Audio Technica AT2035 and Neumann TLM 102

The Audio Technica AT2035 and Neumann TLM 102 are new special sub $1000 microphones for voiceover. Remarkably, the AT2035 is a special sub $150 microphone for voiceover. Audio Technica has discontinued its "30 Series" line and replaced it with the "20 Series". The AT2020 was released last year, and has been lauded as a great cheap travel voiceover mic. It sounds good and it's only $99 new. However, the specs on the AT2020 leave a lot to be desired. High self noise (20dB) and low SNR (74dB) and dynamic range (124dB). It does quite well however in terms of handling high Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) at 144dB. The new AT2035 takes this "20 Series" mic line several steps further and adds a -10dB pad and a 80Hz HPF switch. Furthermore, these are the AT2035 stats:
Self Noise: 12dB
Signal to Noise Ratio: 82dB
Sensitivity: -33dB
Dynamic Range: 136dB
SPL: 148dB (without pad)

These stats are almost identical to the new TLM 102. The Neumann has a smoother top end and a more scooped/warmer sound; it also has a larger capsule and a smaller but (not much smaller) body. Who am I kidding? The TLM 102 is microscopic, but the AT2035 is on the small side too, which is nice for staying out of the way of script sight-lines. If the Neumann sound suits your voice and you've got an extra $500 to spend, I'd highly recommend the TLM 102 as the great new voiceover microphone (I prefer its more natural and smooth greatly over the TLM1 03). If you want to spend considerably less and get a great voiceover microphone that has more pronounced mids and sharper highs(but not too sharp - there's a bump at 14kHz, while the sibilance-inducing frequencies are flat) and you're just starting out/looking for a travel or backup microphone/or you're a cheap-skate, go for the AT2035. Both are great voice over microphones.

The AT2035 at the Audio Technica website

The TLM 102 at the Neumann website