Sena 50s or Cardio
Discussion
Had both Sena and Cardo units in recent times (also on a GS). Low down: my Sena (SRL Mesh): Once connected by Bluetooth to the phone it will re-couple in seconds each time you turn it on with no tinkering required. Will connect flawlessly by Mesh to other units with the push of one button. Battery lasts for 6+ hours, probably eight. It is idiot-proof, totally reliable and good for a whole day's riding. Charges from dead in about 45mins. Real range bike to bike is probably about a quarter of a mile.
Before the Sena I used a Cardo rider pack with Mrs 968CS (two matching units in the box). In 3 years I never got it to reliably connect between the units. In the end we gave up. The units also confused Bluetooth signals when we were both using them even when you told the phone to forget them. The instructions were unfathomable - badly translated in to English and massively technical. Using the one unit just for listening to music on my commute etc was easy enough and the sound quality was superb. After about 2 years of almost daily use my unit wouldn't hold a charge as the battery was shot. From new it lasted about 6 hours on a charge.
Verdict: Cardo was massively frustrating, confusing to set up, and never worked reliably as an intercom. The Sena is ridiculously easy to use, totally reliable and with good battery life. Despite having Harmon Kardon speakers the sound quality of the Sena is way short of the Cardo unit and will drown out at high motorway speeds. The Cardo has more bass and overall volume. The Sena sounds tinny by comparison and doesn't give as much volume. It's perfect for comms but not so good for music. Definitely improves when using ear peace ear buds.
So, Sena is better in almost every way except sound quality. As a user experience it's massively better than the Cardo.
Before the Sena I used a Cardo rider pack with Mrs 968CS (two matching units in the box). In 3 years I never got it to reliably connect between the units. In the end we gave up. The units also confused Bluetooth signals when we were both using them even when you told the phone to forget them. The instructions were unfathomable - badly translated in to English and massively technical. Using the one unit just for listening to music on my commute etc was easy enough and the sound quality was superb. After about 2 years of almost daily use my unit wouldn't hold a charge as the battery was shot. From new it lasted about 6 hours on a charge.
Verdict: Cardo was massively frustrating, confusing to set up, and never worked reliably as an intercom. The Sena is ridiculously easy to use, totally reliable and with good battery life. Despite having Harmon Kardon speakers the sound quality of the Sena is way short of the Cardo unit and will drown out at high motorway speeds. The Cardo has more bass and overall volume. The Sena sounds tinny by comparison and doesn't give as much volume. It's perfect for comms but not so good for music. Definitely improves when using ear peace ear buds.
So, Sena is better in almost every way except sound quality. As a user experience it's massively better than the Cardo.
To balance Gixer's review, I just bought a set of Cardo Packtalk Neo for me and my wife, dead easy to set up, and they link up with our respective phones instantly when switched on. We've used them on a few short trips and apart from the original setup which took all of 2 minutes all we have done is switch them on and off and they've been faultless.
They'll also mesh with any brand apparently.
They'll also mesh with any brand apparently.
Alex@POD said:
To balance Gixer's review, I just bought a set of Cardo Packtalk Neo for me and my wife, dead easy to set up, and they link up with our respective phones instantly when switched on. We've used them on a few short trips and apart from the original setup which took all of 2 minutes all we have done is switch them on and off and they've been faultless.
They'll also mesh with any brand apparently.
That’s much the same experience I’ve had with with my Packtalk bold, the JBL speakers are good compared with previous senna and interphone units. They'll also mesh with any brand apparently.
I use mine to talk to mates on other bikes (using the same setup) and have been surprised with the range and clarity.
I’m used to using it now so the functions are easy enough, the phone app works well if you have it mounted on the bars to switch between things.
It reconnects very quickly if one of you drops out of range too, something the previous interphone struggled with.
One thing I don’t get on with is talking to the unit for functions, but that’s the same with most things so it’s probably me.
Edited by Speed addicted on Monday 5th August 11:22
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