[Duncan]

No No! - before you start saying about rechargables, I'm not talking about the economics here... i'm talking about the sound...

I bought 34 lithium Energiser batteries from mecano a few weeks back (retailing at $12 EACH)... have used the first pair, and realise with a small amount of horror that i've only got 16 sets left...

...using a standard set of energisers, the META42 sounds decidedly lacklustre, after having been using lithiums for the past three weeks

So... the question is... what is the best sounding battery formulation / brand that you use?

Thanks

 

[usc goose]

doesn't anyone use those plainviews any more? i've tried a few of what i can get b&m and rayovacs work just fine for me. boo radioshack and boo energizer.

 

[blessingx]

Plainviews are used here.

 

[MusicLover]

The batteries you want are plainly in view. Go for it.

 

[Hirsch]

I didn't switch to Plainviews because they were rechargeable. In the Grado amps, they're the best sounding battery I found.

 

[Leo]

I ordered 2 pair of 9V Plainview along with chargers for my Grado RA-1 and they are great (being rechargable is just an added bonus). Much better than the Energizers.

 

[jasonhanjk]

What about GP and SONY?

 

[vrao81]

Wow I didn't know batteries could change the sound!

 

[inthused]

I believe I read in another thread where the plainviews hold their voltage longer,then die down quickly,as in almost immediatly,giving a more consistant supply of power. Compare this to other 9v's that slowly drop in voltage before giving out. If I'm not mistaken, any small voltage difference relates to a performance effect, detectable to some listeners more easily than others? This is a guess at how I interpreted the thread to mean.

Also if I remember correctly,the PV's actually put out a true 12v. Others are really only delivering 10.6 or 11v. Please don't quote me on this. I will try to find the thread I am refering to.

 

[Mat Bon 0013]

Can you get these Plainviews in the UK?
I'd like to try some......

 

[Duncan]

Plainview sounds interesting...

Inthused has said what i'm looking for... The lithiums I have, they hold their power / charge impecably well which I think is why they sound cleaner... if a set of rechargables can do the same... that might be my meal ticket

Mat Bon 0013...

I have no idea if you can get them in the UK or not, but even if not... i'm pretty sure, seeing what a good bunch of guys we have here, someone could pick up a couple of sets, and send them over to the UK...

Is everyne recommending Plainview because they're rechargable or because of a perceived improvement in sound? - I haven't seen any other forumlation / brand come up... looks like a bit of a whitewash...

 

[usc goose]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan I haven't seen any other forumlation / brand come up... looks like a bit of a whitewash...

i was propping the rayovacs over energizer and radioshack actually. you got those across the pond? they also seem to stay pretty constant and then they suddenly die. kind of cool. no gray area to guess at. works well or it's dead.

 

[usc goose]

my rayovacs give 8.4v. plainview comes in 9.6v, 8.4v or 7.2v. more volts = better sound so plainviews are used by us crazy audiophiles. well, you crazy audiophiles i mean. i use what i can steal... i mean, buy locally.

 

[Hirsch]

OK, the brief summary. NiMH rechargeables as a whole hold their voltage until the charge is almost used up. So that's not a unique benefit of Plainviews, but is characteristic of the battery type, and a good reason to use NiMH rechargeables.

An NiMH power cell is 1.2 volts. A 9v battery gets its voltage by using several cells. Usually, they don't add up to 9v. IIRC Energizer only used to use six cells, so the real voltage of the battery was only 7.2 v...which could starve an amp that needed volts. Most NiMH 9v batteries use seven cells, to produce 8.4 v. Still a bit shy of 9v, but close enough so that most devices won't care. The Plainview is unique, in that it's the only NiMH 9v I know of that uses eight power cells. That gives it a voltage of 9.6v. Even under load, it will maintain a voltage at or above 9v until near the end of the charge. No other 9v NiMH battery does this (that I know about). If your amp sounds better with the higher voltage, the Plainview is the only 9v NiMH battery that can deliver it.

 

[Rizumu]

Thanks Hirsch, very informative. I hadn't seen this discussed before and in fact never thought to ask the question