Sena 50S-01D Motorcycle Mesh Intercom Bluetooth Headset Communication System (Discontinued)

Oh this thing is awesome.It is expensive, especially this model with the camera.I bought a new BMW that has the car like computer console, and wasn't sure if I had to buy the BMW version that is definitely a model series behind this. But it was fully compatible, include the magic twist control on the bike grips.It ties to my Google phone just fine, and I subscribe to Amazon Prime Music, so I listen to that on the road. That's really nice, the sound could be a little louder for me, but that's probably a safety thing. It's a high end sound quality.One amazing magic, is it does sound cancelling, meaning when I talk to people on the phone, they don't hear the bike at all or the wind, they don't even know I'm riding. Bonus points to their engineering for that voodoo.The camera is my luxury. The photos are pretty high resolution. I don't do video, the internet is full of people complaining of short battery life if you do that. So, I don't. :)I do put the camera in burst mode, so I touch the button, and it takes a series, then I just slowly move my head, because you can't carefully aim of course. This works well, and people can't tell you are taking pictures. I photograph cars, like license plates, all the time. I use it like a manual dash cam. It's simple reach up and touch the button when you are riding.Mainly though, I can use my phone by using the controls on the bike, the same with the music. I have no idea how to use it with the buttons. My son has this same one but without the camera, and he has a Harley, so no fancy computer screen. He figured it out, and said it's not too bad to do. We can talk when we ride. Oh yeah, forgot that. It has really good range, better then BlueTooth ones. The mesh thing that does that is a different frequency or something.And, it has a radio. When I don't like burning Amazon Music on cell phone time, or just out of range, I can cruise playing the radio.

I have owned headsets from both Sena and Cardo. This deserves a top spot in the considerations.The good:Physical Interface: The wheel and buttons are very tactile and easy to find. Definitely better than the smallish buttons on the Cardo. Not that you need to touch it anymore as the voice commands are very good now.Voice Commands: Hey Sena..."insert command here" works as advertised and does just about anything you would want. I would rate voice commands a bit higher than the Cardo, and that is saying something (no pun intended).Sound Quality: The speakers are very good...right up there IMHO with the JBL on the Cardo Packtalk. Nice balance and absolutely louder than the competition. I can now hear and understand Intercom and music clearly at highway speeds. There are built-in equalizer settings, but it seems to cut down on maximum volume.Mesh 2.0: In a word...pure awesome. It has a public mesh mode for idiot proof intercom. Turn on unit, flip up antenna and push mesh button and you are instantly talking to whoever is nearby on a Sena. If you would rather setup a private group mesh, a 5 second hold on the button or a 'hey sena, group mesh' command has you talking just to your crew. Seriously doesn't get any easier than this. Beats the Cardo in my book for ease of use. The mesh is really robust too. It does have a distinct hit on battery life, which gets me to my first ding...Backward compatible: The clamp is absolutely compatible with earlier 20s/30k models but the gasket has been updated for better water repellency and the speakers on the 50 are heads and tails better previous generations. That said, it is VERY nice that you can use existing mounts so if you have already kitted out multiple helmets you are good to go. Intercom in bluetooth to a 20s seemed to work great too, but I didn't test it a lot.Accessories: They include a little charging cable with a wifi dongle. Once configured, it checks for updates to firmware and automatically applies it. First night I had it, I plugged it in and was greeted the next morning with 1.0.2 software...very nice.Software: The PC/Mac app for updates and config is good and the mobile phone app is well very done and functional. All the configuration and operation you could need right at your fingertips.The 'not so awesome'Battery Life: Decidedly meh. The battery life is not on par with Cardo. I hope maybe a software update will help, but I was only able to eek out 5.5-6 hours with the mesh intercom going and music streaming. This is mitigated somewhat with an EXCELLENT quick charging tho. We stopped for 15 minutes for gas, bio break and a snack and I plugged it into my USB. It went from 17% to 85% in that time, but the Cardo would have gone all day. Something to be aware of but not a show stopper in my book. They can be ridden and used while charging as well.The inaugural run went VERY well, albeit with a few hiccups. About 5 hours into the ride she announced low battery. A little while later she disabled mesh to stretch what was left (bluetooth uses half the battery of mesh), but actually seemed to setup a bluetooth channel with another rider so I could continue talking, which was very nice. After charging up, I needed to power cycle the unit to get the Mesh channel back, otherwise I would get 'mesh disabled, enabling bluetooth'. Probably a software fix in the works. Not perfect, but all in all pretty cool.Waterproof: Or lack thereof. Not 100% sure how much this will matter in real life, but there is no IP rating like on the Cardo units. That said, they improved the gasket on the clamp and reversed the rubber cover on the USBC charging port. Time will tell.Interspecies communication: My squad all have Sena units, and my daughter has my old 20s. Know that they all tout 'universal pairing' but setting up a link between Sena and Cardo is a hot mess and someone is gonna hate it. One set uses universal pairing, but the other needs to be in second mobile phone pairing mode. If you had a phone and GPS paired, you are skunked. On top of that, the range is bad and the quality of voice is crackly. I would not buy a new comm unit from another vendor expecting seamless communications between both worlds. Pick one and stay with it.Hope that helps.