Manley's Reference Cardioid Microphone shares the same electronic attributes as the Gold Reference Series, but has a center-fixed cardioid-only capsule with a thicker gauge (6 micron) gold sputtered diaphragm. With similar film thickness and construction, similar high frequency resonance (a little edge) similar proximity effect and good immunity from pops and sibilance problems, the Reference Cardioid closely emulates the sound of many vintage European tube mics such as the beloved NeumanU47. Its rich tonal balance and liquid character is consistently admired for instruments such as guitars, drum overheads, saxophone, and especially vocals. With your present mic, if you find yourself relying on compression or perhaps boosting 5 or 10K to score a bit more testosterone, then the Manley Labs Reference Cardioid could just be the mic you have been looking for. If you seem to be constantly boosting 12-18K and trying to get a clean, intimate sound, then possibly Manley's Reference Gold would be a better tool for you.