Sena 50R

[Joe85]

Decided to treat myself ahead of the riding season. Thought i'd leave a couple of thoughts for anyone in the market.

 

First Impressions: 

There are two options available in the 50 range: The R and the S. The main difference between the two models is that the S can be removed from the helmet for charging, whereas the R is hardwired to the speakers/mic (cabling) and thus impractical for regular removal, which means you'll need to lug the entire helmet to your nearest USB-C charger. I've also seen that the S has more charger by virtue of being slightly larger. Lastly, the S has the Jog Wheel you see on most Sen comm systems, whereas the R goes with a 3 button set up.  7/10.

 

Install:

Slightly irritating. No install instructions come in the box, and it's not readily apparent where to find them. Even with the app downloaded, they're fairly squirreled away in the options. As expected, you get the main unit, helmet clamp, speakers, two mic options (boom and dot), a charging/wireless connectivity cable (waste of time) and a plethora of speaker covers, double-sided pads for the unit and speakers/mic. It's fairly straightforward to install but as i say, the instructions are non-existent.   5/10.

 

Connectivity:

The app is complete dog water. Nothing's changed in the 4 years since i last owned one. Rubbish on every level. Slow, clunky, ugly UI. The wireless dongle included for updates? Just stick it in the bin. Far easier to just plug it into the laptop and update via the desktop app. 0/10.

 

Sound:

Speakers are great. I'm no audiophile so all i can say is music sounds good, voices are clear and things get pretty damn loud at the highest volume; a common complaint of older models was the poor volume which appears to be solved here.  9/10.

 

 

Haven't used the Mesh/Bluetooth communication features yet, but will update later next month.  From a usability point of view, it's 4 buttons so not too taxing on the brain to work out. 

 

Overall first impressions:

 

6.5/10.

 

[Smok3y666]

I have the 50S

 

Install, can't remember if there's instructions or not but there's loads of videos on YT. I'm fairly certain I had instructions tho.

 

I wouldn't say the app is all that bad. I only used it once to set he unit up but it certainly wasn't slow but the UI is a bit crap.

 

Voices are clear, yes. Music is passable for background listening.

 

Bluetooth works fine for Google Maps, phone calls etc..... 

 

Mesh if generally okay although does seem to cut out now and again although not sure if that's my headset or the other peoples headsets that I ride with. We all have Sena just different models.

[Bender]

On 24/02/2022 at 20:53, Joe85 said:

Decided to treat myself ahead of the riding season. Thought i'd leave a couple of thoughts for anyone in the market.

 

First Impressions: 

There are two options available in the 50 range: The R and the S. The main difference between the two models is that the S can be removed from the helmet for charging, whereas the R is hardwired to the speakers/mic (cabling) and thus impractical for regular removal, which means you'll need to lug the entire helmet to your nearest USB-C charger. I've also seen that the S has more charger by virtue of being slightly larger. Lastly, the S has the Jog Wheel you see on most Sen comm systems, whereas the R goes with a 3 button set up.  7/10.

 

Install:

Slightly irritating. No install instructions come in the box, and it's not readily apparent where to find them. Even with the app downloaded, they're fairly squirreled away in the options. As expected, you get the main unit, helmet clamp, speakers, two mic options (boom and dot), a charging/wireless connectivity cable (waste of time) and a plethora of speaker covers, double-sided pads for the unit and speakers/mic. It's fairly straightforward to install but as i say, the instructions are non-existent.   5/10.

 

Connectivity:

The app is complete dog water. Nothing's changed in the 4 years since i last owned one. Rubbish on every level. Slow, clunky, ugly UI. The wireless dongle included for updates? Just stick it in the bin. Far easier to just plug it into the laptop and update via the desktop app. 0/10.

 

Sound:

Speakers are great. I'm no audiophile so all i can say is music sounds good, voices are clear and things get pretty damn loud at the highest volume; a common complaint of older models was the poor volume which appears to be solved here.  9/10.

 

 

Haven't used the Mesh/Bluetooth communication features yet, but will update later next month.  From a usability point of view, it's 4 buttons so not too taxing on the brain to work out. 

 

Overall first impressions:

 

6.5/10.

 

Think volume is down to the new speakers 

[Smok3y666]

My 50S broke this last week when I needed it most while I was on my first EU trip to France. Gone back to where I brought it from. Hopefully they sort it.

[Bender]

6 minutes ago, Smok3y666 said:

My 50S broke this last week when I needed it most while I was on my first EU trip to France. Gone back to where I brought it from. Hopefully they sort it.

What did it start or not start doing? 

[Smok3y666]

I rode down from Le Grand Balloon in the rain. Headset worked fine all the way outputting the directions and what not from my phone. It wasn't torrential rain, just rain. Anyway got to the bottom, found petrol, booked a hotel and rode to it. Sorted myself out for the night and put the Sena on charge ready for next day. Woke up packed everything up, left hotel, loaded next GPX up and no directions came from the headset. Thinking the battery was dead I removed it and connected it to the battery pack charger thing for about an hour but still nothing, LED light just flashed blue while I held the power button down. Half an hour later it came on, made a loud static noise, said something about a config error, made more noise then said off and it never came back on.

 

Sent it back to Sportbikeshop who sent it to Sena, after 2 weeks and a few emails and despite it being 14 months old I got a refund and ordered a Cardo unit.