[danlalan]

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

I am really confused now if i really want to invest in a Bluetooth intercom. For now i want to keep using my AirPods and when things open up and i have a pillion rider, i might start my hunt for a good music Bluetooth with intercom device again.

If you dont want to invest. Buy a used set until you make up your mind. Speak of which i have a scala packtalk i want to get rid of since i stopped riding. If your interested i could DM you the details.

[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

I was looking for a Bluetooth intercom. I usually ride solo or with my wife as pillion. I do not travel in groups. My needs are
1. Being able to interact with pillion clearly
2. Ability to share music with pillion
3. Great sound quality for music - I don’t play it loud.. I just like listening to mild music as if it is playing in the background.. But the quality of music (not the loudness) has to be great.
4. Take calls and listen to audio messages / Map directions etc.

I was looking to buy Sena SMH5 or the ASG SG5. However, seeing all the review comments i understand that these only serve as good intercoms and for answering calls. But has poor audio (music) quality and lacks service support.

I am really confused now if i really want to invest in a Bluetooth intercom. For now i want to keep using my AirPods and when things open up and i have a pillion rider, i might start my hunt for a good music Bluetooth with intercom device again.

Except for point number 2, the ASG SG5 does everything flawlessly. I had purchased two sets, one for me and my wife, since we travel together - and till date it has to be one of the best decisions. Sure you need to get used to changing the settings a bit if you have to switch between 'intercom' and 'music playing' - but once that's muscle memory, you (and pillion) are sorted.

Quality of music depends on whether you are playing from a low bitrate mp3 or a high bitrate flac/wav files From our experience, the music quality hasn't let us down. Genres include Heavy rock to blues to ambient jazz. No issues with 128kbps mp3 files

Don't worry I won't get into the bitrate specifics - but it depends more on the wind noise buffering of your helmet than the BT speakers on their own. In windy or cross wind scenarios, even the best of the speakers won't be helpful.

Also from a price pov, the ASG is cheaper than the airpods!

[Vikashmalya]

Originally Posted by TheVaas

Except for point number 2, the ASG SG5 does everything flawlessly.
Quality of music depends on whether you are playing from a low bitrate mp3 or a high bitrate flac/wav files
Also from a price pov, the ASG is cheaper than the airpods!

You are right. Partly the quality depends on the source. I don’t compromise on my music and use Tidal, Spotify and Apple Music for all my music needs. Hence that piece is taken care of. My concern is on the device i use to listen while wearing helmet. Predominantly most of the reviews that are online (related to Sena, ASG or VNET etc) indicates that the audio (music) is compromised.

Also, i already own AirPods Pro and did not buy it for use in my helmet. I have been using it for 2 years and Airpods 1st gen since launch. I love these along with my studio headphones. If you ask me if i would buy an AirPods Pro for helmet. The answer is “May be”. Though it is not best suited for helmets, it is cross functional.

The dilemma is primarily due to the fact that i would like to have devices that are cross functional and not restricted in use IF I AM PAYING A PREMIUM (I don’t mind spending a maximum of 10k for this). The Bluetooth intercoms are highly restrictive in use. Other than when riding, there is very little use for these devices. Hence, i find it really difficult to convince myself to invest over 25k (Cardo that comes with HD Audio and i guess one comes with Bose speakers) for a device that will have limited use.

May be as you said, i may go for Sena SMH 5 which has music sharing or ASG SG5, but i want to wait a bit more to evaluate my options.

[JoeTheWanderer]

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

I was looking for a Bluetooth intercom. I usually ride solo or with my wife as pillion. I do not travel in groups. My needs are
1. Being able to interact with pillion clearly
2. Ability to share music with pillion
3. Great sound quality for music - I don’t play it loud.. I just like listening to mild music as if it is playing in the background.. But the quality of music (not the loudness) has to be great.
4. Take calls and listen to audio messages / Map directions etc.

My use case is similar to yours except that my wife doesn't like riding so I usually ride solo.

I also use my wireless earbuds (the el cheapo CrossBeats Torq).

I was considering getting an entry level Sena as well but after some thought decided against it. My reasoning was that I already have a setup that works for me so I can't justify investing in something that offers me one extra feature (intercom) that I will probably never use.

In my case, I came to the conclusion that I didn't need a Sena, I just wanted one.

My wife accompanied me on a ride long time back. For intercom, both of us had wireless earbuds under our helmets and just placed a regular call. We could talk all we wanted. The only drawback with this juggad is that you can't share music - but that is not a problem for me.

My advice would be to wait for some time. If you feel that Sena (or Cardo, etc) offer a feature that you are missing in your current setup then perhaps getting one is justified.

[Sebring]

Sena has updated few offerings with HD Speakers. Look for the new black packaging, and S post-fix. These sound impressive, and are LOUD. Lock-down was announced and a friendly dealer offered me the entry-level SMH5 S at Rs 1,500 off. MRP is 13K and I got it for 11.50K. It was one of those impulse purchases I didn't give much thought to (Though I'd sworn off SENA)

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

I was looking to buy Sena SMH5. But has poor audio (music) quality

[Vikashmalya]

Originally Posted by Sebring

These sound impressive, and are LOUD

I see that you have used Parani earlier. How would you rate the sound quality, build quality and feature on SMH 5s compared to Parani? Is it considerable?

[Sebring]

Oh this is far superior (Very considerable). I don't understand how Parani is associated with SENA! This is North - South, literally

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

I see that you have used Parani earlier. How would you rate the sound quality, build quality and feature on SMH 5s compared to Parani? Is it considerable?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Oh this is far superior (Very considerable). I don't understand how Parani is associated with SENA! This is North - South, literally

Sena launched Parani to compete with all the Chinese sets flooding the market. Little did their customers realise that Sena was also competing alongside the Chinese quality front using the Parani name.

The whole Sena brand is just marketing and hype. Its cardo all the way as far as premium sets go. Cardo does almost no marketing in comparison.

[Vikashmalya]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Oh this is far superior (Very considerable). I don't understand how Parani is associated with SENA! This is North - South, literally

I took the plunge and got myself Sena 5s. I ordered it online via Bikenbiker's site. I had very low expectations on audio quality, but i must say the audio quality is exceptional. It comes with HD speakers that sounds great, bass is tight and cancels noise to some extend. Playing songs at low volume ensures that i am able to hear the ambient noise as well as enjoy the quality of music. I am glad that i chose this over Parani, ASG and SMH5. Thanks to you.

[OmV]

Hello Folks,

Does a Sena BT device (50S) purchased overseas enjoy warranty benefits in India? Or is warranty limited to the country of purchase.

[Sebring]

I got the new 50S from the US (Moved up from the basic 5S). Even this bejewel box packing is different from the Asian version I'm told. Regarding service, there is one distributor in Hyderabad because of whom Sena is available in India. I do not pin hopes on any backing over here for the products (Though its very rare for things to go wrong on Sena). If they do offer warranty and are recognizing exchange and repairs then I'd be surprised. Found out the hard way when my old Parani set (Part of Sena) had issues. I had to contact Sena USA and they emailed me saying Sena doesn't have support in India and I have to courier it to their South Korea unit. The system cost me around 5K, and I cant imagine how much the courier charges would have been

Originally Posted by OmV

Hello Folks, Does a Sena BT device (50S) purchased overseas enjoy warranty benefits in India? Or is warranty limited to the country of purchase.

[aswin93]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Sena has updated few offerings with HD Speakers. Look for the new black packaging, and S post-fix. These sound impressive, and are LOUD. Lock-down was announced and a friendly dealer offered me the entry-level SMH5 S at Rs 1,500 off. MRP is 13K and I got it for 11.50K. It was one of those impulse purchases I didn't give much thought to (Though I'd sworn off SENA)

Hey Sebring,
I recently picked up a 5s. Read many reviews where the device had issues with battery drain, How much would you say do we get mainly with just music/navigation? Just would like to test this out.

Cheers!
Aswin

[Sebring]

Not sure there as my rides are short. Should last 5 hours, I'm guessing. Back up is great though (I charge once in three weeks)

Originally Posted by aswin93

Hey Sebring, I recently picked up a 5s. Read many reviews where the device had issues with battery drain, How much would you say do we get mainly with just music/navigation? Just would like to test this out.

[Captain Slow]

My Order from https://www.asg.store/ has gone wrong - this was for a SG5 Bluetooth. Every day I get false promises that they are going to ship it to date nothing! Yesterday I got a tracking number that looks like it's fake - doesn't show up anything.

Requesting help from Bhpians if anyone has a contact whom I can reach out to?

[NTab]

Which Cardo?

I will be buying my first intercom, so there is no reference point for me. Going through various reviews and videos, I am strongly convinced that Cardo is the way to go. The confusion lies in the model. My requirements are only listening to Music and attending phone calls.

My choices are following:
1. Cardo Spirit + 40mm JBL speakers - ~₹14k. The only issue is that Spirit doesn’t come with any sound profiles. So it’s difficult to say how well the JBL speakers can be utilised.

2. Spirit HD- ₹13500. Better battery and HD speakers with sound profile. Seems the most logical choice.

3. Freecom2x - ₹19500. Costliest of the trio but comes standard with JBL speakers, and JBl sound profiles. Reviews suggest they sound great.


I know the 2x will sound best of the lot, but the question is whether it’s worth the extra ₹5000 over Spirit HD. Also, how well a rider will be able to differentiate between a great sounding speaker and a good sounding speaker driving at 80-100kmph with wind noise?

Any feedback is appreciated.