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Author Topic: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review  (Read 6747 times)

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Offline BlingFree

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i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« on: April 24, 2012, 09:04:48 AM »
I started this all out simply wanting to take a few pictures of my new setup and test how long my new battery pack would work in field conditions. What was supposed to be a wordy endorsement came out something like a review so here's my two cents plus a lot of tax.

I love to record at festivals. Furthermore, I love to record unattended at festivals - the gear doing the work while I nap at camp, catch another act at a different stage or just wander aimlessly. No need for the back-story about powering recording gear in a live situation but it usually involved bulk or waste. More recently the rechargeable DVD battery packs and hacked RC car battery packs, amongst others, have made praying towards the end of a three hour show totally obsolete with power to spare.

Still, in these field situations I was having to return to my bag every seven or eight hours to switch out batteries for the preamp. Whaaa, right? Radio Shack battery packs kept my deck collecting bits just fine so I really had no legitimate complaints compared to my taping forefathers. Just dreaming the dream out loud to fellow recording enthusiasts.

One evening I was poking around and found this thread here.. http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=152495.msg1930953

Behold, the i.Sound Portable Power Max - 16,000 mAh !!! (Max)

http://www.isound.net/shop-by-type/accessories/i-sound-portable-power-16000-mah.html



I was in the middle of putting together my rig and the idea of powering all my gear by USB bus from one battery pack made me giddy. I started window shopping right away for a preamp and deck that would handle this. Thankfully, I didn't have to do much shopping. Turned out my current deck simply needed a custom cable and for various reasons I settled on the M-Audio Fast Track Pro (FTP).

The cheapest I could find it online... of course at B&H.. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&sku=766258&is=REG&A=details&Q=

Then, the Max arrived on my porch. For the sake of tradition I will show the un-boxing and size comparisons. Here's the other side of the package for those who care..



The slick plastic may feel like any other DVD battery - not the most solid construction but it doesn't feel like it will crack any time soon. Of course the first thing I notice is that it picks up fingerprints like a CSI agent. Hardly what I would consider a flaw but my mildly compulsive nature is thankful that it came with the carrying pouch that also wipes away fingerprints pretty well. It also came with it's AC adapter (12vDC 1a), a USB to mini/micro USB cable and an adapter for charging some Blackberry devices.




Here it is compared to a DVD battery.




Here again on their sides.




Here they are compared to NY Times Bestseller - They Call Me Baba Booey by Gary Del'Abate.




Ever dig through a black bag in the dark with a flashlight in your mouth or on your head? I have faith that someone at i.Power has. It's not such a great light that it removes your headlamp from your bag completely but it is really nice to have and (according to my unprofessional yet tested opinion) it's completely fine to have on while your deck is running.




All this is fine and dandy but I was dying to put this thing to the duration test. How long was this little gem going to power my rig in the field? To put it to the test I plugged in the M-Audio FTP audio interface and the Marantz PMD620 mobile recorder at the same time. With the M-Audio FTP's inputs cranked to 11 and the phantom power on I started recording on the PMD620 in mp3 mode to an 8gb SDHC. I edited a show on my PC, slept, went to work the next day and came home to a dead rig. The results blew me away!

I was left with a 625mb baby weighing in at a whopping 21 hours, 42 minutes and 42 seconds recorded! THIS.... is a lot of unattended recording!!

My rig on my table.




My only concern before going in to the testing was the limitations of the Max. It will only power devices that do not exceed a total current of 2.5 amps. My superior math skills told me that I was somewhere under this by a few points and that I had almost nothing to worry about :)

The VERY first thing I wanted to brag about the Max is it's power switch. Seems like a simple concept but when put in to practice I found that I could press stop on my recorder then simply flip the one switch on my battery pack to kill power to both my devices. A simple pleasure but at the end of the evening that's one or two less steps to take before you can get back to some good, honest partying.

The only other thing I wanted to brag on was my ALMOST 22 HOURS OF RECORDING!! Wakarusa is calling my name and I will be there capturing as much of it as I can on my set-it-and-forget-it rig. It's made covering a stage all day so easy that I may take up a secondary rig just because I can! See you all on the mountain!
Audio
* AKG SE-300B / CK 91 > Zoom H6
* powered by i.Sound Portable Power Max - 16000 mAh
Video
*coming soon??**

LMA uploads
bt.etree uploads
YouTube Playlists

Offline beeco

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Re: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2012, 11:51:47 AM »
Thanks.  Excellent review.  Nice pics, too. 
Now you see it:  ADK 51TL,  or MK4/41>KC5>CMC6, or AT4051b/4049a > Wendt X2 > R-09HR
Now you don't:   CA-14c  or DPA4061 > CA ST-9100 > R-09HR


"Wait a minute, this sounds like rock and or roll!" Reverend Lovejoy

Offline BlingFree

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Re: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2012, 02:06:38 PM »
Lesson learned... not good for powering two devices at once due to grounding issues.

YMMV with a ground lift?
Audio
* AKG SE-300B / CK 91 > Zoom H6
* powered by i.Sound Portable Power Max - 16000 mAh
Video
*coming soon??**

LMA uploads
bt.etree uploads
YouTube Playlists

kirk97132

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Re: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2012, 03:32:39 PM »
Lesson learned... not good for powering two devices at once due to grounding issues.

YMMV with a ground lift?
Looking at edirol UA-5 in your sig, that is reversed polarity on the plug so maybe that was your problem?

Offline BlingFree

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Re: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2012, 11:27:56 PM »
I'm about to record a show using AA's in the Marantz and the battery pack on the UA-5. I'll add that to my experiment list but my assumption is that the UA-5 will simply not with with the wrong polarity.
Audio
* AKG SE-300B / CK 91 > Zoom H6
* powered by i.Sound Portable Power Max - 16000 mAh
Video
*coming soon??**

LMA uploads
bt.etree uploads
YouTube Playlists

kirk97132

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Re: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2012, 12:58:09 PM »
The UA-5 HAS to have a center pin positive cable.  Which is the reverse of what the battery pack is.  It will not work without it.

Offline fmaderjr

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Re: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2012, 07:28:56 AM »
Sounds like a great battery when it works properly, but I'd never buy one after reading all the negative reviews here:
http://www.amazon.com/i-Sound-Portable-Power-iPhone-BlackBerry/product-reviews/B00439G3WS

Almost 50% of the reviews are 1 star-too many instances of them going bad and one almost burned a guy's house down.
AT853's (all caps)/CM-300 Franken Naks (CP-1,2,3)/JBMod Nak 700's (CP-701,702) > Tascam DR-680
Or Sonic Studios DSM-6 > M10

Offline BlingFree

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Re: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000mAh test and review
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2012, 11:13:43 PM »
Yikes! Guess I better keep mine in the shed! I will say that mine has suffered multiple charges, 6 days of Wakarusa camping and temperatures and dust and still powers my shite. Thanks for the heads-up tho.... class action anyone? :)
Audio
* AKG SE-300B / CK 91 > Zoom H6
* powered by i.Sound Portable Power Max - 16000 mAh
Video
*coming soon??**

LMA uploads
bt.etree uploads
YouTube Playlists

 

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