OK I just went ahead and bought a 441 If for no other reason, to save me having to spend the next days/weeks/longer worrying about whether I should or not. Then they'll just be out of stock again before I decide, or more likely precisely one day before I would have decided to get one anyway. I just had 2 well-paid fly-in/fly-out jobs to mining towns in the Pilbara, and when I got back there were messages on my phone saying Help Help we need a sound guy like NOW!! So I just had time to get changed and call a cab and go. That gig pays decently and I sold a bunch of my cables to that band, so I made extra income this weekend.

I figured that expensive as they are, the price I can get right now is likely the best I'll ever get, and they won't be in stock for long. I'm sure JoeQ is absolutely right that I'll be glad to have it... but as others said elsewhere, I could also have had a matched set of MC930's or CC8's for actually less than this one mic cost. But, I can put those off for now, as honestly my Oktava SDC's are pleasing me and with the MK-102 capsules on them they are real favourites. So I decided to prioritise the 441.

Now my only real problem is, what's left to get out of basic and classic mics with an emphasis on dynamics, that I haven't already got! I figure SM58's are like children, there are more than enough of them out there already without me adding to the problem. But I'm not interested in buying mics every venue already has anyway, the idea is to get the interesting ones they never give you and expand my experience.