Sena SRL Mesh for Shoei….

Arsey

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Sena have now introduced a new SRL Mesh to fit the Shoei Neotec 2 etc…
Motolegends explains it well :

New for 2022 is the Sena SRL Mesh comms. unit that has been created by Shoei in conjunction with Sena to integrate with the Shoei Neotec 2, the GT Air 2 and the J-Cruise 2. It joins, and sits alongside, the existing SRL 2 unit that will not be discontinued.

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Sena is the leading name in integrated, motorcycle comms. systems, and although some individuals prefer Cardo because of its historical strength in Mesh technology, Sena has become the chosen partner for the major helmet brands; specifically, Arai, Schuberth and Shoei.

The original SRL 2 was created to fit seamlessly into the aforementioned Shoei helmets. You simply remove the plastic covers on each side of the helmet. A new cover that incorporates the operating buttons replaces the one on the left hand side of the helmet; another one incorporating the antenna replaces the cover on the right side. This leaves no protuberances on the outside of the helmet, thus reducing wind noise. The speakers clip into pre-formed ear wells, and the wiring runs along prescribed channels. It makes for a really neat installation.

The new SRL-Mesh system integrates into the helmet in exactly the same way. It does represent a technical upgrade over the SRL 2, although we would suggest that it could be considered an unnecessary extravagance for most people, as the standard Bluetooth system used in the SRL 2 is more than up to the job for most people.

There are two main areas in which the new system betters the old one. The first is the quality of the speakers and microphone. The second is the new system’s Mesh compatibility.

The new system uses a Harman Kardon microphone and speakers. If you are a music buff, you will definitely notice the difference; the quality of sound is much improved, but you will also enjoy greater clarity when talking to somebody over the phone. Other people will also hear you better because of the upgraded microphone.

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it will still work as a Bluetooth comms. if the other riders in your group do not use Mesh. Mesh is basically better when you want to ride with a larger number of riders, as the signal can daisy-chain from rider to rider meaning that you can talk over much greater distances. Re-connecting with riders who have strayed out of range is also improved when Mesh is used.

In Bluetooth mode, the talk distance is up to around a mile when in line of sight, and in this mode you can have a group of up to four riders. In Group Mesh configuration with a closed group you can have 24 people in your group, but in Open Mesh the number of people who can be part of the group is virtually limitless. And in Mesh configuration the talk distance can, in theory, be up to five miles or more. In Open Mesh you can switch between nine different channels.

What Shoei is telling us is that the talk-time in both Bluetooth and Mesh configurations is eight hours. This we are going to check, as the talk-time on Mesh is usually much less than it is on Bluetooth.

The question for some is going to be whether it is worthwhile upgrading from the old system to the new one, and similarly whether it is worth paying more for the newer system than the old one. Our view is that, unless the quality of sound is hugely important to you, and unless you really need Mesh, you may be better off with the SRL 2. If, for example, you use the comms. purely for the satnav and the phone, or for communicating with a pillion or just a couple of mates, stick with the SRL 2; it is more than up to the job. If, by contrast, you spend a lot of time listening to music, and if you need Mesh, it’s got to be the new comms..

The new system is currently about 30% more expensive than the old one, but if the difference in price does not concern you too much, then it cannot be denied that with the SRL-Mesh you are buying into more recent technology, and you will be acquiring a certain degree of future proofing. Remember, of course, that if you buy this, or any, comms. when you buy a helmet, you will save the 20% VAT.

Our own observation would be that whilst Mesh is very much in vogue right now, most people do not need it, and would not derive much of a benefit from the extra expenditure. But, as ever in these situations, there are no rights and no wrongs!


I’ve just ordered a couple at a very good price so will see how much better it is.
I mainly use my comms to listen to music unless wifey is pillion so I think it’s worth the upgrade.I’ll sell the standard SRLs and it won’t have cost me to much to switch.
 
I had a lot of Sena units until discovering how much better Cardo was a couple of years ago, particularly with wind noise suppression and especially with the intercom to another rider.
My other bike is a HD and I have been forced to buy Sena for that if I want the functionality of the boombox audio (which I do) so I bought the 30k units.
My wife and I have just returned from a trip round Spain/Portugal. On mesh intercom, the units ran out of charge after only about 5hrs. The wind noise was unbearable, even after trying every combination on the settings and putting a larger foam windsock on. ( We have Ex zero helmets). It turns out that the 'advanced noise control ' settings don't work for the intercom(according to the nice customer service girl at Sena) so work that out. In the end, to listen to music we had to mute the mikes completely, defying the point of an intercom, which was unusable over 40mph due to wind noise.
Not a rant, just an observation that Sena has a lot of catching up to do to be useable and get anywhere near cardo.
They are PANTS. Oops, a bit of a rant....

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
My experience is somewhat different in as much as clarity and usability even at high speeds

No wind noise unless some buffoon has his mike hanging down in the wind

I agree that on mesh the battery life is reduced but then it does warn of that in the manual

If all anyone wants is a rider to pillion set up then mesh is not the answer

Bike to bike for more than 2 then it is superb as it doesn't drop the link when one gets out of range or it just reconnects if it does
 
My experience is somewhat different in as much as clarity and usability even at high speeds

No wind noise unless some buffoon has his mike hanging down in the wind

I agree that on mesh the battery life is reduced but then it does warn of that in the manual

If all anyone wants is a rider to pillion set up then mesh is not the answer

Bike to bike for more than 2 then it is superb as it doesn't drop the link when one gets out of range or it just reconnects if it does
Well, you appear to be lucky! Which is great. We wanted to use mesh, even for rider to pillion as it makes music sharing better/easier but we could have used Bluetooth, with better battery life. Mics were shielded behind the chin piece (and previously I have used an open Face helmet, so performance should have been better in the ex zeros). No matter how much I fiddled with the settings, it stubbornly refused to be useable... And did I mention the dropping out/losing connection and having to re-pair a number of times? I really would like it to work. It cost a fortune.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
My experience is somewhat different in as much as clarity and usability even at high speeds

No wind noise unless some buffoon has his mike hanging down in the wind

I agree that on mesh the battery life is reduced but then it does warn of that in the manual

If all anyone wants is a rider to pillion set up then mesh is not the answer

Bike to bike for more than 2 then it is superb as it doesn't drop the link when one gets out of range or it just reconnects if it does

I agree with you Rick.
I’ve got Sena SRL in Neotec 2s, GT Air 2 and J Cruise 2 and it works brilliantly.
No issues at speed, even with the ‘open face’ J Cruises.

Whereas my experience with Cardo was the exact opposite.
Had a G9X that had numerous issues such as poor connectivity and battery life.

I was persuaded by a couple of mates to upgrade to Packtalk so a number of us could all link up on our annual trip.
What an utter load of shite !.
Rarely could we get more than 4 of us connected and the voice commands were laughable.
You’d say a command like ‘music on’ and it would instead connect randomly to one of your mates.
Never more than 5 minutes went by without some ‘nuisance call’ from a mate who was trying a different command to the one Cardo selected !
Luckily the battery packed up 11 months into ownership and I got a full refund, so went Sena instead.
Never buying Cardo crap again.

I’ve only ordered the Sena Mesh as hoping the sound quality with the upgraded Harman Kardon speakers will be even better.
 
The wind noise was unbearable, even after trying every combination on the settings and putting a larger foam windsock on. ( We have Ex zero helmets). It turns out that the 'advanced noise control ' settings don't work for the intercom(according to the nice customer service girl at Sena) so work that out. In the end, to listen to music we had to mute the mikes completely, defying the point of an intercom, which was unusable over 40mph due to wind noise.
Not a rant, just an observation that Sena has a lot of catching up to do to be useable and get anywhere near cardo.
They are PANTS. Oops, a bit of a rant....

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

I’m not surprised if you were wearing Ex Zeros, where the internal visor doesn’t extend all the way, so basically funnelling wind straight into the gap between the visor and chin piece where your mic was.
I doubt any system would cope with that !

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I agree with you Rick.
I’ve got Sena SRL in Neotec 2s, GT Air 2 and J Cruise 2 and it works brilliantly.
No issues at speed, even with the ‘open face’ J Cruises.

Whereas my experience with Cardo was the exact opposite.
Had a G9X that had numerous issues such as poor connectivity and battery life.

I was persuaded by a couple of mates to upgrade to Packtalk so a number of us could all link up on our annual trip.
What an utter load of shite !.
Rarely could we get more than 4 of us connected and the voice commands were laughable.
You’d say a command like ‘music on’ and it would instead connect randomly to one of your mates.
Never more than 5 minutes went by without some ‘nuisance call’ from a mate who was trying a different command to the one Cardo selected !
Luckily the battery packed up 11 months into ownership and I got a full refund, so went Sena instead.
Never buying Cardo crap again.

I’ve only ordered the Sena Mesh as hoping the sound quality with the upgraded Harman Kardon speakers will be even better.

I have the 50S and the speakers are excellent, at least to my old and fucked ears battery lasts a good 9 hours or more on Bluetooth and maybe 6 on mesh and that is chitter chattering for the whole duration

Once you work out that it gives you the first battery low warning at 30% you realise that the battery is actually quite decent
 
I’m not surprised if you were wearing Ex Zeros, where the internal visor doesn’t extend all the way, so basically funnelling wind straight into the gap between the visor and chin piece where your mic was.
I doubt any system would cope with that !

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Well... I don't agree... The mic is pretty well shielded in the V of the chin bar, compared to an open Face helmet (I used to wear Davida).

But it is interesting that our experiences are different. I only bought Sena for years, from the SMH10 all the way through to the latest models. My experience with the 30k has been very disappointing while my experience of the Cardos, in wind noise suppression in particular, has been much better.

I'm not alone in this, most, if not all, if the reviews comparing the systems put cardo above Sena on their wind noise algorithms. But I have to use the Harley branded Senas if I want the functionality of the audio system...

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
Well... I don't agree... The mic is pretty well shielded in the V of the chin bar, compared to an open Face helmet (I used to wear Davida).


Apart from the 3 vents on either side that blow wind straight over the mic.Doh !!

The Ex Zero is not a quiet helmet !
 
Apart from the 3 vents on either side that blow wind straight over the mic.Doh !!

The Ex Zero is not a quiet helmet !
DOH! Still more wind protection than an open Face helmet... That has none...

Anyway I have asked Sena if they are planning a firmware update...their response was that Harley controls the updates on the Harley branded units (which seems very odd)... So it may be another Harley-ism making their units not as good as the generic ones...

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
Just got the new Sena SRL Mesh system and so far it’s excellent, battery life seems fine and the audio quality is better than the Bluetooth srl. It has a new style charge port USB.C.
I have used the + mesh handlebar for the last 12 months and the ease of connecting with others is fantastic as it does away with the palaver of joining a chain via Bluetooth.
 
Just got the new Sena SRL Mesh system and so far it’s excellent, battery life seems fine and the audio quality is better than the Bluetooth srl. It has a new style charge port USB.C.
I have used the + mesh handlebar for the last 12 months and the ease of connecting with others is fantastic as it does away with the palaver of joining a chain via Bluetooth.

Excellent ! Mine are in the post .
 
My SRL Meshs arrived the other day so fitted them this afternoon.
They are quite a bit more complicated than the standard SRLs as also now have an antennae either side which slots in the helmet, plus the new Mesh button .
The boom mic is certainly more substantial than the old version, as are the Harman Kardon speakers.
The sound quality certainly seems a step up from the already good standard SRL and the intercom is crystal clear.

The standard instructions that come with the unit are shite so I found a full user manual on the Sena website.

But, bloody hell, is it a tad complicated to use Mesh calling and linking up.

Here’s just a few snippets

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I certainly won’t use all the functions but it’ll be handy to pair with non Sena users and link up with a few mates if required.
 
Been using it for last three days .
The standout difference is battery life .
We’ve done two 10 hour days on bike and the battery is back up to fully charged after less than an hour .
Might also be the USB-C charges quicker than the old micro USB.

Speakers are definitely better quality and the intercom crystal clear even at 85 mph .
 
Used it for 12 days solid and it’s brilliant.
Much better sound quality with the Harman Kardon speakers.
Intercom is crystal clear and never failed to work.
Music resumes perfectly after using intercom whereas the old SRL sometimes needed you to re-select music.
Haven’t even used the Mesh technology but it’s a worthy upgrade.
 
For info there is a new update 1.1

September 19, 2022
Added the Audio Boost setting
Added the Voice Assistant setting
Modified the Multifunction Button on the RC4 to control Mesh Intercom
Minor bug fix with Mesh Intercom not working properly after a phone call
Minor bug fix with skipping music tracks backward when disabling Music Sharing
Minor bug fix with the volume of voice prompts while listening to music
Minor bug fix with the user interface canceling Bixby voice commands on Android smartphones
Minor bug fix with the equalizer presets when synchronizing the volume with a smartphone
Minor bug fix with the charging LED on the WiFi Adapter
Minor bug fix with music quality when a GPS direction is heard during Bluetooth Intercom while Bluetooth Intercom Audio Multitasking is enabled

The Audio boost seems to have sorted some of the music volume problems.
 
I have the 50S and the speakers are excellent, at least to my old and fucked ears battery lasts a good 9 hours or more on Bluetooth and maybe 6 on mesh and that is chitter chattering for the whole duration

Once you work out that it gives you the first battery low warning at 30% you realise that the battery is actually quite decent
Same. 50S is the best system I’ve used. I’ve tried interphone and cardo previously and the Sena is much better. Plus our regular 7 that tour all have them and the mesh is excellent. Lasts all day.
 
I have nothing bad to say about the Sena Mash system. It works well. Audio is great, even on bluetooth, and volume isn't lacking at any speed! I have to turn mine down from the default setting unless wearing ear plugs as it's too loud. Wind noise, according to those at the other end of the conversation, is really well filtered out and comms crystal clear. Mesh is easiest used on the Open Mesh setting so couldn't be easier. Switch on, press the mesh button and that's it. It'll connect with any nearby riders using mesh. You can (as Arsley's posts above) chose a closed loop as per the instructions but I haven't bothered. I tried a cardo unit (now phased out model) and sent it back. Couldn't get on with it. I use the flagship Interphone Ucom16 on my other lid which uses the exact same processor as the Sena SRL Mesh, they're practically identical in operation and the Ucom uses Mesh too, so both the same Sena systems. Haven't tried a 50s but a few guys who've had them and moved to the SRL mesh system rate it more highly. Unlike some Sena systems, the SRL mesh is at least water proof when used as intended on the Neotech lids and battery life seems excellent. Ditto the Ucom (waterproof and good battery life).
 
I've been using the SRL 2 intercom for 18 months and it's very good. My only small gripe is speaker volume & wished it could be a bit louder. I have my i phone volume set to its loudest, & then control in helmet volume via the helmet unit. The in helmet speakers aren't perfectly aligned to both ears as my left ear is slightly higher than my right!

To those that have used the SRL 2 & now SRL mesh kit - are the HK speakers in the new kit significantly better (volume/bass/clarity etc) to justify upgrading, bearing in mind I primarily listen to music rather than talking to other riders.
 


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