The sphere mic is not really binaural. I mean yes it works great over headphones, but the image also works over conventional speakers. There are no simulated ears on the sphere so that's why there is no real binaural encoding in it. It truly is just a pair of sphere baffled omni mics.
As far as the mic elements, they are definitely condensor...I don'tthink that Schoeps makes anything else. The mic needs 48V to come alive, and when it does it lights a red LED that's midway between the two capsules (you can align the LED to the center of your 'image'). The output is a 5 pin XLR that gets split out to two standard 3 pin XLRs.
Apparently, the size of the sphere makes a big difference on the sound (comb filtering I guess). 8 inches in diameter was the size that schoeps settled on for no active equalization required. It sounds incredible...very real.
Cheers,
Kris