Wife and I had Sena 10 units, which worked fine but definitely sounded like PTT radio audio. We switched to Cardo Packtalks back in 2019 when we started rolling with a new group, and the audio quality has been much better, to the point that somebody will call me and not even be able to tell that I’m riding. We also like that everyone can run their own music, and it lowers the volume when somebody is talking. It would be really nice if there was an option for somebody to play “DJ” for the whole talk group, but we’ve gotten around that with a short-range FM transmitter, that way whoever wants to tune in can. Battery life is about equal between the two. Cardo’s range is a little better but that’s probably because of the mesh retransmission. I think newer Senas do this as well.

I do have to say that I prefer Senas control scheme with the jog dial. Cardo has too many buttons on the unit, I can’t tell which I’m pressing when my gloves are on, and sometimes I feel like I can’t actually mute the music, as volume just gets “low”, never “off”. My android is definitely pickier about voice commands with the Cardo, and I don’t know why; sometimes it won’t even detect my request, sometimes it seems to get caught on my lock screen. I suspect iPhone users have a better experience in this department but I don’t know.

Overall I would say that I prefer the Cardo because it does intercom features better, and that’s my primary need. I do understand the anger around the subscription business model, that didn’t exist when we purchased ours and I have written them feedback emails about it being a terrible idea.