Man, I'm with your taste. I've want a Brauner ( vm1s) and would settle on the Valvet no problemo. I'm not sure anything is close in flavour to their high end mics.
Peter Gabriel purchased five Brauner VMA and six Phanthera microphones. We almost had Dirk chime in last year for a feature. If there was more interest, maybe he would come by and talk about them. I would love that!

Good to see this topic here. I can direct you to a good shop if you are interested.

I have heard only one Brauner mic, I think it was a Phantera......open and crisp. The Wunders get so much high-end praise...high-end dollars too.....I own an older U87 that was not so much 'modded' by Klaus as it was brought back to life, it is incredible. I have also sung on a Klaus modded 87. Open and crisp.(actually a pair with a chorus thingy but you could hear the mics' effect in that room). One Manley Reference. Wow. And a couple of Soundelux U195's . Very much the basic fet mic of that line. Also a big WOW.

Ya just cant go wrong with any of those choices.

I am now down to either the Valvet X or the Flea Model A which comes in close to the same price. Three pattern tube mic. If anyone has heard this mic, which is supposedly very close to their m49 clone, please chime in.

Davedog, post: 298100 wrote: I have heard only one Brauner mic, I think it was a Phantera......open and crisp. The Wunders get so much high-end praise...high-end dollars too.....I own an older U87 that was not so much 'modded' by Klaus as it was brought back to life, it is incredible. I have also sung on a Klaus modded 87. Open and crisp.(actually a pair with a chorus thingy but you could hear the mics' effect in that room). One Manley Reference. Wow. And a couple of Soundelux U195's . Very much the basic fet mic of that line. Also a big WOW.

Ya just cant go wrong with any of those choices.

That U87 is very tempting, like a prerequisite.....I heard one at AES in 2008SF....I think you're right, can't go wrong with any topnotch mic for 2k or more.