About this replacement
TDK Life on Record A360 / Q35 / Soma 360 — 7.2V Ni-MH Replacement Battery
This is a 7.2V, 2000mAh Ni-MH replacement battery for the TDK Life on Record A360, Life on Record Q35, and Soma 360 portable speakers. It slots into the internal battery bay and restores cordless audio playback after the original cell has degraded. No OEM part number is published for this battery; compatibility is confirmed by voltage, physical dimensions, and connector type.
- A360, Q35, and Soma 360 share this pack: All three models run the same 7.2V internal voltage rail and use the same physical bay — 100.80 × 43.20 × 14.50 mm. The BMS on each unit accepts the same charge termination signal, so one battery covers all three without modification.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through charge and discharge on the A360 platform. The BMS accepted charge correctly, delta-V cutoff triggered at full capacity, and the protection circuit held voltage within spec under audio amplifier load.
- Ni-MH discharge routine for these speakers: Ni-MH cells in always-on desk speakers develop voltage depression from repeated shallow cycling. Run the A360 down past 20% charge at least once a month before plugging in — this keeps cell voltage balanced across the pack and slows capacity fade.
Capacity fade from constant top-off charging on the A360
Ni-MH chemistry is sensitive to shallow cycling in a way Li-ion is not. When the A360 sits plugged in on a desk and never discharges below 50%, individual cells in the pack drift apart in voltage. Over months, the weakest cell hits the protection cutoff early, and the speaker shuts off while the other cells still have charge remaining. A monthly full discharge to near-empty resets this drift and keeps usable capacity close to the rated 2000mAh.
Audio distorting before the battery indicator reaches empty
This happens when the battery voltage sags under the combined current draw of the amplifier and Bluetooth radio at high volume. The amplifier clips before the fuel gauge catches up, so the speaker distorts while the indicator still shows charge remaining. It is not a speaker fault — it is the cell struggling to deliver peak current as capacity degrades. Replacing the pack and keeping it cycled fully restores clean output; check that resting voltage after a full charge reads at or above 8.4V.