The Sindt, while not a powerhouse, is really something wonderful,
and I do think it has enough volume.
(Yeah, when people ask a question we often read all this stuff into it
and jump to conclusions about where they’re coming from. Better
just to answer it, IMO.)
In that price range, of the whistles that I own, my favorite is a Sweetheart D in cherry wood. I don’t think he makes it anymore though.
I had a Syn and liked it very much. I traded it away though.
For a session, I’d ask there rather than on the Internet. Peer pressure and perception count as much as sound. If the leads in the group favor a certain brand, that is what that group will tend to favor. In a large session, you probably can’t hear yourself anyway (unless you are loud enough to blast everyone else out and you’ll be hated).
This last bit is half-joking, half-serious: One way to go is to be a poser. Buy an expensive whistle that is a favorite at your local session and have the leads tell you that you made a good choice. Odds are that you will fit in better than with a choice made by strangers on the Internet.
Asinine could also apply to your comment, but thank you ever so much for your opinion. What may be true in your world doesn’t make it so elsewhere. IT’S A PERSONAL OPINION. Frankly, I don’t care for the sound of a Generation or a Feadog, no matter who is playing them … including Mary Bergin. Again, this is merely my personal taste. No one is required to agree or disagree. (I really don’t care … )
okay… i don’t know squat. i live a hundred miles from the next nearest whistle player and the nearest session is even further. i’ve only been playing for a short while, but i have fun and i enjoy it… all that said… (to emphasize that i really don’t know squat … kinda like the guy who said something like … “i ain’t no artist, but i know what i like.”… ) so i guess i kinda fit your profile of who you’d like to respond.
i have a lot of whistles … but they are predominantly of two brands… i have Susato’s and i have Dixon’s. i love them both… what i love most is that they don’t sound like a feadog. don’t get me wrong, i like the feadog… but the more i play (a couple hours a day, every day) the more i like susato and dixon. the susato is LOUD! and it is a very “clean” sound. some say it is almost flute-like. i don’t know as i’d go that far… but it’s close. a small bore kildare D goes for around $35 to $40 ($39.90 if you buy it direct from susato.) it can be a tad demanding when you get up around the second octave A and B, but it’ll give 'em to ya… loud, strong and very clear once you get used to the whistle. the dixon’s tend to be a lot quieter. at least the polymer dixon’s do. the dixon trad seems to get good reviews. i really like mine. i’d say that the dixon trad is about halfway between the dixon polymer high D and the susato small bore hi D. the dixon’s are nowhere near as demanding in the upper end of the range as the susato. the trad goes for around $25 to $30… the poly goes for around $20. granted they are not in the price range you asked about, but, in listening to mp3’s and vid’s of both susatos and dixons… i think they both have a great sound and sound as good as anything else out there just about, or close enough for horse shoes anyway.
i admit that even though i am fairly new at the whistle (about a year or so), my next whistle will likely be an Oz. i’ve heard enough of them to know that i love the sound. am i good enough to push the whistle to its potential… hell no… i ain’t good enough to push a feadog, but is that the point of playing music… you’re not allowed to have a really good whistle until you achieve the heady heights of virtuosity? i want to get one. good enough reason for me. should be good enough for anybody else, too… no litmus test required. if i have the money, and Mitch is willing to take my money and sell me a whistle… is there any reason why a seasoned veteran of the whistle should say i’m not good enough for it?
i’m not good enough for the guitars i own either… but i own them. i play them. i enjoy myself. so… uhmm… errr… uhhhh… dang. how’d i get up on this box? crap! i better get outta here. hope the mic wasn’t on… dang.
be well,
jim (who doesn’t know enough to fill a small thimble.)
Lotta truth all throughout this post
As always, I put in my vote for Thornton whistles. Pretty, pretty, pretty (looks and sound). On the quiet side, though, so maybe not what you’re looking for. My Thornton and my Hoover are my perfect whistles.
And, I understand the need for a nice, new whistle. Even though our $10 whistle sounds great, we sometimes just want to give ourselves something special. I hope you find your perfect whistle 
If Sindts are still in that range, they get my vote.
Philo
I’ve only played a few different whistles and like my most expensive one the most, but it doesn’t fit in your price range.
I’m amazed at how upset people can get when someone shows enough interest in the pursuit to ask which whistle is favourite, particularly when we aren’t talking Stradavarius here. Even ‘expensive’ whistles don’t cost very much in the scheme of things. Many fishermen/golfers/heavy drinkers would spend more each month on tat for their hobby than I spent on my ‘pricey whistle’ (£100/$150ish) which is going to last me a lifetime.
Why should anyone struggle along with a dodgy Walton when for just a small outlay they can get something that sounds so much better? Is this part of some ‘rite of whistling’ in order to be a good player?
I’m gonna take a shot here.
First, if you’d ever had the good fortune to play a Walton Golden Tone C, the characterization “dodgy” would never enter your mind - one of the best around at any price.
Second, and not in anyone’s defense because it’s not needed, what raises some folk’s ire I suspect is that:
there’s a long standing tradition attached to the playing and it’s the playing that’s first and foremost
these wonderful little relatively cheap whistles have been around a long time as part of that tradition and are steeped in it; thereby being available to many people who do wondrous things with them (musically)
I myself, being a bit of an “outsider” to that tradition, have come to love and revere the scores of these whistles I’ve accumulated over the years and it’s they that first ignited my pure joy at playing the music
Now, none of that’s to say that the more expensive and in many cases “better” whistles being made by wonderful craftsmen should not also be accepted for those that want them - including me as well.
Philo