Speaking strictly from a "layman's" perspective, i.e. someone who is well aware of the history and value of The Big Five but has never actually used one of them, it was very educational and enlightening to hear the distinct - and consistent - differences between the various mics, even with the artifacts caused by the unfortunately heavy-handed audio compression.
The C12s were beautiful on the various vocalists, but didn't seem like the right choice for the rap (way too much top end);
the C800G sounded like a C12…with sandpaper;
the 251 was only used on Ms. Dion, I think, so not much to compare to, but…it sounded like her
;
the U87s had a very unique sound - a distinct midrange presence (the 1kHz bump that I've seen J.J. Blair mention a few times?), combined with a peak(?) in the upper mids that stopped just short of edginess to give just the right amount of vocal cord bite (I would've picked those for the rap…as they often are, from what I've read);
the U47 sounded like a…U47
;
but the M49s were what really grabbed me - on all the various female vocalists, in particular, the word that kept coming to mind was: "velvet" - my GOD, what a mic!
Anyway, I realize this isn't exactly on topic, and I'll completely understand if my post is removed, but I was just struck by how all those mics (well, perhaps with the exception of the C800G…) had an overall quality of sound that is not even hinted at by the usual Audio-Technica/Shure/Rode/etc. stuff that I'm usually involved with…overstating the obvious, to be sure, and if I was recording *those* vocalists, a lowly KSM32 or AT4050 would suddenly have a bit of "magic" to it, but still…
…and to veer even further OT: This is the first time I've heard this song (I don't watch TV), and I thought they actually did a really good job. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the few obvious uses of AutoTune actually worked…precisely because there were only a few uses of it amidst (what sounded like) natural, real vocal performances.
Rich