Kinetik HC1200 Battery Review

Many years ago, I lived in the Canadian Prairie region. It wasn’t uncommon to have cold winter temperatures reach -40 degrees, and I grew up learning about block heaters, battery blankets, and all the other devices folks living in arctic temperatures have to use to keep their vehicles running through the winter. Batteries were tended to regularly, and replaced at the first sign of weakness.

These days I’ve traded the -40° below winters for months of intense heat in the Sonoran desert of Arizona at our product testing facility. And you may be surprised to learn I actually have to replace my vehicles batteries / power cells even more often since moving here. The intense heat of an Arizona summer kills batteries even quicker than the Canadian winter did, so what you choose to power your car and its audio system with is critical. Recently, I had noticed voltage drops that were more severe than normal, and significant headlight dimming when strong bass notes hit. These were all sure signs that the death of my truck battery was imminent, and I knew I’d better start looking for a top quality replacement power cell very soon.

As luck would have it, the folks at Kinetik have come up with a new high quality power cell perfect for my application, the Kinetik HC1200. The HC1200 fits right between the HC800 and HC1400 power cells in terms of both power and size. Where the HC1400 measures 9 x 5.3 x 8.1 inches high, making it too large to fit in some popular sport compact applications, the new HC1200 power cell measures a relatively diminutive 7.75 x 6.5 x 6.875 inches high.

The Kinetik HC1200 power cells are AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) high power-density batteries. They are “sealed” and can be mounted in any position, although upside down is not recommended. These permanently sealed batteries are completely maintenance free, and use a recombination reaction to prevent the escape of hydrogen and oxygen gases which are normally lost to the atmosphere in a regular lead acid battery.

Specifically designed for car audio applications, the HC1200 power cells have very low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) which allows them to provide almost instantaneous current to the amplifier. These power cells also maintain a higher voltage when loaded, and because of the construction, are far more superior to a regular battery in terms of heat and vibration resistance. Each HC1200 battery weighs about 28 pounds.

After I replaced the old lead acid battery with the new Kinetik HC1200 power cell, the results were immediately apparent. The truck cranked much more quickly, and the voltage stayed higher at idle when using a lot of high current equipment like lights, AC and the audio system. The headlight dimming was all but gone, and I occasionally seemed to sense the bass was a bit tighter as well. All in all, the Kinetik HC1200 was the perfect replacement for my vehicle, and the next time you need a battery, do yourself a favor and check out the offerings from Kinetik. I’m really glad I did! For more applications (from racing to car audio) and information visit www.kinetikaudio.com