I am moving onto the full face helmet. I never rode without one before until I bought this bike. I need to get back to it or I will be sorry when I scrape my pretty face when I dump it. With that said, I think I pretty much nailed down the helmet selection and will most likely go with Shoei modular Neotec 2.But, having tunes and being able to listen to the radio is important to me, so I need a speaker system in my helmet. I did some reading and I am struggling with selecting Cardo vs SENA. I would love to hear your opinions if you use one of these. My requirements are below, in order of importance.

1. Sound quality is very important to me. I listen to mostly music. I need a set that goes loud and clear.
2. Battery life - My longest trip would be probably 10 hours. I would like something that could handle it being connected via BT to my phone.
3. Fit of the speakers - I know this is subjective and depends on the helmet.
4. Easy connection to iOS.
5. Size - I would like to avoid a unit that is on a bigger size, but I am willing to consider one that has a great sound over smaller unit.

I don't ride with anyone, so group chat is something that I am not concerned about. If I ever need to use it, I know every unit provides that option.

My setup is:

My iPhone connected via USB cable with Apple CarPlay enabled via the plug. I would most likely just have it connected via BT to my phone. I just can't think of a better option?

I know Neotec comes in with option for SENA, but I read some reviews and people were not too crazy about that particular model. Are the speakers upgradable? SENA is preferred system, but from what I have been reading, Cardo has better sounding JBL speakers? Is that valid?

Thank you for your input!

 

As an alternative, have you considered some earbuds. I have both a BT and wired earbuds when I wear my FF helmet. Both sound good to me and the BT earbuds last about 7hrs and has noise canceling.

 

I have the Sena 10u for the Shoei Neotech. With continuous use the battery life is about 6 hours. Previous set went down to 4. Audio quality is fair…as it has very little bass. My AirPods sound so much better, but don’t have all the functionality I want.

I just got used to accepting mediocre audio quality for the convenience of being wireless. Then I plug them into the bike to charge them when we take a break. A 1 hour lunch break after 4 hours of use gets me another 4 hours…which is enough riding for a day.

Also, you can’t charge them while they are in use. And there is no indication of battery charge level.

 

I did think about it. The only thing that I wouldn't like is the idea of having them in my ears on longer trips. I would like something that is not inside my ear.

 

Damn, well... that's discouraging, since sound is important to me. I could live with the 4-6 hours usage time.

 

SENA has a speaker upgrade that you can for their 20S, 30K and 50 series that sound better than anything I have They are high fidelity and must be “activated” within the SENA utility app. When activated you may also choose which frequency range you want to accentuate. Prior to installing these speakers into my Neotech it was necessary to run the volume on my 2020 FLHXS infotainment / HD branded 30K at near maximum to hear music clearly and even then the quality of the SENA speakers sucked. Now I run volume at around 50% and the sound quality is great. This is with the good quality 27NPR earplugs that I always wear. I have had earbuds that didn’t sound as good as these speakers. I frequently turn them down to background noise levels so I can enjoy the music made by my S&S MK 45’s.

 

@jlelliott , is that a firmware upgrade that you pay and activate? Or another set of speakers?

Also, Does Neotec 2 come with a specific SENA model? EDIT: Looks like it's setup for a special version of SENA 20

 

you might want to check this out, caught it on youtube, https://domiomotorsports.com/ I have no experience with it just found it interesting

 

Been using LG Tone BT Earbuds for many years. With half helmets no less. Absolutely love them. Sound quality is really good for what they are and they also help block wind noise. And.......... if someone sends you a text message, (that you may/may not to get,lol), it stops the music and reads the message out to you in your ears. The wife and I tried HD's Half Helmet with built in speakers and wore them once. They are in their boxes to be sold some day.

PS- I forgot, although you really can't use them for this while riding, you can send/receive phone calls while you're stopped getting gas or whatever.

 

Don't laugh, but I have many helmets, one of which is a modular BILT helmet with an integrated Sena system an integrated speakers. I find that the audio quality is pretty good and the functionality of the whole system works as designed. Plus, it's pretty damn cheap for what it is.