I received my Invision INV-7 for testing from Rycote yesterday. It is intended as a suspension for static or boomed medium sized mics.

My impression is that the Invision series is mostly being introduced by Rycote to service the new compact mics from Sennheiser and Schoeps with some overlap into medium sized mics.

The Invision comes in 8 sizes. The first three are designated as not for boompole use, but rather for static mounts only. The others are listed as appropriate for use while booming.

I used it today for a corporate gig. It took the place of my K-Tek K-SM Mount for my Schoeps MK41 w/ Cut-1 & GVC.

It’s “Lyre” clip system is a directly related to the S-Series Suspension, which is quite different from the K-SM’s rubber mount system. It is light weight and has a similar profile to the K-SM. It has a retention clip at the base of the mount to secure a XLR which the K-SM lacks. Where the K-SM has a lever to lock the angle of the suspension, the INV has a smaller thumbscrew.

It has similar overall shape, but the clips on the INV-7 have a much thinner profile.

The INV does have a cable clip at the base which the K-SM lacks.

During an interview, the “fixed” INV-7 behaved the same as the K-SM. I used it on K-Tek Avalon KE-100CC with the Ambient Quick Release Adapter attached to a fish pole holder on a C-Stand.

While actively booming I did notice two important things:

1) The INV-7 did reduce the boom handling noise over the stiff rubber boots of the K-SM substantially. Good!

2) However… The AC stated it perfectly as he said, “Whoa! Wobbly boom”, referring to the looseness of the suspension’s grip on the mic. It was all over the place with my Schoeps rig.

So, my first impression is that the INV-7 suspension is a good static mic mount but it needs to be carefully handled when being used to actively boom with a mic like a fully accessorized MK-41. I think the Invision system would be better utilized with smaller/lighter mics, such as the Sennheiser 80*0 series and the Schoeps CCM mics… or used only for fixed interview situations with larger-than-compact mics.

I will give the INV-7 a shot with my lighter CMIT-5U in the coming days.

> Rycote Invision Site http://www.rycote.com/products/invision/

I see that Scott Farr had a beta test model that he used with a Sennheiser 80*0 series compact which I really think is more up this products alley. (Scott, they’ve added the thumbscrew since your beta.)

> Scott’s Invision Page: http://web.mac.com/farroutpro/Sound_Mixer/InVision.html

-Chris Durfy, ATLaudio.com