Jump to content

AudioRoot Power solutions review


RadoStefanov

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Rado, whatever makes you feel good and didactic - but I know for certain that your french company is getting their stuff from this manufacturer. now - audioroot may have some 'custom' requirements. 

 

maybe you want to write to them and ask them what they do that is SO different for audioroot. 

-vin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rado, whatever makes you feel good and didactic - but I know for certain that your french company is getting their stuff from this manufacturer. now - audioroot may have some 'custom' requirements. 

 

maybe you want to write to them and ask them what they do that is SO different for audioroot. 

-vin

 

Exactly what the manufacturers doing with mic preamps. They get what the factory gives and "design" a mic preamp. 90% of them doing the basics. 10% doing more (and that's why are expensive sometimes).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally got the distro in my hands. It will be a few days before I can actually get to use it, so give me some time for a full on review, but my first impressions:
- excellent build quality, feels like a tank.
- the pull switches are genius, you could never flip them by mistake.
- three switches allow me to power my recorder, wireless receivers, and camera hops independently, as needed.
- power connectors are on the back, better for cable management and configuration; takes up less space than other distros.
- it has a very similar size to the Zaxcom ENG receivers (see AR Distro + QRX in picture) which means I can do cool stuff to configure my bag.
 
Looking forward to putting it to the test!
1888601_642278175232_6768877598225295907
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Finally got the distro in my hands. It will be a few days before I can actually get to use it, so give me some time for a full on review, but my first impressions:
- excellent build quality, feels like a tank.
- the pull switches are genius, you could never flip them by mistake.
- three switches allow me to power my recorder, wireless receivers, and camera hops independently, as needed.
- power connectors are on the back, better for cable management and configuration; takes up less space than other distros.
- it has a very similar size to the Zaxcom ENG receivers (see AR Distro + QRX in picture) which means I can do cool stuff to configure my bag.
 
Looking forward to putting it to the test!
 

 

Jose,

Which version did you get?

There is a version that is wired for SM Bus DAT and CLK and one that is not.

The website says that eSmart battery wiring has to be requested  at time of order.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jose,

Which version did you get?

There is a version that is wired for SM Bus DAT and CLK and one that is not.

The website says that eSmart battery wiring has to be requested  at time of order.

 

Hey Rado,

 

As far as I understood, all audioroot eSMART distros had SMBus. I can only see two versions of the eSMART BG-DU that I got on the audioroot website: the one with power regulators (eSMART BG-DU-REG is the actual name), and the one without.

 

I got this one (the one without power regulators):

http://www.audioroot.fr/product/esmart-bg-du/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

I'd love to follow up on this thread with a couple of questions for those that currently use this AudioRoot system in their bag...

 

1) How's it going? Are you happy with your investment? 

 

2) Has anyone here personally handled the Inspired Energy batteries (http://inspired-energy.com/Standard_Products/NH2054/NH2054.htm) and are they compatible with the AudioRoot Distro systems? The price list for batts and chargers that Vin posted above was significantly cheaper than other dealers. I also noticed this on their website:

"In 2015 we plan to begin sampling the NH2054HD34. At 98Wh this will represent the highest energy density Li Ion standard battery pack available. It will equal the performance of our 97Wh 12-cell "NL" products in a package which is 33% smaller, and 33% lighter."

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Cheers,

Evan 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh what the heck!

I don't see this on the product page. No idea what version I theoretically have coming. It's been back ordered.

 

JohnPaul,

 

Did you order the AudioRoot or Inspired Energy batteries? They appear to be exactly the same (except in price, of course). 

 

Cheers,

Evan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JohnPaul,

Did you order the AudioRoot or Inspired Energy batteries? They appear to be exactly the same (except in price, of course).

Cheers,

Evan

My plan was to start with my current batteries and then switch over. That's why I'm frustrated to see they make multiple versions of the BG-DU and don't make that clear on their website.

I just ordered the BG-DU, but have been waiting a while for it to make it here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) How's it going? Are you happy with your investment?

2) Has anyone here personally handled the Inspired Energy batteries (http://inspired-energy.com/Standard_Products/NH2054/NH2054.htm) and are they compatible with the AudioRoot Distro systems? The price list for batts and chargers that Vin posted above was significantly cheaper than other dealers. I also noticed this on their website:

"In 2015 we plan to begin sampling the NH2054HD34. At 98Wh this will represent the highest energy density Li Ion standard battery pack available. It will equal the performance of our 97Wh 12-cell "NL" products in a package which is 33% smaller, and 33% lighter."

Hi Evan,

To answer your first question, I'm loving the audio root distros. Both of my bags are using audio root distros, and the wealth of information that they give me about battery life and power consumption is amazing. I honestly don't see me going back to anything else. It's been at least a few months now and they are performing flawlessly. Their true advantage over other systems, however, is when you pair them up with SMBus capable batteries, which leads me to your second question.

I'm currently using Inspired Energy batteries, and yes, they work perfectly fine with the audioroot distros. They are SMBus batteries, just like the audioroot ones. I specifically own 4 of the 98Wh models (NH2054HD34) that you are mentioning, and I'm completely satisfied with them. I do think that audioroot probably outsources its batteries from this company, as they are exactly identical as far as I can tell (with the exception of the label).

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

José

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the price point of those batteries José? Looked at the website and they don't have a list. I could of course <hat>, but if you know off hand

You have to email them for a quote. Assuming their prices haven't changed, back in January, this was their quote to me:

"The NH2054HD31 is available in quantities from 1 to 11 pieces at $156.87 usd each, plus shipping.

The NH2054HD34 is available in quantities from 1 to 11 pieces at $160.47usd each, plus shipping"

The former is the 5.8Ah/83Wh model (same as the audioroot batteries), the latter is the new 6.8Ah/98Wh model. As you can see the price difference is about USD$4, so it was a no brainer to me to get the higher capacity model.

They build these to order, so it takes about two weeks to receive the shipment.

Cheers,

José

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, that's a $100+ markup from Audio Root's pricing

I can't speak about that, especially since I don't have all the background info, but I assume that audioroot prices their batteries to make a profit while remaining competitive (e.g. IDX). If they buy batteries from Inspired Energy in bulk in the US, to then sell in France, I can see why the markup is what it is. But again, these are all assumptions, so take them with a grain of salt. For all we know maybe audioroot does manufacture their own batteries using the same design, and their pricing accommodates and takes into account their manufacturing costs.

I do know that audioroot builds all their distros and chargers themselves, and are unmatched by anything else in our niche of the industry IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FYI, just emailed for an updated price:

 

The NH2054HD34 is available in quantities from 1 to 11 pieces at $163.47 usd each, plus shipping.

 

The CH5050A Dual channel Desktop Smart Battery Charger/Fuel Gauge Recalibrator is available from 1 to 9 pieces at $278.00 usd each, plus shipping.

 

We build to order, and our lead time is currently estimated at 3-5 days a.r.o.

 

$605 for 2 batteries and a charger
IDX NPs - $810

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's another company- RRC, who also make batteries with the same shape/connectors as audioroot and Inspired Energy. The 48/49Wh shorter ones will fit in the new Sonosax SX-R4+ and it'll read the SMBUS controller on the batteries.

I've got some Inspired Energy and RRC batteries and chargers in the post at the moment

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Evan,

To answer your first question, I'm loving the audio root distros. Both of my bags are using audio root distros, and the wealth of information that they give me about battery life and power consumption is amazing. I honestly don't see me going back to anything else. It's been at least a few months now and they are performing flawlessly. Their true advantage over other systems, however, is when you pair them up with SMBus capable batteries, which leads me to your second question.

I'm currently using Inspired Energy batteries, and yes, they work perfectly fine with the audioroot distros. They are SMBus batteries, just like the audioroot ones. I specifically own 4 of the 98Wh models (NH2054HD34) that you are mentioning, and I'm completely satisfied with them. I do think that audioroot probably outsources its batteries from this company, as they are exactly identical as far as I can tell (with the exception of the label).

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

José

 

Indeed this does help, Jose. Thank you!

 

Are you using the IE charger as well, or the AudioRoot one?

 

Cheers,

Evan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...