Rider to rider blue tooth communication device
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,684
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From: Northeast, NJ
Technically the do work together, they both have a Universal Intercom feature, but what they don't tell you, unless you dig through their web sites, is that feature uses the phone Bluetooth connection, it connects from a Sena to a Cardo like you are connecting a headset to a phone. So you put one headset in universal pairing mode and the other one in phone pairing. You end up using your phone pairing slot and can't connect to your phone. And if for any reason you get disconnected you have to go back through the whole pairing process again. There is no quick way to reconnect them.
It would be nice if they came up with a standard way of connecting them across brands, then maybe still have the proprietary way within their own brand. When Mesh was first announced I really hoped that would be the case.
It would be nice if they came up with a standard way of connecting them across brands, then maybe still have the proprietary way within their own brand. When Mesh was first announced I really hoped that would be the case.
My wife and I use a duo SENA 30k. We both have our iPhones on a RAM mount on the handlebar of our Dyna Switchbacks. The phones have zero to do with rider to rider communication, but you can use your phone to set settings. The 30k sets work well for rider to rider communication, assuming the other person/people are also using the same setup. We can listen to music from our phones/navigation, and with a push of a button, interrupt that with direct communication. I would guess any of the better systems have this capability. I can't speak for other units, but the 30k can run independent blue tooth lines....1 for the phone, and 1 for a different bluetooth connection, like a competitor's unit. Once you read the manual a bit and get some experience on it, the controls are pretty easy to use.
My one complaint with this unit has been sound quality. The audio quality is far from great. However, SENA recently released the 50s and 50r, which are supposed to have more updated features and better sound quality. I recently picked up the speaker upgrade from the 50 series, but have yet to install it on my helmet.
My friend wanted a new setup, and he went with the Cardo due to the JBL speakers it comes with. We've toured a couple of times, me with the SENA and he with the Cardo, and while there is connectivity, there is a volume loss compared to a SENA to SENA connection, and the connection can get wonky at times. As has been mentioned, if you ride out of range, or inadvertently hit the wrong button on your unit, you have to re-pair the 2 units, although they do sometimes come back on their own.
I'd have no problem going with either of the 50 series SENA sets (or the 30k with speaker upgrades) or Cardo Packtalk Bold with JBLspeakers. If you ride with other people, find out what the majority of the group is using and go that way, otherwise, it's a tossup between the mentioned units.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 4,607
Likes: 3,311
From: Virginia
+1
My wife and I use a duo SENA 30k. We both have our iPhones on a RAM mount on the handlebar of our Dyna Switchbacks. The phones have zero to do with rider to rider communication, but you can use your phone to set settings. The 30k sets work well for rider to rider communication, assuming the other person/people are also using the same setup. We can listen to music from our phones/navigation, and with a push of a button, interrupt that with direct communication. I would guess any of the better systems have this capability. I can't speak for other units, but the 30k can run independent blue tooth lines....1 for the phone, and 1 for a different bluetooth connection, like a competitor's unit. Once you read the manual a bit and get some experience on it, the controls are pretty easy to use.
My one complaint with this unit has been sound quality. The audio quality is far from great. However, SENA recently released the 50s and 50r, which are supposed to have more updated features and better sound quality. I recently picked up the speaker upgrade from the 50 series, but have yet to install it on my helmet.
My friend wanted a new setup, and he went with the Cardo due to the JBL speakers it comes with. We've toured a couple of times, me with the SENA and he with the Cardo, and while there is connectivity, there is a volume loss compared to a SENA to SENA connection, and the connection can get wonky at times. As has been mentioned, if you ride out of range, or inadvertently hit the wrong button on your unit, you have to re-pair the 2 units, although they do sometimes come back on their own.
I'd have no problem going with either of the 50 series SENA sets (or the 30k with speaker upgrades) or Cardo Packtalk Bold with JBLspeakers. If you ride with other people, find out what the majority of the group is using and go that way, otherwise, it's a tossup between the mentioned units.
My wife and I use a duo SENA 30k. We both have our iPhones on a RAM mount on the handlebar of our Dyna Switchbacks. The phones have zero to do with rider to rider communication, but you can use your phone to set settings. The 30k sets work well for rider to rider communication, assuming the other person/people are also using the same setup. We can listen to music from our phones/navigation, and with a push of a button, interrupt that with direct communication. I would guess any of the better systems have this capability. I can't speak for other units, but the 30k can run independent blue tooth lines....1 for the phone, and 1 for a different bluetooth connection, like a competitor's unit. Once you read the manual a bit and get some experience on it, the controls are pretty easy to use.
My one complaint with this unit has been sound quality. The audio quality is far from great. However, SENA recently released the 50s and 50r, which are supposed to have more updated features and better sound quality. I recently picked up the speaker upgrade from the 50 series, but have yet to install it on my helmet.
My friend wanted a new setup, and he went with the Cardo due to the JBL speakers it comes with. We've toured a couple of times, me with the SENA and he with the Cardo, and while there is connectivity, there is a volume loss compared to a SENA to SENA connection, and the connection can get wonky at times. As has been mentioned, if you ride out of range, or inadvertently hit the wrong button on your unit, you have to re-pair the 2 units, although they do sometimes come back on their own.
I'd have no problem going with either of the 50 series SENA sets (or the 30k with speaker upgrades) or Cardo Packtalk Bold with JBLspeakers. If you ride with other people, find out what the majority of the group is using and go that way, otherwise, it's a tossup between the mentioned units.
I can't get enough audio level out of any of the Sena's I have tried since my original SMH10R about 6 years ago. The only solution I have found is using some sort of ear but plugged into the Sena. With my 20S I took the speakers out of the helmet and just use PlugPhones ear buds. They have about 20Db of hearing protection in them so they cut down on the noise and I can hear through the Sena.
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