Sena 30K v 50S

[1moreroad]

Any preference? The 30K is on closeout right now for $190. The 50S is $260. Is the 50 really $70 better? Will use it with noise cancelling headphones. I'll definitely use it a couple of multi day rides a year with one riding buddy. Would probably use it for monthly afternoon rides with another friend. A riding buddy already has a Sena 50, so I'm not looking at Cardo. 

[Heli ATP]

You tube review with JED....

Sena

I like where Kat asks nearest fuel at around the 11:30 min mark...

Kat Kam

[Heli ATP]

On 2/2/2021 at 7:00 AM, 1moreroad said:

Any preference? The 30K is on closeout right now for $190. The 50S is $260. Is the 50 really $70 better? Will use it with noise cancelling headphones. I'll definitely use it a couple of multi day rides a year with one riding buddy. Would probably use it for monthly afternoon rides with another friend. A riding buddy already has a Sena 50, so I'm not looking at Cardo. 

Let us know what direction you go and how you like your choice.

[1moreroad]

On 2/3/2021 at 9:28 AM, Heli ATP said:

Let us know what direction you go and how you like your choice.

Bought the 50S.  Revzilla priced matched Amazon to $486.10 + tax for a pair.  It was less than 10% more expensive than the 30K on closeout.  I bought the 50K because 1 friend already has it and because the speakers are supposed to be a major upgrade according to reviews. 

2 rides with friends have been cancelled due to weather, so I haven't been able to try the intercom feature.

Overall impression - it's an impressive system.  Phone calls are clear to cruising highway speeds with speakers behind ear plugs.  My wife said my voice was slightly muffled, but she otherwise would not have known I was on a motorcycle.  Music is good to 65 mph.  Podcasts were only good to 45 mph.  Should be better with my Bose earbuds.

The Garmin <-> Sena Bluetooth connection is easy.

Physical installation was easy, and I took the chance to remove my helmet pads and wash them.  I noticed the weight of the intercom the very first time I picked up the helmet in my hands, but I don't notice it on my head.  I

 

 

There are negatives - every time I issue a voice command to my phone or to the Sena system, it says "Intercom failed" even when I successfully command my phone!  Voice commands to the Sena haven't worked at all yet.  The phone app is glitchy and keeps dropping the connection to the intercom then reconnecting.

There are a LOT of features all controlled with two buttons and a dial so you need to memorize a bunch of Nintendo cheat codes to access features like the radio.

Right now I need to use my Garmin Zumo as a Bluetooth hub.  Connecting everything to the Garmin is easy, and the Garmin gives me a display of my phone and Sena functions.  I thought the 50S had 2 Bluetooth channels.  My buddy who has had one since they first came out swears there is only one.  That means that I can only connect to the Garmin OR my phone OR another rider's Bluetooth intercom.  The 50S really relies on Mesh for the intercom function.  It would be nice to connect Garmin <-> phone, Garmin <-> Sena, AND phone <-> Sena via Bluetooth.

[1moreroad]

@Heli ATP Finally got a big ride in with the Sena. 

I got about 10 hours of talk time with Bluetooth to phone and Mesh to other rider. My buddy said he can get 16 hours with just Bluetooth. 

Intercom is very nice to have for heads up of what's down the road, asking for gas or restroom stops, or chatting. We had a crazy combination of hand gestures in the old days. 

All audio is clear up to 75 mph. The intercom channel gets harder to hear above 75.

Microphone noise cancelling is very, very good. Sound is better than my cellphone over the ear buds. 

There can be too much going on - intercom would drop out when the Garmin pinged a notification or gave a turn. I thought I had set it up to hear both at the same time, but I obviously didn't. 

We didn't get far apart in line of sight, but range is 500' to 1/4 mile around a corner. 

For my buddy - who almost always tours with at least one other person, intercoms are in his top 3 most important tech on the motorcycle. If you tour with others, I would agree. For me, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of trips are with others and I think they're nice to have.