Earlier this year, Cardo Systems definitely stole a march on Sena by teaming up with speaker gurus, JBL, to offer a range of motorcycle intercoms with fantastic sound.
So now, and in a totally predictable move (and one that’s great for us riders), Sena has done a deal with Harman Kardon to fit their high quality speakers and mics into Sena’s latest range of headsets. Hopefully meaning that their latest range will offer similarly fantastic audio…
Until you ride above 30mph that is, and the wind starts to drown all the nuance out of your hifi quality audio kit – but there’s not much we can do about that part! But I digress…
If you’re not familiar with Harman Kardon, they’re best known for their car stereos. And they make some fantastic kit – including the setup I’ve got in my car actually so I can vouch for the quality of their gear.
So how’s it affecting the Sena range of motorcycle Intercoms?
First up, their 50 range of intercoms; namely the 50S and 50R will have the HK treatment. They’ve also lobbed HK speakers/mic into the 50C, which is their top of the range 50 bluetooth headset with a 4K camera.
And they’ve also included Harman Kardon speakers/mics into their Impulse and Stryker helmets (we’re gonna have to look over those in the not too distant).
Quantum what?
You might see that Sena talk about Quantum series. That’s just a fancy name they’ve decided to call all and any devices they make using Harman Kardon speakers or mics inside – whether just a headset or integrated helmet.
But note – the Quantum series from Sena isn’t out until early 2022 so if you must have the best quality motorbike bluetooth headset going and have it right now – then you might want to check out the Cardo Packtalk series which have fantstic audio (by JBL) already.
Again, the slower you ride and the bigger your fairing, the better quality your auditory experience is gonna be. Meaning if you ride over the ton on a naked bike – just dont expect to be able to perceive the delicacies of its high-end or the detail of its mids until you park up!
Also, when the Quantum series are out and you’re looking to buy one, just make sure you search for the product name and always double check it’s the one with Harman Kardon speakers, in case they’re still trying to shift old stock that doesn’t have the swanky HK speakers fitted.
Quality alternatives to the Sena Quantum range?
We’ve reviewed one or two bluetooth headsets now.
The Cardo Packtalk Bold or Black are generally regarded as the best motorcycle headsets out there at the moment. They’re more or less the same headset, bar the colour. They’re not cheap, they’re rather large but they do have lots of features including Mesh & bluetooth modes along with high quality JBL speakers.
You might also want to check out our pages full of helmets that have been designed from the ground up to accommodate bluetooth headsets – on our Integrated headsets pages.
Slightly less integrated are communicator-ready helmets. These are helmets that we’ve reviewed and are known for working pretty well with 3rd party/universal motorcycle bluetooth kits. They include spaces to mount the main unit on the outside of the helmet along with space inside for speakers.
