Cardo Bluetooth - any thoughts

[JimH]

I have been searching for a bluetooth attachment that will allow me to listen to the radio, making calls would be a side effect, and I do not ride often with a second person.

I met someone who did a lot a research and found the Cardo Bluetooth system to be best based on his research. He said it is incredible. I have been researching and it looks nice. Does anyone here have one that would not mind post a few thoughts about it? I could not find any posts about it. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Jim

[Motorcycledave]

Check out motorcycledave.com

[CADRE]

Jim, depends how much you want to spend and if you want to use helmet and bike speakers too...
Motorcycle Dave has the Sena SM-10... Plugs into your radio. You can use your phone and/or helmet to connect...cost is $199.00...... Just a thought...... I have the 2012 RT... I ordered connector extension...running connector from rear to front then connect my phone..
All will run though bike speakers.... I can use GPS at same time... Am not interested in phone calls... Lol... Am out to get away..lol...

[coastrider]

I have Cardo Packtalk Bolds purchased last year, their newest technology for big groups of riders and before them G-9 BT units. Both the Cardos and the Sena BT systems are very similar in function, and work well. The choice for me came down to the Cardos being fully waterproof, while the Senas are merely water resistant.

[stevencovert]

I also did a ton of research and settled on the Cardo Freedom 4 series. It has a great app for the phone, very easily accepts incoming calls by just saying "Hello" loudly into the mic. My requirement was auto switching from music to phone to intercom. Fewer buttons and easier for my wife :) . You can be listening to music and if the other person taps the button you go to intercom mode, then after some silence it switches back to music. A tap of the phone button you can say "call Martha" and it does. This system allows up to 4 to connect and talk at the same time, which is nice for me, wife and daughter. The Freecom2 is for intercom mode mainly for driver/passenger, limited range; but does work OK if the pair are on separate bikes. The SENA's have the same setup (automatic switching) but costs a lot more. I also like how the Freecoms pop out of the housing and I can take the module inside to put on the charger without the helmet.

Steve

[McClendons]

I used Senas for years and really liked them, but the stock speakers were marginal at best for music. I also had a Sena remote die with very little use. Never had a Sena die because of water, and did get caught in rain on occasion.

I recently purchased a Cardo Packtalk Bold with JBL speakers, and I prefer it overall. There is no doubt the sound is better, although still not audiophile of course. The voice command function is a nice touch. And the group intercom if with other Cards users is a best of breed technology. The system can still connect with other brands, but you loose the networked capabilities of the Cardo system.

The one advantage for Sena, allot of people have them. This means if you meet with a new group of riders, good chance that some/most will have Sena and connection is a breeze. If i rode largely with a Sena group, I would go Sena. If that is not a big deal, I would go a Packtalk Bold JBL.

[oldgoat]

I recently purchased a Cardo Freedom One. Very happy with it. Excellent sound quality when listening to music I have on my Garmin Zumo 660.

The music is a bonus. I bought it so I could hear the Zumo lady's instructions. Great for that as well. They have many videos showing how to connect to your phone & GPS and a good one on how to fit it to different kinds of helmets.

It was inexpensive & is my first foray into Bluetooth "stuff". Very happy.

[Wildass]

I have the cardo freedom 4 . I like it because it will pair thru the bike and my phone. When you mute the bike so does the helmet. Calls show up on the bike and shows number.

[El Dorado]

I did some research, I have a Helmet with the Sena and one with the Cards, INMHO the cards is better. The voice command fea=ture, sound quality and overall performance is better......but either is a good choice

[Spyder Insyder]

I did some research, I have a Helmet with the Sena and one with the Cards, INMHO the cards is better. The voice command fea=ture, sound quality and overall performance is better......but either is a good choice

I recently purchased the Cardo Freedom 4's to use as intercoms for my passenger(wife) and I. Very happy so far - the battery life is great, but the 30 second timeout is a little frustrating. Does anyone know of a way to disable it?

[Raprider]

I recently purchased the Sena 20S EVO (a pair for wife and I...caught a very good sale at Revzilla) and am happy with the music quality, gps, and the few phone calls I've tried. We have used the intercom both as rider/passenger AND bike-to-bike and also happy with this capability. I have not yet configured it to work with my phone via voice command.

[Arachnologist]

What everyone said, so as not to repeat. I just bought the Cardo Packtalk Bold JBL Duo, which is a set of two units, one for me and passenger. The JBL speakers are great and you can even get an upgrade to 45 mm speakers. The sound quality is excellent and not cheap sounding. Waterproof, which I think is key because we're not exactly sitting in cars. SENA is not waterproof. The Cardo Packtalk Bold is truly hands free and has no problem receiving voice commands without touching any buttons. Just say, "hey Cardo" and give the command. The mesh system is excellent, and much better than the SENA 30K from what I'm told. I'm glad I bought the Cardo Packtalk Bold JBL. Not exactly inexpensive but you get what you paid for. I bought from Revzilla and they "matched" the best price I could find elsewhere, which was substantially lower than everyone's normal listing prices. Definitely shop it pricewise. Have fun.

[rickmiller48]

I did not know that Sena is not waterproof. I guess I just assumed they had to be since they are on the outside of the helmet and riding in the rain is part of riding, but I just looked at the manual and checked the web site and they do not make any claims of waterproofing. I can tell you that after 5 years of using SMH5s in many downpours, and a couple months of using 30Ks in some rain (don't know if I would call them downpours), I haven't had an issue at all. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe they are waterproof but they don't mention it because of warranty liability or something. Knowing how much I ride in the rain, if I would have noticed that before, I may have bought something different this time around.

[Fatcycledaddy]

I did not know that Sena is not waterproof. I guess I just assumed they had to be since they are on the outside of the helmet and riding in the rain is part of riding, but I just looked at the manual and checked the web site and they do not make any claims of waterproofing. I can tell you that after 5 years of using SMH5s in many downpours, and a couple months of using 30Ks in some rain (don't know if I would call them downpours), I haven't had an issue at all. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe they are waterproof but they don't mention it because of warranty liability or something. Knowing how much I ride in the rain, if I would have noticed that before, I may have bought something different this time around.


Hmmmm. I didn't know Sena are not waterproof either, and I don't think they have figured it out. We have used ours for 5 riding seasons in all weather conditions including tropical downpours that were like have a fire hose on us, and have NEVER had a problem with them.

[SuperG]

Basically, you take a manufacturer's waterproof or water-resistant claim with a grain of salt. You need an IP 6(n) rating to have any claim you can verify.

[JimH]

Thanks for all the input - I ordered the Cardo which will arrive on Thursday. I will post a review once I get to ride with it for a bit.
Jim