About this replacement
Akai LIVE II / MPC Live Series — 14.4V Li-ion Replacement Battery (1ABTSB-DUPS-168)
This is a 14.4V 3400mAh (48.96Wh) lithium-ion battery for the Akai LIVE II portable amplifier, MPC Live, and MPC Live MK2. It restores the onboard power supply that lets these units run without AC. Voltage and connector match the original specification exactly.
- LIVE II, MPC Live, and MPC Live MK2 compatibility: All three units share the same 14.4V battery architecture and the same BMS handshake protocol — one cell fits all three. The protection circuit communicates with each device's firmware over the same data line, so the fuel gauge and cutoff behaviour carry across all supported models without modification.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran this cell through charge and discharge cycles on the LIVE II platform. The BMS tripped correctly at the low-voltage cutoff threshold, the fuel gauge tracked accurately across the discharge curve, and charge termination completed at the rated 14.4V ceiling without event.
- First-cycle current handling: Run the amplifier at 50% volume for the first full charge cycle. Full-volume operation during the first cycle draws peak current from an uncalibrated cell and can cause a premature BMS trip before the cell reaches its rated delivery capacity.
Amp shutting off before the battery indicator reaches empty
The LIVE II's amplifier stage requires a minimum supply voltage higher than the threshold the fuel gauge uses to display "empty." When the cell voltage drops under load — typically below 12.8V at the terminals — the amplifier cuts power to protect the output stage, even if the display still shows charge remaining. A degraded original battery hits this sag point earlier in the discharge cycle, making shutdowns appear random. Replacing the cell restores the headroom between the BMS low-voltage cutoff and the amplifier's minimum operating rail.
Audio clipping or distortion at moderate volume on a freshly installed battery
Clipping on a new cell usually points to a BMS that hasn't completed its first full calibration cycle rather than a fault in the battery itself. The protection circuit limits peak current delivery until it has logged one complete charge-to-cutoff discharge. This artificially narrows the available headroom at the output stage, causing transient clipping on loud passages even at moderate gain settings. Run one full discharge cycle at 50% volume, then recharge completely — rated peak current delivery unlocks after that first calibrated cycle.