I just picked up the Phanthera. Street price in US is about $2,000. At AES the Brauner guys described their mics in 2 categories. The very detailed and more modern sounding mics Including PhantomC, AI, V, and VM1. And warmer more vintage VMX, and Phanthera. Which is pretty accurate. They all sound like Brauners but there is definitely a different character to the "warmer" ones.
To stick to the topic, I'd describe Phantom C,AI, V as very detailed and especially detailed and in your face and open on top. If a voice has lots of nice colored upper harmonics in its overtone you can hear these pop out nicely. On a screamy or nasal or very bright soprano voice I think this would not be so flattering.
Probably also great for very clear spoken word stuff.
On the other hand the Phanthera is less open on top, as they describe it as more "vintage" - a little more of its own character but not overly colored or hyped tone like cheaper mics do. It is still very clear and detailed but the upper overtones at 8k and up for example are not as open, detailed or crisp on top. So it might serve to warm up a higher brighter vocal part without muddying it up. It's not dark, just not as open on the very top compared to the Phantoms, which are very detailed on top.
I wish they had a mic that you could switch between the 2 sounds because both have their applications. (Actually that's what the VMA is but they have no affordable solid state model that bridges the Phantom/Phanthera gap.) The Phanton V is basically a Phantom AI with variable polar patters and -10db pad.
Also positioning with both of these seems to make a difference. Noticable proximity effect compared to my Blue Mouse which you can get 1/2 inch from the diaphragm and sing full out, the Phanthera seems to work better 6-10 inches away.
To describe the warmth a little better: it seems like all the notes sung have a nice fullness, maybe around 250 Hz, that gives each note, even higher notes, a pillow of bottom that grounds it without sounding like you boosted the bottom so it does not sound too fat or muddy, still clear, and still has some subtle mids that peek through the mix. Definitly a usable, even, sound that should mix well with little EQ. I still wish it had some of the Phantom's open detailed top but it's different, not neccessarily better or worse. I think because of the warmth Phanthera might be applicable to a wider range of voices.
As far as the Vovox cable goes: I did a vocal with my Mogami, then with the Vovox. The Vovox was brighter, clearer, and more in your face, but I'm not sure I liked it. Seemed like it made some of the upper mids a little harsh at the same time, loosing some of the warmth and smoothness.
Now take all of these descriptions with a grain of salt because I've only had the mic for a day and will have to put it through its paces over the next few weeks. But definitly seems like a mic one should look at for a relatively inexpensive pro- sounding mic.
All the other mics I really liked were 4k+. For example Manley Gold, Soundelux 251, Brauner VMX (similar to Phanthera but the tubes make it smoother), U47, etc. And I was kind of annoyed that BLUE did not have listening stations for any of their mics at AES or maybe I would have considered their Cactus or Kiwi.
Side note: we tried the Brauner KHE in some shootoffs in a studio a while back and it sounded awsome. For $9-10k it better! Up against a U47 I liked the KHE because it was really open and detailed but still smooth. But again that detail is not flattering on a mediocre singer that is overly bright, nasal, etc. I'll post more once I have used the mic more.