I listened to the advertised recordings and both have some "chinese treble" in common.If it's the mic or anything else in the recording chain I can't decide.
I don't find it mentioned on the manufacturers website if it's platinum sputtered on (mylar) foil or a massive platinum diaphragm.I suspect it's sputtered, so this would not be so special as it doesn't matter what type of metal is used for the process.
And I can’t imagine a better conductor than gold. Since so little gold is actually deposited on a membrane, it doesn’t seem like raw material cost would be significant.
But that may defeat the purpose of using a very thin and agile metal diaphragm instead of a plastic one that usually is twice as thick or thicker than a metal diaphragm.
But compliance comparisons...
But your claim that a Mylar film twice as thick as nickel would still be more compliant (i.e.flexible) than nickel is something I would like to see proof of. It does not seem logical.
When building a microphone it's not the goal to have as high tension as possible on the diaphrag. In fact the opposite is true, the lowest tension that still gives a stable result is desirable to extend the low frequency response.
But with lower tension then you are losing top end response.
Using as low tension as possible is a quote from Schoeps's chief engineer Mr. Wutke with whoom I had close contact. I even tested a prototype mic for them at that time. Schoeps is located in my hometown.
Specially on fig. of eight mic's the low frequency response is of major concern, as the pressure gradient (the pressure difference between front and backside of the capsule / diaphrag) gets lower with frequency.The stiffer the diaphrag the less it will follow the air movement.Most REAL (single diaphragm, not double-cardiod) fig. of eight condensors roll off below 200Hz or even higher because of this.
You are right with cardiods, they present a complex system using a combination of even more then the mentioned accoustic effects, needing to be properly tuned to each other.Still, low tension is desirable here if you need to cover the full range.Klaus prefers the lower tensioned specimen of the Neumann capsules e.g., for their fuller bodied sound.This low tension close to the possible is one of the main reasons for cardiod capsule failure, there is no big margin like with higher tensioned omnis.