Sena 30K vs Cardo Scala PackTalk

st11ray

st11ray

2006 ST1300
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
1,922
Location
charlotte, nc
Bike
'06 ST1300
Anybody have any experience with these two? My trusty old Autocom has finally bit the dust. Which way should I go. My main concerns are sound quality for mp3 music, phone sound quality and intercom. I don't use GPS and I rarely ride with others. Let's hear all the pros and cons.
 
st11ray said:
Anybody have any experience with these two? My trusty old Autocom has finally bit the dust. Which way should I go. My main concerns are sound quality for mp3 music, phone sound quality and intercom. I don't use GPS and I rarely ride with others. Let's hear all the pros and cons.
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I use the PackTalk and Love the sound in my open 1/2 helmet. Also friends don't know I'm riding when on phone calls.
To me the big plus is up to 15 other riders connected. But of course with all you have to make sure speakers are right over your ears.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
I’ve owned both the Scala G9 and the Sena 20s. The Sena wins. Better sound. Easier controls. Better weather proofing. The Scala plastic cover over the controls sun baked and disintegrated. The speakers are better on the Sena. Both are excellent, the Sena is better.
 
st11ray said:
My main concerns are sound quality for mp3 music, phone sound quality and intercom. I don't use GPS and I rarely ride with others. Let's hear all the pros and cons.
Click to expand...

I use a Sena SMH10 and it works great for what you need to do. IMO, buy the best Sena you can afford.
 
I have a 30K I've been testing for a review. Mesh intercom is a cool technology, does a better job at keeping a group connected than Bluetooth intercom. The 30K is otherwise quite similar to the 20S Evo (latest iteration of the 20S), so you can connected it via Bluetooth to your phone, GPS, etc. One thing I like about the 20S and 30K is you can connect in-ear speakers to the audio out jack and get way better sound quality than the helmet speakers. If you wear earplugs anyway, in-ear speakers can provide the sound attenuation you want plus you can listen to music or radio or intercom if you like.

I have no experience with Cadro Scala PackTalk so can't help you there.

--> FOLLOW UP: The 30K does not have Audio Multitasking in Bluetooth Intercom mode, which means if you connect to another BT intercom (like a Sena 20S) you can't have music playing in the background drop down automatically when you talk on BT intercom. No problem if you're connected on Mesh Intercom to another 30K, but there aren't a lot of those out there yet.

On a recent ride to Moonshine it was annoying that if I wanted to talk to another rider on an open BT intercom channel, I couldn't have music playing. If I wanted to talk via intercom I had to push the button on, then talk, then push it off if I wanted to hear music again. Reached out to Sena and they explained that on the 30K they did not include the Audio Multitasking functionality for BT intercom, only for Mesh intercom. I asked them to rethink that decision, citing the small number of 30K users available to connect with via Mesh. I asked if they could offer a firmware update to include Audio Multitasking for BT intercom. Not that they'll do what I ask, but I put it out there.
 
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I'm considering picking up a Sena or possibly the Cardo Packtalk as my old Starcomm1 is getting long in the tooth. I still use an old Sirius head unit that has a 3.5mm out. I simply plug this into my Starcomm1 and can listen to sat radio. With the wireless setups, how would I be able to listen to sat radio?

Also, is a person able to stream music from pandora, spotify, etc. from their smartphone to the Sena/Cardo unit?

Thanks
 
If you don't need the mesh technology, go for the 20S which IMHO is better than the 10 series. You don't need the 30K. Since the 20S EVO came out, the 20S are disappearing but on sale to clear them out.
 
Chance said:
IÂ've owned both the Scala G9 and the Sena 20s. The Sena wins. Better sound. Easier controls. Better weather proofing. The Scala plastic cover over the controls sun baked and disintegrated. The speakers are better on the Sena. Both are excellent, the Sena is better.
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I've used the G9 and pack talk, night and day. Packtalk such new and different tech.

Buckeye Rich said:
I'm considering picking up a Sena or possibly the Cardo Packtalk as my old Starcomm1 is getting long in the tooth. I still use an old Sirius head unit that has a 3.5mm out. I simply plug this into my Starcomm1 and can listen to sat radio. With the wireless setups, how would I be able to listen to sat radio?

Also, is a person able to stream music from pandora, spotify, etc. from their smartphone to the Sena/Cardo unit?

Thanks
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Yes. From my Samsung galaxy to my Packtalk I bluetooth Pandora, Sirius app, a CB app, plus my phone and texts app too, all free apps.

Dave.David said:
Yes. From my Samsung galaxy to my Packtalk I bluetooth Pandora, Sirius app, a CB app, plus my phone and texts app too, all free apps.
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Yes, there is a Sirius app. Download and use you same login info. It dose not have your favorites from other radios so you don't have to have your wife's channels too lol.
 
Dave.David said:
I've used the G9 and pack talk, night and day. Packtalk such new and different tech.



Yes. From my Samsung galaxy to my Packtalk I bluetooth Pandora, Sirius app, a CB app, plus my phone and texts app too, all free apps.

Yes, there is a Sirius app. Download and use you same login info. It dose not have your favorites from other radios so you don't have to have your wife's channels too lol.
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Thanks for the info Dave.David. I'm leaning towards the Packtalk. I like the fact that it is truly waterproof. Are you happy with sound levels? Do you wear ear plugs?
 
Buckeye Rich said:
Thanks for the info Dave.David. I'm leaning towards the Packtalk. I like the fact that it is truly waterproof. Are you happy with sound levels? Do you wear ear plugs?
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I can hear my music at 70 and 90 mph, but it is not LOUD like I want. My phone and packtalk easy to use volume roller each effect sound separately, so that helps with turning up the volume. In the sense that one does not lower the volume on the other, each turn up or down the volume separately. On a MP3 player that you could download the music loudly I'm sure it would make a big difference. It's also nice that as you reach full volume on the pack talk you hear a beep, so you don't keep turning the roller over and over with no change.
I should point out that I agree with others in that if you are not talking to other Riders it's probably not worth the money. But it is great that it does not talk to other packtalk Rider's using Bluetooth, it actually uses its own transmitting signal. It will Bluetooth connect to a Sana but never seems to work very well for me.
I have been in a pack of 25 or so Riders through a Mountain Road where I was second to end talking to the lead guy 3 miles away.
I wear a half helmet with the speakers in the fabric that covers the ears, no ear plugs, behind a windshield.
 
Dave.David said:
I can hear my music at 70 and 90 mph, but it is not LOUD like I want. My phone and packtalk easy to use volume roller each effect sound separately, so that helps with turning up the volume. In the sense that one does not lower the volume on the other, each turn up or down the volume separately. On a MP3 player that you could download the music loudly I'm sure it would make a big difference. It's also nice that as you reach full volume on the pack talk you hear a beep, so you don't keep turning the roller over and over with no change.
I should point out that I agree with others in that if you are not talking to other Riders it's probably not worth the money. But it is great that it does not talk to other packtalk Rider's using Bluetooth, it actually uses its own transmitting signal. It will Bluetooth connect to a Sana but never seems to work very well for me.
I have been in a pack of 25 or so Riders through a Mountain Road where I was second to end talking to the lead guy 3 miles away.
I wear a half helmet with the speakers in the fabric that covers the ears, no ear plugs, behind a windshield.
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Thanks for the info!
 
Buckeye Rich said:
With the wireless setups, how would I be able to listen to sat radio?
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For this you need a Bluetooth dongle. I have a Sena SMH-10 and the dongle, which I think is the SM-10, but not sure. It is the stereo one. (They make a mono one, also).
My phone and GPS are bluetoothed to helmet, my XM and radar are plugged into the dongle, which is bluetoothed to the helmet. Works great and easier than it sounds.
 
stgolfer said:
For this you need a Bluetooth dongle. I have a Sena SMH-10 and the dongle, which I think is the SM-10, but not sure. It is the stereo one. (They make a mono one, also).
My phone and GPS are bluetoothed to helmet, my XM and radar are plugged into the dongle, which is bluetoothed to the helmet. Works great and easier than it sounds.
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Thanks Bill! I think that's the way I need to go.
 
stgolfer said:
For this you need a Bluetooth dongle. I have a Sena SMH-10 and the dongle, which I think is the SM-10, but not sure. It is the stereo one. (They make a mono one, also).
My phone and GPS are bluetoothed to helmet, my XM and radar are plugged into the dongle, which is bluetoothed to the helmet. Works great and easier than it sounds.
Click to expand...
Download the XM ap to your phone, then no need to play with your dongle. lol
 
Packtalk,
As above an expense if the rest of your group are not into it.
Cardo are ahead of the game introducing Mesh Network over two years ago.
Is IP67 rated dustproof and waterproof. Sena 30K only claim water-resistant, a bad omen given the track record of the 20S.
Is a much neater package to look at and install, with the whole unit above the lower edge of the helmet, no problem putting your helmet down. 1/3 of the 30K hangs below the edge of the helmet.
Packtalk and Smartpack are mesh compatible. The size of the pack is determined by the group creator. If you create a group on a Packtalk then you can engage 15 Packtalk/Smartpack units. If you create a group on the Smartpack then you can only engage 4 Smartpack/Packtalk.


If you want to make a large group with big distances in mind then a cheap BT headset into a 5W CB radio may be better or a Smartphone APP like Zello.
But you need to have a committee meeting to decide which
 
Rambler358 said:
Sena is an Oriental company, Korean actually. [emoji6]
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How not to split hairs. Ummm!

If you just want to connect to your phone and maybe one to another and save a bunch of cash, check out the generic Chinese units on Aliexpress.com there are heaps to choose from and they work fine.
Case in point 2PCS Lexin with FM Motorcycle Bluetooth Helmet Headsets Intercom for 4 rider talking at the same time BT intercomunicador MP3

I got a pair of Second Hand V6 FodSport to lend out when I'm riding with friends who don't have BT units.

How's that?

PS. What's more if you want a large group. You only need a low cost BT headset connected to your smart-phone and install 'Zello' PTT Walkie Talkie app that uses mobile data. A cheap Bluetooth PTT button will set you back $5. And distance between riders becomes immaterial. You can pull over for gas and still talk to the group even though they are 20 kilometers away.
 
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I was thinking about this thread and was going to suggest something similar. I rode to Utah with a guy who has a Chinese BT headset. He leads a group often in the area and picked up two of the headsets. The rider in the sweep position has the same unit. I think they were around $49. He has no problem pairing because they are the same brand and model.

If all the OP's needs are to listen to MP3 music, take phone calls and use as an intercom, this would be worth checking out.

Chris
 
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