AAA Rechargeable Batteries

I need to get some new batteries for my headphones, and since the last ones that I bought died prematurely (Eveready) I'm looking at some fairly non-descript brands. Most of the batteries that I have are 15 minute rechargeables, but that really isn't necessary for the headphones, since they have their own recharging cradle and spend a lot of time on it.

Therefore, I'm looking more at the mAh ratings, which is fairly simple (the best that I have found is 1800mAh), but some of them have cryptic suffixes to their listing such as Cell 0, P1, BU, M1 and the list goes on. Do these have any real significance?

Zepher said:

Buy a set of Sanyo Eneloops. Best rechargeable batteries you can buy.
Amazon.com: SANYO NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AAA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries: Electronics

How long to normal Alkaline batteries last in those headphones?

I didn't see the specs in that ad, but all of the Eneloop batteries that I have found previously are only 800mAh.

The original batteries usually lasted ~24 hours on a single charge, and their lifetime was perhaps a couple of years. The Eveready bunny must have gotten sick on my last batch of batteries. The pair that I put in one headphone is already dead after a few months, and the other pair only last 2-3 hours on a charge.

EDIT: I misread your question, I have no idea of how long normal alkaline batteries would last, I have never tried them.

Something else that seems curious, is that as might be expected, all of those generic batteries comes in a variety of colors, but the ads make a point of stating the colors, even though each ad already has a photo of them. Apparently, they must think that most people are color blind, or they want to leave the impression that the color makes a difference.

I've got the Sony 970R headphones with the stock batteries. I only put it on the cradle to charge about once a week. I haven't had them long enough to form an opinion on the batteries but the cradle charges for 16 hours then shuts off. This occurs no matter the charge state of the batteries so using the headphones for a few hours and recharging could lead to premature battery failure. "They" say the charge current is low but mine gets noticeably warm over the 16-hour charge. I haven't timed the use but it must be at least 24-30hrs a week and they've never died in use so I keep to the weekly charge cycle.

I wish that the charging could be turned off and on at the cradles, but it can't. the cradles are part of the transmitters of the Sennheiser RS 140 systems, which I have wall mounted, and serve nicely for a place to keep them hung without having them laying around this place and that. I do understand the idea of charging cycles, but since the original batteries held up well to this practice, I would think that others would also.

EDIT: Hmm. Maybe I need to devise a means of keeping the charging surfaces from coming into contact with each other, until they need charging. Not sure how I would do that, but it shouldn't be too difficult.