We all have love affairs with our favorite mics, but there are some that approach bucket-list status. The collection of mics listed below are some of the rarest and most expensive tube condensers in the collection at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, TN. They are listed in ascending order by price and status.

Manley Reference Gold Tube Condenser Microphone - $4,950

Noted for its accuracy and clarity, the Manley Reference Gold is the favorite vocal mic of many engineers. It features a replaceable dual-triode 12AT7 tube and infinitely variable polar patterns between Figure 8 and Omni. Have you used the Gold? If so, tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Neumann U 67 Reissue - $6,995

The U 67 reissue is getting rave reviews from users at Blackbird. Neumann reproduced it so accurately that the cables and the power supply are swappable with the original.

Sony C800 - $8,900

Still commercially available, the C800 is Sony's flagship tube condenser microphone. It's the only mic that needs to be appropriately angled to avoid overheating. The back of the mic at the heatsink must be tilted upward so the liquid coolant, which has a low boiling point can gather around the tube. Once the liquid boils and bubbles, the vapor condenses at the heatsink and the liquid travels back down toward the tube to boil again. If the heatsink is lower than the mic the liquid will collect at the heatsink and never reach the tube, resulting in overheating. Do you know a common orchestral miking setup where you'd need three C800's? If so, put your answer in the comments.

Neumann U 47 - $15,000 - $20,000

First released in the mid to late 1940s, the U 47 was the first multi-pattern tube condenser microphone. The model in the picture is ser.# 394 and still sounds excellent nearly 70 years later. Do you know the difference between the U 47 and U 48? If so, put your answer in the comments.

Telefunken ELA-M 270 Stereo Microphone Ser. #001 - $Priceless

The Telefunken ELA-M 270 has been copied in modern times, but the model in the picture is the one, the only, the original ELA-M 270 ser.#001 making it priceless. Do you know which single capsule microphone the 270 is modeled after? If so, put your answer in the comments.