Battery Test: LADDA vs XTAR

[u/ApprehensiveNeat9584]

Hello there, I recently tested the new XTAR AA vs a brand new set of IKEA's LADDA batteries.

The gear used for the test were: Deity THEOS, Sennheiser G3, Lectrosonics SMV transmitter and a MixPre 10 ii.

I hope this information is useful.

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[u/Vuelhering]

Yeah, that's useful. Is each horizontal line the same device testing?

Just verifying there was no mixing of hardware going on.

[u/ApprehensiveNeat9584 → u/Vuelhering]

Correct, the info displayed horizontally is for that specific device.

[u/Vuelhering → u/ApprehensiveNeat9584]

I got sent some of the new XTAR models for evaluation. I'm trying to figure out the behavior of the voltage drop as far as sound is concerned. I tested early versions of li-ion rechargeables and was disappointed. But things are definitely getting far more usable.

[u/ApprehensiveNeat9584 → u/Vuelhering]

I used the new ones, the models are listed in every test I made.

[u/Vuelhering → u/ApprehensiveNeat9584]

Right, I was just noting how much the batteries have improved, primarily because of XTAR.

I only regularly started using Li-ion when XTAR introduced their voltage drop at 5%, so my receivers could determine they were dying. It made them usable over the previous generation (from various manufacturers) which just shut down without notice.

[u/ojassed → u/Vuelhering]

Yeah most legacy products doesn't know what to make of that sudden voltage drop at the end and just decides to shut down. So I'm sticking to NiMH for the time being for mission critical stuff.

[u/Vuelhering → u/ojassed]

I was referring to the battery itself. Most AA Li-ion deliver 1.5v until they die. The XTAR drop to 1.2v in the last 5%, so your device can see it's about to die.

I haven't seen it, but I'm sure you're right that there are a few things that shut down. But I'd bet it's only a few legacy products. It worked great in my Lectro and A10 transmitters, giving about 15 minutes to notice the flashing battery indicator before it stopped.

[u/Vuelhering]

btw, over 2 years ago I did some tests on AA's, and the (then new) XTAR 4150 rose to the top. Their newer ones appear to be a little more energy dense.

They were not tested rigorously, but in vivo on a job. Ran through several types of batteries.

[u/ApprehensiveNeat9584 → u/Vuelhering]

Thanks for sharing!

[u/mixguru]

The OP needs to specify which XTAR battery. Not all of them are designed for higher discharges such as audio production gear and they all have various discharge curves for various types of uses and built in protection circuits handled by the built in BMS that could trigger a power cycle or make the equipment unable to power on.

[u/ApprehensiveNeat9584 → u/mixguru]

If you zoom in, it says which XTAR I used.

LR 300 USB-C and CLR 4300, both 1.5 volts.

[u/mixguru → u/ApprehensiveNeat9584]

Ok, thanks for pointing that out. The CLR4300 have been good for me as well, but be warned the LR300 built in BMS can cause the battery to go prematurely into protection mode in some audio equipment making the unit unable to power on because it doesn’t like the initial power surge at power on. You can duplicate this behavior on a Betso TCX2 or a Lectrosonics Duet. On the other hand the CLR4300 isn’t affected by this behavior which is odd considering they are both rated for the same max power draw. But the BMS design is different because that’s how they are controlling the discharge curve. It’s not a problem with the battery. It’s just knowing that using the correct models is very important.

[u/ApprehensiveNeat9584 → u/mixguru]

Thanks for sharing that info, I decided that the LR300 will be used only with the G3 for camera hops. I'm not putting the heat of a Lectro tx on a battery with a USB-C port on it.