I watched this when it came out, and I just happened to run into the Core guys at Profusion Toronto. They ran me through the batteries , I loved how they looked and the price, so I cancelled my other order and bought an Edge Snap. Awesome system.
That's the most sophisticated battery system I've ever seen. I'm curious about the way they stack together. Are the magnets strong enough to hold them together full time, or do you need to strap them together from time to time so they don't slip when moving them around. Also, I assume they have protection against accidental shorting if the exposed pins touch something metal.
The magnets are really strong. Unless you’re doing something very specialized where the batteries are going to experience several Gs, they’ll hold. Not sure about the shorting protection.
Great, succinct review! Two questions: At 8:08 we see a PD Pro - Hirose and what appears to be a PD Pro - TAF 4 cable (presumably for 8-series). I don't see those cables on the Core SWX site - where did you source them or did you have them custom made? If that is a PD Pro - TAF4 for the 8-series, does the battery deliver "smart" battery telemetry? Thanks Curtis.
Yes, CORE SWX made those at my request with the idea that they’d add them to the product line. Yes, I can power the 888 with the TAF4 cable. I haven’t checked for battery telemetry as my plan is to use these for my MixPre.
Went down this rabbit hole last week and this product is an amazing solution. Thank you for sharing. One question I didn’t catch, can you charge the batteries while in use? For studio use I like to run my equipment like that in case of a power drop.
Hello! We do not suggest using the battery while it is charging. It is super easy to utilize two at a time and remove and add Snaps as you go though. With communication with the device as well, for example, our PD Pro to TA4 cable supports telemetry, so the device will show the battery level as well as our wrap around LEDs.
Hi Curtis, Thank you for bringing those great products to our attention. This one looks so innovative. Makes a power distributor unnecessary for basic set ups, like when you need to have an endless electric energy supply for one device, as I understand it. I have a question. How strong are those magnets? Do you think they are going to be reliable in the field? Both between the batteries and also the plate. I also have to say i was really surprised how much more hungry, like double, the Sound Devices is over the Zoom F8 Thanks
Unless you're pulling 3+ Gs, they should hold 😉 They're very strong. Note that the MixPre was in 32-bit float mode while the F8n Pro was not, so that is part of the reason that the MixPre power time was so much less. But the MixPre 10 II is more power hungry than the F8n Pro.
Great review Curtis! Good to hear they don’t produce ground loops with higher end decks like Sound Devices but have you had a chance to test them via USB-C power delivery to hybrid mirrorless like Z9/SIIx/ etc.? Many of these really suffer from USB related digital noise when powered via PD directly.
Very very important Question to Powerbase: Can you get the pairing mechanism for the Batteries for them to be able to be connected on the sides of the battery? This i think would be like the ultimate step concerning the storing of the batteries in the soundbag
Hi Curtis, do yiu have any thoughts about the new c Comica v40? It looks very interesting but id not seen the bran before. 32 bit float on board recording Thanks
Thanks! Very informative review… a few questions: 1)weatherproofing - I didn’t notice any port covers, 2)charging duration times & differences between a) normal usb c and usb power delivery and b) charging one battery vs two when magnetically paired. Also, some battery makers describe case strength by citing drop tests - any info re this? Do you know what cells are being used ( Sanyo, Panasonic, or off brand) - this seems relevant re product life.
Thanks. 1) They are not weather proofed as far as I can see. I would position the batteries in my sound bag with the weatherproof cover for rainy situations. 2) It depends on the charging device/adapter you use. With my Aputure generator, it took around an hour if memory serves. 3) No info on drop tests that I saw 4) I don't know which cells they're using but they do cite 2000 charge cycles, so they're likely quality Li-ion (not Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells.
A couple remarks: The ability of the cable to "tell" the battery what voltage to send is part of the basic USB-C PD (Power Delivery) spec and not exclusive to Core-SWX. There are plenty of "standard" USB-C PD cables for things like DTAP and Hirose out there already, that work with any USB-C PD battery or charger. None of this is to dismissive of Core-SWX, though - they make very nice (if expensive) stuff. I have one of their 4-station V-mount smart chargers along with their 150- and 300 (!) W*hr batteries. Their big chargers and batteries include a networked fleet-management solution for high-volume uses, and provide features like battery testing/conditioning.
Nice to see a manufacture doing something about the crappy USB-C connector. Is this shrouded connector an industry standard? Or is it CORE proprietary format? Captain Obvious says "Duh" for video over the USB cable. It is a USB cable designed to pass data at 20(80?) Mb/sec per data pair. The question is do they just tie the data pairs together or have they put a small USB hub inside. Are the hubs in each battery connected together. Which brings up the batteries themselves. Each battery has its own buck/boost DC converter to adjust the PD voltage. So you get double the current by using two cables. One for each battery pack. Finally the cables. Realize the power delivery programming in the "custom" connector is some simple passive circuitry. I think it is just how you wire some pins. Maybe a couple of resistors. Questions, questions, questions.
Take Curtis’ MixPre course. It is amazing and well worth the cost. The confidence it will give you on-set is considerable.
🙏
That’s really innovative and a huge leap from the Nano series that has no USB-C. Stacking them makes travel with them a snap!
👍
Thanks!
Thanks Marc!
I watched this when it came out, and I just happened to run into the Core guys at Profusion Toronto. They ran me through the batteries , I loved how they looked and the price, so I cancelled my other order and bought an Edge Snap. Awesome system.
👍
Looks quite promising. I will definitely have to keep this battery line in mind when I think about upgrading my audio equipment power scheme.
👍
This is a nice innovation. Thank you for the introduction.
Of course!
These batteries look really neat, could be a great solution for powering directors monitors/focus pulling monitors as well
👍
This is awesome! Need a few for my rig.
👍
I saw these and NAB. So cool!
👍
"...not really". I gotta admit you got me there!
😂
That's the most sophisticated battery system I've ever seen. I'm curious about the way they stack together. Are the magnets strong enough to hold them together full time, or do you need to strap them together from time to time so they don't slip when moving them around. Also, I assume they have protection against accidental shorting if the exposed pins touch something metal.
The magnets are really strong. Unless you’re doing something very specialized where the batteries are going to experience several Gs, they’ll hold. Not sure about the shorting protection.
@@curtisjudd Good to know. I wasn't thinking about Gs. It was more about stuffing them into a bag and having things shift.
@@AskJoe Should be good, add a strap to be 100% sure.
Great, succinct review! Two questions:
At 8:08 we see a PD Pro - Hirose and what appears to be a PD Pro - TAF 4 cable (presumably for 8-series). I don't see those cables on the Core SWX site - where did you source them or did you have them custom made?
If that is a PD Pro - TAF4 for the 8-series, does the battery deliver "smart" battery telemetry?
Thanks Curtis.
Yes, CORE SWX made those at my request with the idea that they’d add them to the product line. Yes, I can power the 888 with the TAF4 cable. I haven’t checked for battery telemetry as my plan is to use these for my MixPre.
@ Thanks Curtis.
Went down this rabbit hole last week and this product is an amazing solution. Thank you for sharing. One question I didn’t catch, can you charge the batteries while in use? For studio use I like to run my equipment like that in case of a power drop.
Hello! We do not suggest using the battery while it is charging. It is super easy to utilize two at a time and remove and add Snaps as you go though. With communication with the device as well, for example, our PD Pro to TA4 cable supports telemetry, so the device will show the battery level as well as our wrap around LEDs.
Thanks for letting us know! I wasn't sure and was a little concerned about trying.
Hi Curtis,
Thank you for bringing those great products to our attention.
This one looks so innovative. Makes a power distributor unnecessary for basic set ups, like when you need to have an endless electric energy supply for one device, as I understand it.
I have a question. How strong are those magnets? Do you think they are going to be reliable in the field? Both between the batteries and also the plate.
I also have to say i was really surprised how much more hungry, like double, the Sound Devices is over the Zoom F8
Thanks
Unless you're pulling 3+ Gs, they should hold 😉 They're very strong.
Note that the MixPre was in 32-bit float mode while the F8n Pro was not, so that is part of the reason that the MixPre power time was so much less. But the MixPre 10 II is more power hungry than the F8n Pro.
Great review Curtis! Good to hear they don’t produce ground loops with higher end decks like Sound Devices but have you had a chance to test them via USB-C power delivery to hybrid mirrorless like Z9/SIIx/ etc.? Many of these really suffer from USB related digital noise when powered via PD directly.
Thanks! Not sure - I don't have a Sony on hand to test with. 😔
Can one battery power 2 different devices at same time?
Yes, as long as they don’t draw more current than the battery can supply.
Thank you
🙏
Hi
Dear Curtis
Do you recommend these batteries for SD 833? If not, then what economy solution do you suggest? Thanks
Yes, should do the job nicely.
Are the batteries replaceable?
It IS a replaceable battery. I don’t know if the cells inside this can be swapped out at end of life.
Very very important Question to Powerbase:
Can you get the pairing mechanism for the Batteries for them to be able to be connected on the sides of the battery? This i think would be like the ultimate step concerning the storing of the batteries in the soundbag
Not sure I follow. Three output ports are on one of the small ends of the battery and the fourth (p-tap) is on one of the long sides.
Hi Curtis, do yiu have any thoughts about the new c
Comica v40? It looks very interesting but id not seen the bran before. 32 bit float on board recording
Thanks
I have not had a good experience with any of the Comica devices I've used so far. Maybe this is the first time they got it right. 🤷
are they airplane safe to travel? how many can I take on plane? also can this power my MacBook?
Yes, in the US, they'll allow you to carry them on. I don't know how many they'll allow. Yes, it can power any USB-C device.
@@curtisjudd nice must know because I work in China. Need confirmation. Assume I am not allowed to bring two from China to Usa
Thanks! Very informative review… a few questions: 1)weatherproofing - I didn’t notice any port covers, 2)charging duration times & differences between a) normal usb c and usb power delivery and b) charging one battery vs two when magnetically paired. Also, some battery makers describe case strength by citing drop tests - any info re this? Do you know what cells are being used ( Sanyo, Panasonic, or off brand) - this seems relevant re product life.
Thanks.
1) They are not weather proofed as far as I can see. I would position the batteries in my sound bag with the weatherproof cover for rainy situations.
2) It depends on the charging device/adapter you use. With my Aputure generator, it took around an hour if memory serves.
3) No info on drop tests that I saw
4) I don't know which cells they're using but they do cite 2000 charge cycles, so they're likely quality Li-ion (not Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells.
A couple remarks:
The ability of the cable to "tell" the battery what voltage to send is part of the basic USB-C PD (Power Delivery) spec and not exclusive to Core-SWX. There are plenty of "standard" USB-C PD cables for things like DTAP and Hirose out there already, that work with any USB-C PD battery or charger.
None of this is to dismissive of Core-SWX, though - they make very nice (if expensive) stuff. I have one of their 4-station V-mount smart chargers along with their 150- and 300 (!) W*hr batteries. Their big chargers and batteries include a networked fleet-management solution for high-volume uses, and provide features like battery testing/conditioning.
I haven’t seen another USB-C PD cable that actually shows what voltage has been negotiated.
There are v mounts that can be doubled.
Cool. Who makes them? Can they also be charged while connected together?
Nice to see a manufacture doing something about the crappy USB-C connector. Is this shrouded connector an industry standard? Or is it CORE proprietary format?
Captain Obvious says "Duh" for video over the USB cable. It is a USB cable designed to pass data at 20(80?) Mb/sec per data pair. The question is do they just tie the data pairs together or have they put a small USB hub inside. Are the hubs in each battery connected together.
Which brings up the batteries themselves. Each battery has its own buck/boost DC converter to adjust the PD voltage. So you get double the current by using two cables. One for each battery pack.
Finally the cables. Realize the power delivery programming in the "custom" connector is some simple passive circuitry. I think it is just how you wire some pins. Maybe a couple of resistors.
Questions, questions, questions.
From that I gather, CORE made it since the industry hasn't. All the rest are great questions!