My battery test results in my IEM packs

M

Matt Duncan

Freshman
May 9, 2011
61
0
6
Concord, NC
In an ongoing argument between some friends of mine, I wanted to put an end to the "cheap batteries save money" argument. This test was done also to determine the viability of using rechargeable batteries in IEM receivers. I would like to test more battery models, but due to budget reasons, I do not have access to them at this time. IEM packs are Sennheiser ek 300 IEM G2, using the stock ear pieces, volume set to 5, all 4 transmitters were receiving the same audio program from my 01v96 & iTunes to minimize variables & reproduce real world usage as close as possible. Battery levels were checked at 10 minute intervals using the iSight camera in my MacBook Pro set to take a pic of the pack displays. Sanyo Eneloops (second generation 1500 recharge model) were freshly charged, Energizers (standard model) & cheapie (dollar store models) batteries were fresh from the pack. The "no load" Eneloop pack was included in the test to determine the difference between a pack with earpieces connected & one without...this of course doesn't reflect real-world usage, it was more of an "I wonder" situation. The testing was stopped at 6:40am & 6:45am because I had to leave for work (my laptop has to go with me).

Please keep in mind that these are my results & may not have been thorough enough for mission critical use. However, I feel they are sufficient enough my needs as a musician & also for our needs at my church. As always, YMMV.

12:00am testing started - all 3 packs at 3 bars
1:57am cheapies - 2 bars
2:07am Eneloops / no load - 2 bars
2:17am Eneloops / loaded - 2 bars
3:48am Energizers - 2 bars
3:17am cheapies - 1 bar
4:28am cheapies - 0 bars
4:48am cheapies - shut down
6:40am testing stopped - remaining 3 packs still at 2 bars

TESTING TIME - 6hrs, 40min

9:00pm testing restarted - envelops at 2 bars, energizers back up to 3 bars
9:09pm Energizers - 2 bars
2:53am Eneloop / loaded - 1 bar
5:54am Eneloop/ no load - 1 bar
6:25am all 3 packs - 0 bars
6:35am Eneloops - both packs shut down
6:45am Stopped Testing - Energizers - 0 bars, pack shutdown expected any minute.

TESTING TIME - 9hrs,45min


OVERVIEW - Cheap batteries are, as expected, a waste of money; yielding under 5 hours of run time - not even half the run time of good batteries. While the Eneloop packs shut down a little bit before the Energizers, I feel certain they would have atleast matched the run-time, as the Eneloops aren't broken in - only been discharged & recharged once. All in all, I feel totally comfortable using the Eneloops in my wireless gear. Plus, I gain the benefits of no recurring costs, no environmental waste, etc. Total run time for the test was over 16 hours...impressive to say the least...well beyond Sennheiser's estimate of 6-10 hours run-time. It is unknown at this time whether or not the 14 hour break between testing periods had any effect on the results of this test or not. Nothing was changed during that break, the packs were simply turned off. I may re-run this test in the future to determine that break skewed the results or not.
 
Re: My battery test results in my IEM packs

Thanks for your work - that's useful. I use and love Eneloops in my camera flashes - they just work and last forever. I haven't tried them in my wireless gear - I may give that a shot.
 
Re: My battery test results in my IEM packs

Bennett Prescott said:
Very interesting, Matt! Thanks for doing the work, and using your iSight camera is clever. Looks like rechargeables have come a long time, I wonder how they fare at intervals of the break even cost point.
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I think Dave Stevens has some data from the Cirq shows in Vegas, and it is favorable. The primary point is to make sure the batteries are use-rotated, that charging cycles are documented and that every battery's performance is monitored so weak/defective units can be tossed out before they become a problem child.
 
Re: My battery test results in my IEM packs

I've been using rechargeables with my Sennheiser G2 series IEM packs and would certainly add a +1 to the findings. The rechargeables are great, I have had no issues whatsoever. I have twice as many batteries as I need and rotate them to ensure that I always have freshly charged sets on hand.

Most will already know this, but for those that don't - don't fall victim to the temptation to use the "quick charge" chargers. They will shorten the useful lifespan of your batteries tremendously.
 
Re: My battery test results in my IEM packs

Dave Rat mentioned ,during his talk at the SFN expo, that he had a pretty serious issue with rechargeable batteries in IEM packs. If I remember correctly the rechargeable's had a slightly lower voltage which degraded the audio quality in the pack to some degree.
 
Re: My battery test results in my IEM packs

Thanks y'all. Glad I was able to contribute to the forum. I'm mostly a reader here, soaking up as much as possible. :)~:)~:smile: As for the sound quality with rechargeables, the only time I've ever been able to hear any difference in it was right before the pack shut off. I will be moving all of our RF to rechargeables at church in the near future, I'll update this thread if there is any discernable difference in sound quality. I don't have golden ears, but they're not bad considering I've played drums all my life. :lol:
 
Re: My battery test results in my IEM packs

Tim McCulloch said:
I think Dave Stevens has some data from the Cirq shows in Vegas, and it is favorable. The primary point is to make sure the batteries are use-rotated, that charging cycles are documented and that every battery's performance is monitored so weak/defective units can be tossed out before they become a problem child.
Click to expand...
http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/385586/0/?srch=9v+battery+test#msg_385586

And a related thread: http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/mv/msg/17576/155475/0/
 
Re: My battery test results in my IEM packs

Matt Duncan said:
Total run time for the test was over 16 hours...impressive to say the least...well beyond Sennheiser's estimate of 6-10 hours run-time. It is unknown at this time whether or not the 14 hour break between testing periods had any effect on the results of this test or not. Nothing was changed during that break, the packs were simply turned off. I may re-run this test in the future to determine that break skewed the results or not.
Click to expand...
Batteries recover voltage after the load has been removed, so splitting the use periods up will result in more total run time than a continuous usage.
The recovery rate between the different battery types will also be different, it would be interesting to see the difference in total run time when the batteries are used in shorter duration uses.
Nice test, interesting that the earpiece load seemed to have no effect on run time.
 
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