Harvey,
You have again tapped a fascinating topic. I suppose I'm gonna have to wait to hear what the two mics actually are, but if I were led by the graphs, I damn well know I'd pocket that $6400 difference and take a shot with the cheaper mic. Actually, I wouldn't have much choice, if those were my only two choices. If money were no object, I'd buy mic #2 based on the graphs. Yet, you are saying the graphs are meaningless marketing hype, so maybe I am being misled by the curves.
I dug out the specs on the Octava 219 that I bought a while ago. I bought it because I did a session a few years ago at some local studio. Since their equipment picked up every imaginable radio signal in the area, my electric guitar was useless. They handed me an Ovation for acoustic tracks and they put this mic on that guitar. I was amazed that it sounded as good as it did.
Anyway, in the brochure that came with the mic it says:
Frequency response: 40 Hz-16kHz
Then, the qualifying statement: (the useful response extends far beyond this)
Like, what does that mean? 20-20? 15 -25? By the way, the graph that came with it is so blurry, you can't tell what anything means!
But, getting back on topic, I found it to be rather dark, but warm sounding for certain things. Yet, from the curves, I would have expected it to be brighter. So, I am curious to hear the "rest of the story" as they say. meanwhile, I'll see if I can find a curve for this mic on the net somewhere and post it.