Hi there! In the past years I've had very good experience with CAD gxl 2200 large diaphragm condenser mikes.They sound amazingly good and go for less than 60 GBP,including a decent shockmount.I've used them for studio vocals,but we also take them on the road to mike some Marshall cabinets(hehehe).This may sound trivial,but believe me it works better than the avarage rental SM57's you are encountering and that all sound different through various forms of (mis)use.Of course you will need some source of phantompower.BTW,this is the only good mike manufactured by that company.The rest of the bunch ia not impressive at all,to say the least. Concerning headphones:Stanton is good,but not too rugged.Sennheiser HD25 is da real thang,but it's gonna cost you.Sells here(Netherlands)for 200 euri's. Grtz,Enrico.