Remember there are a lot of powering options including the 8 AA battery sled, the Sony battery option (which apparently gets very long life), and some other powering options. Still the MixPre-3 would not be for you ... but I wouldn't let batteries get in the way. There are several nice powering options. I only need about 2 hours max at a time, so I'm happy as is. Otherwise I'd go with some of the higher end options.