[uncle b]

I thought I had read somewhere here that "Heavy Duty" (in particular, a Walgreens' brand) 9V batteries work quite well sound-wise in headphone amps, esp. SR-71. I just bought some of these batteries for my SR-71, what should I be listening for, so far as improvement?

 

[bLue_oNioN]

Since you have the batteries in hand, aren't you in the best position to answer that question yourself?

 

[uncle b]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bLue_oNioN Since you have the batteries in hand, aren't you in the best position to answer that question yourself?

True, I guess I'll have to do that comparison myself, I just haven't really had the time to sit down with the amp and switch out the batteries, and give it a good listen. I was just thinking, I always thought alkaline was the best way to go, regardless, but maybe these Walgreen's heavy duty's will prove something...

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle b I just bought some of these batteries for my SR-71, what should I be listening for, so far as improvement?

Probably from Ray's comments, nothing. It won't be there.
BTW, you can buy the Walgreen's Alkaline 8 pack for $9.99 and get significantly longer bat life (in theory).

 

[Ray Samuels]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx Probably from Ray's comments, nothing. It won't be there. BTW, you can buy the Walgreen's Alkaline 8 pack for $9.99 and get significantly longer bat life (in theory).

I did not comment on the regular carbon batteries with the Emmeline SR-71, as I always use the copper top ULTRA alkaline batteries. But Mr. Steve Rochlin, The chief Editor of the Enjoy The Music web site, did comment on that matter as he reviewed the SR-71, here is the link to that review & the comment regarding the batteries is in the 4th paragraph.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...mmlinesr71.htm

Ray Samuels

 

[uncle b]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Samuels I did not comment on the regular carbon batteries with the Emmeline SR-71, as I always use the copper top ULTRA alkaline batteries. But Mr. Steve Rochlin, The chief Editor of the Enjoy The Music web site, did comment on that matter as he reviewed the SR-71, here is the link to that review & the comment regarding the batteries is in the 4th paragraph. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...mmlinesr71.htm Ray Samuels

Thanks for checking in, Ray. You know I love the amp, it is truly great, and has been a pleasure every day since I got it. I am gonna go back to the Duracell Ultra's, that's what I had in there first. I just prefer the battery life of them, and really found no discernable diff in sound with the "heavy duty's".

 

[episiarch]

I was at my local* Target this morning, and they're selling a 2-pack of Eveready "Super Heavy Duty"** 9V's for $1. (Yep, no typo, two for a dollar.)

I bought a bunch -- sonic improvement or not, it's a bargain as long as you make sure to change them out before they leak and ruin your amp. They were in a big "Everything's $1" section right near the entrance.

[size=xx-small]*Mountain View, California[/size]

[size=xx-small]**No other specs are given on the package, but there's a "Best for:" graphic showing a smoke detector, remote control, and wall clock. What, no SR-71??[/size]

 

[Kirosia]

i use them, ans as fas as I can tell, they sound worse. (course, this may just be psychological). And battery life is poor compared to duracells/energizer.

 

[sxr71]

Has anyone tried lithium 9v batteries?

http://www.ragebattery.com/power-sonic/u9vl-j.html

They have excellent current delivery and last a long time. Sure they are expensive, but in a hobby where cables hit $10,000+ I think this is a minor price to pay if it sounds better.

 

[MD1032]

I've found the bext non-plainview batteries are the Duracell Procell. Not only do they keep a nice consistent voltage, they will reach the end of their lives and then "drop out", so to speak. Basically their voltage will stay pretty high and then when they die you'll hear a "thunk" as the voltage drops to almost nothing. This is much different from normal alkalines whose voltage constantly decreases, so you end up throwing them away about halfway through their lives. I've used two of these and each of them lasted for about two weeks' worth of listening time, absolutely excellent considering the plainviews I have only last for about 3-5 hours.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxr71 Has anyone tried lithium 9v batteries? http://www.ragebattery.com/power-sonic/u9vl-j.html They have excellent current delivery and last a long time. Sure they are expensive, but in a hobby where cables hit $10,000+ I think this is a minor price to pay if it sounds better.

I did, and they were no improvement over regular alkaline batteries, as far as usage in headphone amps is concerned. You see, 9V-powered headphone amps draw too little current for the lithium batteries to show any improvement at all whatsoever over alkaline batteries. Specifically, the battery life is no longer with lithium batteries than with the average alkaline battery, while the slight sound-quality improvement the lithiums deliver over alkalines is worth nowhere near their 3x to 4x price premium.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxr71 Has anyone tried lithium 9v batteries? http://www.ragebattery.com/power-sonic/u9vl-j.html They have excellent current delivery and last a long time. Sure they are expensive, but in a hobby where cables hit $10,000+ I think this is a minor price to pay if it sounds better.

i use a rat shack nonrechargeable 9V lithium batt in my Govibe - 2 months still going strong, longevity and big voltage is a good combo, even if that one batt cost 10 bucks!

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 I've found the bext non-plainview batteries are the Duracell Procell. Not only do they keep a nice consistent voltage, they will reach the end of their lives and then "drop out", so to speak. Basically their voltage will stay pretty high and then when they die you'll hear a "thunk" as the voltage drops to almost nothing. This is much different from normal alkalines whose voltage constantly decreases, so you end up throwing them away about halfway through their lives. I've used two of these and each of them lasted for about two weeks' worth of listening time, absolutely excellent considering the plainviews I have only last for about 3-5 hours.

That's sort of the benefit I expected from Lithiums which are known for a very flat voltage curve, but I suppose that Procells can come close for a lot cheaper.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver I did, and they were no improvement over regular alkaline batteries, as far as usage in headphone amps is concerned. You see, 9V-powered headphone amps draw too little current for the lithium batteries to show any improvement at all whatsoever over alkaline batteries. Specifically, the battery life is no longer with lithium batteries than with the average alkaline battery, while the slight sound-quality improvement the lithiums deliver over alkalines is worth nowhere near their 3x to 4x price premium.

I think your explanation is correct. With 18v of voltage the current draw must be really too small in a headphone amp for a lithium battery to show improved life. They perform comparatively better against alkalines when asked to supply a high current.

However you did mention that there is a slight improvement in sound quality. I guess I'd have to try it myself to see if that slight improvement is worth the price premium. In the world of diminishing returns I guess a few dollars extra isn't too bad.

I currently use a Xin Supermicro during my travels and I've used an alkaline, a heavy duty and mostly lithiums. I guess with 1.5v the current draw is quite a bit more than in an SR-71 and I might be getting battery life but not much more than an alkaline.

The major difference I noticed in the Supermicro is that the lithium will perform quite well until the Supermicro makes at first a weak then strong chopping sound. With alkalines it tends to work until it just shuts off. The same applies to heavy duty batteries except it seemed to me that the amp sounded a little better with heavy duty batteries. But that could be purely psychological or just the fact that I was coming off weak lithiums and a new pair of any battery type is a big improvement.

I suppose certain amps are by their nature more dependent on battery type than others.

 

[dougwx12]

I was under the impression that duracell procells and coppertops (not the ultra) are the same battery, labelled for business or consumer use respectively.

Datasheets are identical:
http://www.duracell.com/procell/productdata/#

Random battery vendor's marketing gunk says the same:
http://www.zbattery.com/duracellprocell.html