Thinking about a Sena bluetooth | GTAMotorcycle.com

Thinking about a Sena bluetooth

shanekingsley

shanekingsley

Curry - so nice it burns you twice
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I have the Scala G9 set for my wife and I which has finally bit the dust, probably due to repeated moisture from heavy rains. Maybe we have excessively sweaty ears. Not sure what is wrong with my unit because it lights up fine, but no sound, so I'm guessing the speakers are the cause of the fault. My wife's unit only has the left speaker working. I always forget how to operate the buttons, especially since I didn't pay attention in Finite math to understand the permutations of a Scala 6 button set-up.

Anyways - time for a new comms set-up and I think I'm done with Cardo products, so looking to try out Sena. I see they have the 20s and the 20s evo and some other models, but I have no experienced with them. I'm not really looking for multi rider group talking, so not sure what folks here use and would recommend. I plan to use it for:
  • Music with ability to plug in earphones, but I would like good quality speakers if that's even possible.
  • Talking up to 4 riders max - likely 1-2 others.
  • Passenger communication
  • GPS - not sure because I usually hate turn by turn nav and prefer to know my route beforehand and just use the visuals of the GPS.
What would you suggest is the best for what I want? Any decent deals going on for them?

Thanks!
 
This ticks all the boxes. I had the older version before, still works after 4 years, just replaced it with this new re-design last month due to being much easier to control with gloves on. The last one survived a low side, even properly detached from the helmet as indented and flew across the road, ran over by a car, and still works.

This one is much nicer, loud, no connection issues, feels premium with good grip and dampening on the knob. It connects with other systems, and is very straight forward to use. I can also sadly say, it has survived a low side too ?

Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset FX6 6 Riders Group Intercom Bluetooth Motorcycle Communication System with FM/ 1000M Helmet Intercom System/Voice Dial/Hands-Free Call/Usable While Charging: Amazon.ca: Electronics

Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset FX6 6 Riders Group Intercom Bluetooth Motorcycle Communication System with FM/ 1000M Helmet Intercom System/Voice Dial/Hands-Free Call/Usable While Charging: Amazon.ca: Electronics
www.amazon.ca
 
ScorpionT16 said:
This ticks all the boxes. I had the older version before, still works after 4 years, just replaced it with this new re-design last month due to being much easier to control with gloves on. The last one survived a low side, even properly detached from the helmet as indented and flew across the road, ran over by a car, and still works.

This one is much nicer, loud, no connection issues, feels premium with good grip and dampening on the knob. It connects with other systems, and is very straight forward to use. I can also sadly say, it has survived a low side too

Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset FX6 6 Riders Group Intercom Bluetooth Motorcycle Communication System with FM/ 1000M Helmet Intercom System/Voice Dial/Hands-Free Call/Usable While Charging: Amazon.ca: Electronics

Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset FX6 6 Riders Group Intercom Bluetooth Motorcycle Communication System with FM/ 1000M Helmet Intercom System/Voice Dial/Hands-Free Call/Usable While Charging: Amazon.ca: Electronics
www.amazon.ca
Click to expand...

Also had an older version of this. First one failed after ~4 months, replaced under warranty and died again after ~2 months. Maybe the new model is better.


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I've had the opposite experience - a friend of mine has gone through several Sena's and has had problems, including one (rather expensive model, at that) which had to go back for warranty replacement after getting wet *once* in the rain.

My Cardo's on the other hand have been rocks through everything I've thrown at them...and I bought them second hand, at that.
 
These things have come a long way since I bought my G9. Back then it felt like there was only Sena and Scala and everything else was a super cheap knock-off. That Lexin unit looks like it might do exactly what I want and the price is pretty good.

I started off with a Scala Q2 which was decent, but sounded like AM radio and then I had a G4 and then a G9. All of my Scala units crapped the bed at some point - usually what felt like too early considering how much use they received.
 
Be careful, you do get what you pay for. I went the cheap knockoff route before getting the Scalas, and I know a few who have done the same.

We all own mainstream models now.
 
I love my Packtalk. So much so it got about a half dozen others I know to get one. The Packtalk is a lot different from the G9's controls. I really only use a handful of functions. Play/next track, google voice, volume roller. I've also patched in many phone calls into the mesh with the group of people I was riding with.

Ultimately its about who else you ride with. Mesh is everything once you experience it with buddies and Mesh requires brand compatibility. If you are in a bubble of Cardo mesh users (packtalk, packtalk bold, packtalk slim) or Sena (30k, 50k, 50r), then you don't have a choice.

Warranty is not bad either when it comes to Cardo. I'm on my second unit cause my first one was only holding a charge of around 4 hours after nearly 2 years. I kind of neglected to mention that it was probably being used 30-40 hours a week on average so it was well loved by the time i called in about it (i was actually just asking about cost to buy a battery). Zero hassle warranty replacement.

I'm at year 4 of my packtalk and the speaker cables are starting to harden and crack. Not a big deal as its about time to upgrade the speakers to the JBL 40mm, not that I find the volume lacking, even over my ear plugs.
 
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For what it's worth, I've been running a Sena 20S for about 5 years/minimum of 70,000km's, lots of rain included. Zero issues and it continues to work perfectly. A friend once decided to test how waterproof his was and dropped it in a cup of water, found out it's not 100% waterproof...

My use case isn't quite the same as yours. 99% of the time it's used strictly for streaming music and the occasional phone call. I have almost no idea how well it works as a communicator since it's too much work to figure out how to pair it. Usually just end up calling people when needed.

Saying that, whenever it dies, I'll likely replace it with a Cardo. According to Fortnine's semi-recent review on their youtube channel, which I find reasonably reliable, it's the best one with the best speakers. I don't have enough faith in the Chinese cheapies to work when I need them, I'd rather pay a premium for some perceived reliability, better R&D, and support.

I briefly owned a Cardo G4 or G9, can't remember, before getting the Sena. Main reason for upgrading was that Cardo didn't allow passthrough charging back then. You could either use it, or charge it, but not both. Not great when you're riding all day. The Sena does passthrough, as do the newer Cardo's. Personally, I would make sure that whatever unit you decide on can do passthrough.
 
The only person I'm planning to talk with while riding is my fella, and we may be on the Spyder together, or he may be on his bike. Still thinking I'll try the Lexin first.
 
regder said:
For what it's worth, I've been running a Sena 20S for about 5 years/minimum of 70,000km's, lots of rain included. Zero issues and it continues to work perfectly. A friend once decided to test how waterproof his was and dropped it in a cup of water, found out it's not 100% waterproof...

My use case isn't quite the same as yours. 99% of the time it's used strictly for streaming music and the occasional phone call. I have almost no idea how well it works as a communicator since it's too much work to figure out how to pair it. Usually just end up calling people when needed.

Saying that, whenever it dies, I'll likely replace it with a Cardo. According to Fortnine's semi-recent review on their youtube channel, which I find reasonably reliable, it's the best one with the best speakers. I don't have enough faith in the Chinese cheapies to work when I need them, I'd rather pay a premium for some perceived reliability, better R&D, and support.

I briefly owned a Cardo G4 or G9, can't remember, before getting the Sena. Main reason for upgrading was that Cardo didn't allow passthrough charging back then. You could either use it, or charge it, but not both. Not great when you're riding all day. The Sena does passthrough, as do the newer Cardo's. Personally, I would make sure that whatever unit you decide on can do passthrough.
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I didn't consider the passthrough charging which is a good feature for longer distance stuff - so thanks. Which Cardo were you looking at on Fortnine?
 
Aens said:
I love my Packtalk. So much so it got about a half dozen others I know to get one. The Packtalk is a lot different from the G9's controls. I really only use a handful of functions. Play/next track, google voice, volume roller. I've also patched in many phone calls into the mesh with the group of people I was riding with.

Ultimately its about who else you ride with. Mesh is everything once you experience it with buddies and Mesh requires brand compatibility. If you are in a bubble of Cardo mesh users (packtalk, packtalk bold, packtalk slim) or Sena (30k, 50k, 50r), then you don't have a choice.

Warranty is not bad either when it comes to Cardo. I'm on my second unit cause my first one was only holding a charge of around 4 hours after nearly 2 years. I kind of neglected to mention that it was probably being used 30-40 hours a week on average so it was well loved by the time i called in about it (i was actually just asking about cost to buy a battery). Zero hassle warranty replacement.

I'm at year 4 of my packtalk and the speaker cables are starting to harden and crack. Not a big deal as its about time to upgrade the speakers to the JBL 40mm, not that I find the volume lacking, even over my ear plugs.
Click to expand...
Having the ability to upgrade the speakers to something much better and then just use earplugs is something I could be interested in, if the sound quality was good.
 
shanekingsley said:
Having the ability to upgrade the speakers to something much better and then just use earplugs is something I could be interested in, if the sound quality was good.

I'm not sure I ride with the same groups enough to make the mesh thing worthwhile. I would prefer something that could connect to any other bluetooth headset - just one or two riders at a time since I prefer the smaller groups anyways.
Click to expand...
 
shanekingsley said:
I didn't consider the passthrough charging which is a good feature for longer distance stuff - so thanks. Which Cardo were you looking at on Fortnine?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure this is the video, I was thinking of:

He rags on the Sena's and raves about the Cardo Pactalks. I actually like my Sena, so I'm hoping the eventual Cardo will be that much better.

Passthrough is key as I think most of them run out of juice after 8 hours ish of music. I have a tiny battery bank with charging cable in my top jacket pocket. Plug it in when it gets low and don't have to worry about it again.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Be careful, you do get what you pay for. I went the cheap knockoff route before getting the Scalas, and I know a few who have done the same.

We all own mainstream models now.
Click to expand...

Not always the case with these electronics, the units on Amazon that have the $80+ price tag, are all very good, just different skins and looks.

All these brands from Scala, to cardo are utilizing chips and factories abroad, I studied industrial design and worked in consumer electronics for a while, seeing these factories and supply chains first hand, including how knock offs operate (our company got knocked off lol). The premium price paid for the other units comes into marketing, packaging, and customer support. Thats all, there maybe a feature or 2 more, a proprietary adaptor, mount etc... However the internals, and durability, no different. In fact, some of the premium knock offs can be better since they don't have as many overhead costs and know the supply chain much better, including materials.

Add amazon into the equation with top-notch customer support, and something most of these brands like FOD sports are working towards, it's actually still over priced at $100/unit, I can breakdown the cost of internals and the marks-up the big boys are claiming are crazy. Things you don't want to buy knock-offs for include safety equipment or anything mechanical, the use cheap motors and love to bypass saftey standards.

Another cost that larger companies add to mark-ups are the certifications, just that CE level stuff is in the tens of thousands. And all these amazon units come with legit certificates due to using already passed components/architecture, and just rebranding and changing the cases.

Order one from amazon, try, nothing to loose shane, free returns :)
 
One thing of note. Most of the bluetooth communicators have audio quality that is... bluetooth like with comms. The mesh network comms sound proper and with fidelity. The reason being Bluetooth Intercom and Bluetooth Mesh are bluetooth standards. Audio quality being dictated by the protocol.

With the 30mm units on my packtalk, I could, in a quiet room, easily hear the music that is playing with my helmet on the desk. The 40mm will help with the highs and lows.

I always ride with ear plugs and music playing.
 
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I'm still rocking a Scala G4 from way back.
It has survived a crash (60k/hr, went flying, bystander came by when I was flat out waiting for the ambulance wanted to know if it was my MP3 player).
Popped it back in, works great, that was 6 years ago.
I want the new pack talk slim, pricey though...I'll wait till the G4 flat out dies.
 
Shane sent you a PM.

I run my SENA 20 with no speakers and just the Shure 215s and it's bliss. Really easy volume control to use with gloves and it has small increments.
The earphones plug into the sender unit....I stuff the spaces for speakers in the helmet with spare earplugs to kill resonance.
Not sure about charging on the fly but I find the 20s good for the day or more. Never had the issue with the SENA about moisture that I did with the Carda but all of them need to have the ports carefully sealed.
 
We all have old Sena's. I have a 10c, other rider 10c, other rider 10c plus, another rider smh10. Comms work well except distance isnt all that. hooks up well with all the phones, 1 Android and 3 Apple. I like the jog wheel. Wind noise is variable depending on helmet visor up/down and mic placement. No water damage on any units however Sena claims water resistant, so be careful of that one, but no problems with rain on any unit 6 yrs riding with Sena. Im the android guy, works well with Google Assistant. Battery life is great as long as you dont run the camera more than 1-1.5 hours. Speakers are loud enough and I wear earplugs.

I swapped out the battery of the 10c for 10 bucks, there is a YouTube video on how to do it. Stripped a screw Phoned Sena they sent me 5 for free. I hear some horror stories about Sena, but our group has has no problems at all in 6yrs. Cant speak to the new stuff though.
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