Shure MX202 MicroFlex Condenser Microphone With Inline Preamp Black Cardioid

If I am going to pay just short of $200.00 for a mic, I want a mic with a strong detachable cable, or better yet, no cable at all which would enable me to supply my own cable. Our church uses Shure Microflex mics but they have nice thick quality cables. The cable for the mic I purchased is not detachable and it is the same as the cables used on cheap headphones, you know the type: very thin and prone to get all tangled up in knots quite easily. Also cables such as this are prone to breaking and if this happens the mic is rendered useless because there is no jack in which to insert a replacement cable. Since the cable is so important, I am giving this mic only 3 stars. As far as sound quality is concerned, it is quite powerful with external phantom power. I found it odd that with the official user's guide supplied with the mic, they fail to mention that external phantom power is required for rhis mic. The pre-amp supplied is not the same as phantom power; I found this out when I plugged it into my board and got no signal at all until I clicked on the phantom power switch. So, word up: You must have external phantom power for this mic.