Anonymous067
Active Member
Think carefully now.
Wireless Are AA batteries really that much more cheaper than 9 volts?
- Thread starterAnonymous067
- Start date
Yes, actually.
At least for a recent sale at Battery Junction for $0.37 per AA Procell, and $1.35 per 9v Procell.
http://www.batteryjunction.com/pc-1500.html
http://www.batteryjunction.com/pc-1604.html
http://www.batteryjunction.com/pc-2400.html
By their regular prices, practically not though. You almost always need x2 AA's, and their regular price is $1.50/ea. and the 9v's are $2.50/ea, meaning that in a given application, you're probably spending $3.00 to make your wireless transmitter operational for AA's, $0.50 more expensive than if you were to use 9v's. That is, of course, if you decide to not partake in their crazy cheap sale prices. I go to Battery Junction for my SureFire batteries as well because they always do far better than retail, but to each their own, so it depends on where each person buys batteries from, how many they purchase, and how they use them.
At least for a recent sale at Battery Junction for $0.37 per AA Procell, and $1.35 per 9v Procell.
http://www.batteryjunction.com/pc-1500.html
http://www.batteryjunction.com/pc-1604.html
http://www.batteryjunction.com/pc-2400.html
By their regular prices, practically not though. You almost always need x2 AA's, and their regular price is $1.50/ea. and the 9v's are $2.50/ea, meaning that in a given application, you're probably spending $3.00 to make your wireless transmitter operational for AA's, $0.50 more expensive than if you were to use 9v's. That is, of course, if you decide to not partake in their crazy cheap sale prices. I go to Battery Junction for my SureFire batteries as well because they always do far better than retail, but to each their own, so it depends on where each person buys batteries from, how many they purchase, and how they use them.
Of course, at $.37 per AA battery, you're looking at $2.22 to get the six AA's you need for a 9 volt system.
zuixro
Active Member
You can't just think price though. You have to think milliamp hours. A 9v battery doesn't hold nearly as much power as two AA's. Most 9v batteries have a capacity of around 625mAh, where AA's are over 2000mAh each. The capacity is somewhat dependent on the discharge rate, so if you pull a lot from a battery you aren't going to get as many mAh out of it. I don't know how much longer a 9v mic will last over a 2xAA mic, but in my experience, the batteries are replaced every night, so it seems to me like the cheaper battery would be better.
See:
Battery (electricity) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Note that those mAh capacities are probably for consumer level batteries and not ProCell's
See:
Battery (electricity) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Note that those mAh capacities are probably for consumer level batteries and not ProCell's
I know some around here don't believe me. But this seemed like a good time to throw in my usual rant about batteries.
Yes there are Lithium batteries and other high performance batteries that pack a higher mAH, these should be used for high power burst applications like running a camera flash. However, for "low and slow" drain applications (like microphones) standard alkaline batteries are the way to go. Among the variety of Alkaline batteries there is VERY little difference in performance between any brand. This is because standard U.S. made alkaline batteries are all made in one of three factories. I have a friend who used to design batteries for Duracell. Want to know where they make the super cheap Costco Kirkland batteries or the Walmart brand batteries? Same place as everywhere else. They literally take a pallet out of the warehouse and slap a different label on them and ship them off to Costco to sell for 20 cents each instead of a $1.50. Don't believe me, take a look at this chart on the Consumer Reports website comparing the performance of Alkaline batteries... anybody notice a pattern? They did one a few years ago and they didn't bother printing the chart the simply concluded that all differences fell within the standard deviation.
When buying batteries I always go with Costco Kirland for AA and AAA. I usually use Walmart or Rayvac for my 9 volts (about $1.25 each). Never had a problem. Saved a LOT of money over the years.
One final note. Modern rechargable batteries are an excellent option for running microphones. They didn't used to be, but now they charge quickly, have high mAH ratings, and last a long time. Invest in some good NiMH's and you'll be very happy.
Yes there are Lithium batteries and other high performance batteries that pack a higher mAH, these should be used for high power burst applications like running a camera flash. However, for "low and slow" drain applications (like microphones) standard alkaline batteries are the way to go. Among the variety of Alkaline batteries there is VERY little difference in performance between any brand. This is because standard U.S. made alkaline batteries are all made in one of three factories. I have a friend who used to design batteries for Duracell. Want to know where they make the super cheap Costco Kirkland batteries or the Walmart brand batteries? Same place as everywhere else. They literally take a pallet out of the warehouse and slap a different label on them and ship them off to Costco to sell for 20 cents each instead of a $1.50. Don't believe me, take a look at this chart on the Consumer Reports website comparing the performance of Alkaline batteries... anybody notice a pattern? They did one a few years ago and they didn't bother printing the chart the simply concluded that all differences fell within the standard deviation.
When buying batteries I always go with Costco Kirland for AA and AAA. I usually use Walmart or Rayvac for my 9 volts (about $1.25 each). Never had a problem. Saved a LOT of money over the years.
One final note. Modern rechargable batteries are an excellent option for running microphones. They didn't used to be, but now they charge quickly, have high mAH ratings, and last a long time. Invest in some good NiMH's and you'll be very happy.
Last edited:
Sony
Active Member
One of the problems with rechargeable batteries is that with older Wireless Microphones made in the days before rechargeables were common, rechargeable batteries don't work well at all. This is because most NiMH or Li-Ion batteries only output 1.2vDC per cell, instead of Alkaline batteries which output the standard 1.5vDC per cell and some older wireless mics could get fidgety with the lower voltage. Especially with 6-cell rechargeable 9v batteries where the output was only 7.2vDC instead of the required 9vDC, much lower then the 6-cell alkaline batteries with their 9vDC output. Later this was partially remedied by adding a 7th cell to 9v rechargeable batteries which boosted the voltage to 8.4vDC. However modern day wireless mics have no issues with rechargeable batteries as the internal circuitry is now designed to cope with varying voltages.
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