K-Tek KNS3 Nautilus Microphone Suspension
At NAB, K-Tek announced the award winning Nautilus (patent pending) microphone suspension. We decided to re-design a microphone suspension for all standard shotgun microphones from the ground up. We have improved existing suspension designs with little to no compromise.
It all started with the desire to create the ultimate shotgun microphone suspension. After a long period of time trying to come up with an idea, we decided to look at nature. We are very fascinated with number sequences, and we looked at the Fibonacci sequence as one of the most commonly represented shapes in nature when shown in graphical form. You see it everywhere, from sea creatures to plants. We realized that the spiral shape made the most sense (heck, even our Milky Way galaxy is a spiral). We then researched how the Fibonacci sequence has been used in math, science, and even in the spiritual world. We came to consensus that this was the shape we needed to start with.
Over the past year, The Nautilus (patent pending) has been designed, redesigned, and redesigned again to its current iteration. We had to tighten up the spiral from the original logarithmic spiral we started with in order to make it fit into our upcoming Zepplin, but the premise of microphone isolation is the same. We wanted only one point if contact between the actual microphone suspension and the rest of the mount, eliminating the amount of contact between the two. After all, the safest building in an earthquake is one that the least amount of contact with the ground. We did extensive computer testing in order to find out which materials react best with the typical amount of force applied to a microphone suspension.
Most microphone suspensions absorb most of the force in 2, 3, or 4 places. Doing so creates compromises in the suspension design. With a spiral design, the force applied to the mount is spread out evenly over one long, circular surface, creating even force distribution in three dimensions.
There were a couple of big criteria we wanted to hit. One: make it very simple to use. Two: make it universal. Three: solve existing problems in current microphone suspensions. 4: make parts easily replacable. 5: make it look elegant.
In order to make it simple to use and universal, we decided that the mounting rings should be able to slide along a single rail. This allows the end user to position each mounting ring anywhere on the rail. This means that any size microphone, from a small Sanken CS-1e all the way up to the Sennheiser MKH8070 can be used with just this one mount. Another advantage to the sliding rail system is that for heavier microphones, additional mounting rings can be easily added to help support the weight. There are two tensions of mounting rings available at this time.
One of the biggest problems to solve was isolation in three dimensions (on an X, Y, and Z axis). The Nautilus (patent pending) has successfully achieved three dimensional isolation due to the fact that the microphone is suspended in the center of the mounting ring, allowing it to move in any direction no matter which way the microphone is oriented. This is critical when using microphones like the Schoeps modular series of microphones with a GVC swivel.
Since The Nautilus (patent pending) is so simple in its design, that means parts are easily replaceable. All the parts are made from extremely tough, high quality, proprietary materials. But, should something break or fail it is easy to replace any of the parts quickly and cheaply.
Taking a design cue from nature and keeping the design simple just lends itself to The Nautilus (patent pending) looking elegant. We know that looks aren?t everything, but they do count for something. So, not only do you have the best performance out of a microphone suspension, you also have the best looking microphone suspension.
We are very proud of The Nautilus (patent pending), and we are sure you will be very happy with it. Much care, thought, and experimenting went into creating this product for you. We put the top minds in our field on this project to
Features:
Specifications:
- Thread Size -Standard 3/8" - 16 thread
Includes:
