1.2 or 1.5 V rechargeable batteries - a difference?

[breadnbutter]

I am going to get a Creative Muvo N200 soon (hopefully). While searching for rechargeable batteries I found these alkaline rechargeable batteries (sometimes called RAM or accucell I think). Their main advantage seems to be that they deliver 1.5 V and do not loose their charge, they are technically almost identical to normal batteries. The downside is that they only last 100-300 charge cycles and are more expensive than NiMH ones.

My question: Do the 1.5 V result in better sound quality (e.g. with the above DAP)? I will use my DAP mostly with Sennheiser MX 500 headphones, which are very easy to drive, so I am not sure if the extra voltage makes a difference.

Another point is how the voltage drops with usage. I heard that for normal batteries the voltage can go down to 0.9 V. In that case a NiMH might give a higher voltage on average (I think for NiCd the voltage is very constant at 1.2 V).

Thanks for your comments.

 

[Latexxx]

The voltage should matter if your player is designed correctly. The capacity (mAh) of the batteries tells you more about the batteries.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I wouldn't recommend rechargeable alkaline batteries - or any other alkaline batteries, for that matter - on most DAPs. You see, their voltage gradually drops off as they're being used (unlike NiMH's, which run at nearly full rated voltage until just before they die off enough to require recharging). Furthermore, rechargeable alkaline batteries don't like being fully or nearly fully discharged at all, since each complete or near complete recharge significantly reduces their capacity. Thus, if you always allow the battery-low indicator to light up on your DAP or run your DAP 'till the batteries give up, you could end up with your rechargeable alkalines to die out (or be reduced to less than half their original capacity) after just 10 recharges! A far cry from the 100-300 recharge cycles (which can only be done if you use the batteries for only a few seconds before putting them back in the charger) that the manufacturer claims.

And speaking of sound quality, sure, the DAP powered by rechargeable alkalines will sound better than an identical DAP powered by NiMH's - but only for the first 13 minutes or so of operation. That's because the voltage of alkalines drop quite dramatically in the early part of operating, to about 1.35 volts after just an hour of operation in a typical DAP - and then, the voltage drops off more gradually with each passing hour of use. Thus, through most of the battery life, DAPs powered by alkalines will sound no better than those identical DAPs do with NiMH's.

 

[breadnbutter]

Thanks a lot, this is quite convincing.
So I will go with NiMH's, there are some incredibly cheap offers on ebay (8 Micro 800 mAh for 6 Euros or so).

 

[evillamer]

How about using non-rechargeable lithium batteries? i.e. Engerizer E3

I read that Lithium Batteries are able to maintain consistent voltage before drain out?