Howdy,
Well you are talking about two different things re: at home, & out in the field.... Seems to me that a good dynamic microphone would be up to doing double duty in those environments, but like everything dealing with sound, some do better in one and not the other.
First off the only reason a microphone should require a battery is either that it is wirelessly connected to the recording/amplification unit, or it is a condenser type which requires "phantom power" to activate the element.
The terms unbalanced and 1/4 " male pretty much say the same thing, and although dynamic microphones (generally all mics for that matter) are fitted with a 3 prong XLR plug, there is no reason you cannot use an adapter to get back to that 1/4" plug.
Lots of folks do it every day and it works fine in most cases, there are exceptions which have more to do with amps so I'll not cover that here.
If we did a poll of the members to see which mics get the most stars for all-round performance and durability without necessarily "breaking the bank", I think you would find that the Shur SM58 would be the hands down winner. If I was only going to own 1 instead of the suitcase full that I carry around, it would be one of those, mind you I own a few, both wired and wireless.
Others will chime in shortly I'm sure, but I hope that helps a bit.
Take Care;
Doug
"what is this quintessence of dust?" - Shakespeare
