Apparently I had a psychocological need to spend some money
, I ordered a T.Bone SC600 from Thomann which seems almost identical to the Eagletone I mentioned above (incl. the cardoid/omni switch) but has a much lower self/intrinsic noise level. Thanks to Thomann for putting up succinct and useful information helping me chose ... and being competitive in price with A**zon too!
I'm still debating whether I'll get just a USB-powered phantom voltage supply (Tonor, about 17€) or go wild and get an ART Tube MP (49€).
Not that I think I'll ever be doing it, but the idea of having an omnidirectional-or-cardioc mic to combine with my existing "headspace" stereo mic kind of tickled the tinkerer in me