I don't have time right now to read all this thread, and I hope I'm not killing the topic here---but---
 
AKG C414.  The gold one.  I record a lot of female vocals and I am rarely disappointed with the quality it produces.  In fact tonight as I had a session I was just smiling all night.  I even told the artists the story of how I got my 414.
Here it is--
 
About 3 1/2 years ago I was working with a singer.  We wanted to record some songs, and I thought it was time to get a good vocal mic.  I starved myself for a week so I could afford a 414.  I used it on the sessions and fell in love.  I have since used it on every female vocalist that has come into my studio and I've never been disappointed.  I told the artists that, listening to them through the microphone, it was worth every penny I paid and that week of hell I went through to afford the microphone.
 
 

 

I starved myself for a week so I could afford a 414.

 
Are you telling me you spend $1000/week on food?  Dammit man, learn to cook!  It's in your name. 

The Blue Blueberry is a great example of an affordable mic that was designed, and is built as an antidote to the less than pleasant effects that modern cost saving technology has lent to most contemporary microphones.
 
It does not conform to the *small parts*, high technology used in the current big "brand name" low noise floor designs and it doesn't conform to the build it cheap and sell it cheaper no name copy cat designs either.
 
It is an expression of using good sounding technology and good construction quality to achieve a good sounding mic.
 

Dacookster, If I'm going to starve myself it had better be for a good reason. That must be one really nice mic,either that, or you don't eat much.
 You are in good company liking the C414...I found investigation into that particular mic a little bit confusing because of this-
 
 http://www.saturn-sound.com/Curio's/story%20of%20the%20akg%20c414.htm
 
If I were looking to buy one  first I would need to determine which one because there seem to have been so many iterations.
 
Daniel- Just goes to show we never have too many microphones. You have the best and are buying more of the best 
 
Rain I remember your commenting on that particular mic before. Part of me wants to rationalize some of the end results you got were due to the Avalon and those Apogee converters....and your wife's killer vocals, but I'm sure you tried other  mics and this one was best. It is a relief when you finally find "the" mic or "the" guitar. I'm glad to hear you found the best mic for her.
 
Mike- Yeah man, there is no question that Blue is trying very hard to be unconventional and non conformist, just look at the exteriors of the mics. Although they have low ended mics too...I think the idea of different and non conformist sits well with the artistic and creative crowd who are also hell bent on non conformity for the most part JMHO.
 
In my thinking this is at least some of their schtick and approach to the market and is especially why I look the other way when it come to their visuals and use my ears only. I have said I like black mics and I recently bought a silver mic because it is a darned good mic...so orange mics and blue mics with funny looking capsules shouldn't mean anything other than that they look cool but I think the look of the product has been a factor. Look at those KRK monitors with the yellow cones. They sold a ton of those. The comparison being that they aren't the most neutral of monitors. Everyone uses their own criteria when buying something. No one wants to admit that they might have bought something based on how it looked. Let's face it if you think it looks ugly you might not even pick it up.

I was thinking about the innards of the Blueberry rather than its appearance.
 
The Blue line up only has a few mic with commendable innards. The Blueberry happens to be one of them.
 
It would be interesting, to me, to learn how/if/why that mic has changed as construction moved from its original factory to the new facilities.

Didn't intend to sidetrack your mention of the "innards"......I know you're an "innards" kind of guy and that was supposed to be a compliment.
 
I think that to a large degree  "modern cost saving technology" isn't a liability if done well. Honestly I think most of that cost savings comes from having them made in a country where money is harder to come by and people work for less of it. You could say it's "modern cost saving labor" The world economy is a cruel and cold place to some and a boon for others.
 
But Blue.....I can't seem to make a major differentiation between them and almost anyone else, other than their schtick for the way their mics look. How do you see them being substantially different in production techniques compared to many others? It seems that you are saying they make their higher ended mics with non surface mount technology but surface mount technology can yield a lower noise floor if the design is good. I'm not challenging you here, just trying to get inside your thoughts a little bit more.

I have never really considered Blue.  Some of their mics sound pretty good, but one of those looks like it must weigh 70 pounds and require its own city power grid.  Their retro-chic design is definitely a modern copy of the old Neumann-Gefell CMV 563, though I have never looked into the guts of their mics.  Once a manufacturer starts playing around with USB mics and selling in the Apple Store, I kind of loose interest. 
 
As far as surface mount modern components vs. classic thru-hole designs.  There are good arguments to support that the latter is still superior in terms of durability and reliability.  Though when it comes to sound and performance, there isn't really a difference any more. 
 
Surface mount parts are less expensive and can be easily installed by a machine, combine that with a pressed aluminum body instead of one lathed out of a solid block, and you can have a microphone that is at least $1000 cheaper.  If your conscience can handle the knowledge that piece of gear put dozens of people out of work, then you have a great sounding microphone.  (guilty)

The Blue I really took notice to was the one with all the head attachments. Maybe that's the one you mentioned. I think it's in the 5 grand range....excuse me 6 grand. At any rate that had better be a really good mic and I'm pretty sure it is. I doubt Guitar Center will let me take that one home overnight to test.