Beagle - your experience with USB microphones basically mirrors the development of USB audio interfaces in general.

Things have come a LONG way.

An alternative for folks that might already have mics is the Shure X2U, which is an interface you plug onto the end of a mic with an XLR connector. Headphone monitoring and the whole nine yards. http://www.shure.com/americas/products/a...-signal-adapter