probably related to Kevin Bacon, too.
 
I had an opportunity to try out the Avantone ribbon, which sells for like $250. It sounded great on my raspy voice. Not quite an AEA R44, but then for the price difference you could buy that mike and have enough left over for a very nice used car.

bitflipper

One of the attractions I had to the Peluso is that he worked for a physicist who once worked for Georg Neumann.

He's probably related to Kevin Bacon, too.
 
I had an opportunity to try out the Avantone ribbon, which sells for like $250. It sounded great on my raspy voice. Not quite an AEA R44, but then for the price difference you could buy that mike and have enough left over for a very nice used car.

Yup! As you quickly inferred, that's the prime point of the demo. I believe one could go crazy pining over insanely expensive and sought-after mics, but rarely pay attention to the room where the source is being recorded, the mic pre, the artist/client, or their own abilities to track and mix. And If you don't have clients demanding the best of the best, there's probably little point in spending extra cash on a mic that could be much better spent elsewhere, like: ear training or experience.

There's something sweet about each of these vintage mics, but not comparatively enough for me to drop 3-10+ grand to own any one of them. 
 
I once met a studio owner who had some crude digs, an OK process and gear, but spend a fortune on a U47. And it didn't matter whether the mic worked for the source, he used it as if it was the holy grail of every mic made. His self-assessed clout was all rooted on the ownership of that one mic. Honestly, what I heard him produce from this was marginally good. I think the U47 was in poor shape and not kept up to snuff alone, but the rest of his mics were cheap and didn't help anything else he tracked.