Review on Sena Motorcycle Bluetooth Communication System by Demetrio Lowe

I had headphones from Sena and Cardo. It deserves first place in the rating. Pros: Physical Interface: The wheel and buttons feel great and are easy to find. Definitely better than the little buttons on Cardo. Not that you need to touch it anymore as the voice commands are very good now. Voice commands: Hello Sena. "Paste Command Here" works as advertised and does pretty much anything you want it to do. I'd rate the voice commands a little higher than the Cardo, and that's saying something (no pun intended). Sound Quality: The speakers are very good. IMHO, from JBL to Cardo Packtalk. Good balance and absolutely louder than the competition. Now I can clearly hear and understand intercom and music at high speeds. There are built-in equalizer settings, but it seems that it gets reduced at maximum volume. Mesh 2.0: In a word. just awesome. It has public grid mode for intercom with anti-idiot. Turn on the device, set up the antenna and press the grid button and you'll be instantly speaking to anyone close to the Sena. If you prefer to set up a private group grid, press and hold the button for 5 seconds or the "Hey sen group grid" command to force you to only talk to your team. Seriously, it couldn't be easier. Beats Cardo in my book for ease of use. The network is really strong. It has significant battery life, which brings me to my first call. Backward Compatibility: The clamp is fully compatible with previous 20s/30k models, but the gasket has been updated for better water repellency and the speakers at 50's are the heads. and tails are better than previous generations. However, it's VERY nice that you can use existing mounts. So if you already have a few helmets equipped, you're good to go. Intercom in Bluetooth before the 20's also worked fine, but I haven't tested it much. Accessories: This includes a small charging cable with WiFi dongle. Once configured, it will check for firmware updates and apply them automatically. The first night I had it I plugged it in and the next morning I was greeted with Software 1.0.2. All the configurations and operations you need are always at your fingertips. "Not-So-Amazing" Battery Life: Definitely yes. The battery life is not on the level of Cardo. I'm hoping maybe a software update will help, but I was only able to get by for 5.5-6 hours with the intercom and music streaming working. This is somewhat mitigated by the LARGE fast loading. We stopped for 15 minutes for fuel, a bio break and a bite to eat and I popped it into my USB. During that time, it went from 17% to 85%, but Cardo would have lasted all day. Something to be aware of, but not a showstopper in my book. They can be driven and used while charging. The first race went VERY well, albeit with some problems. After about 5 hours of driving, she reported a weak battery. A little later she turned off the grid to stretch out the leftovers (bluetooth uses half the grid battery) but actually appeared to set up a bluetooth channel with another rider so I could continue the conversation, which was nice. After charging, I had to turn the device off and back on to get the mesh channel back, otherwise I'd get "mesh off, bluetooth on". A software fix is probably in the works. Not perfect, but overall pretty cool. Waterproof: or lack thereof. I'm not 100% sure how much that would matter in real life, but there isn't an IP rating like Cardo devices. However, they improved the seal on the clamp and flipped the rubber cover on the USBC charging port. The time will show. Interspecies Communication: Everyone on my team has Sen units, and my daughter has my aged 20s. Know that they all tout the "universal couple," but making a bond between Sena and Cardo is a wicked tale and some will hate it. One device is using universal pairing and the other must be in second phone pairing mode. If you had a phone and a GPS paired, you're a skunk. In addition, the range is poor and the voice quality is hoarse. I would not buy a new communication device from another supplier and expect uninterrupted communication between the two worlds. Pick one and stick with it. Hope that helps.