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Sena SRL2 speaker upgrade and compensation to existing customers

Timothy Barlow

29 maggio 2021 04:08

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Hello,

First, I'd like to say that I was initially thrilled with the ease of installation with my new Shoei GT Air 2 helmet (which I love.) Sleek design and I love the integration so that a bid unit isn't sticking out.

Second, I really like the clarity when using the phone as everyone I called was quite surprised that I was on my motorcycle when I was speaking with them. I also liked the same clarity when speaking with my girlfriend as a passenger (I installed one in her helmet as well) and setting up the link was effortless.

However, I then went for a ride and tested out the music, both with radio and Bluetooth on my iPhone apps - it was horrible. No bass, very tinny to the point it started to give me a headache. I tried updating the firmware, boosting volume and base on my phone and nothing helped.

I was so disappointed, especially because my initial research had  pointed me in the direction of the Cardo packtalk because it used JBL speakers and the reviews were so good, but I wanted the integration with my helmets and assumed that it would be close with the Sena system as it was actually more money for me to purchase the SLR2's.

I contacted customer service and they informed me that they are aware of the problem and that the team is hoping they will work on an upgrade soon, but also indicated that it would be in the form of a new unit. This would mean purchasing two brand new units rather than simply upgrading the speaker on the existing unit.

This concerns me because this would mean another $750 investment and the two units I currently have of no use to me. I suggested that a credit and/or trade-in should be considered for customers who own the current model as both an incentive and compensation for this model which is known by Sena to be inferior in sound quality.

I was told that writing this post would be beneficial in helping the Sena team become more aware of the problem with this unit and assist in evolving this unit. I hope some sort of compensation will be considered so that your current customers will be acknowledged for their loyalty and not put in the awkward position of having to go to a better-sounding system.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

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52 commenti

• 1
  
  Rob Bradish 9 dicembre 2022 17:59

  Another GT Air II and SRL2 user here. I also travel regularly and wear a set of bose Bluetooth Noise Dampening on the plane. It is truly amazing, the sound quality , of those little ear buds, so imagine my surprise when I found out the SRL2 Technology is close in quality to the transistor speaker of the 60's. Phone is fine, Intercom and mesh are fine, but audio is worse than horrible. I talk to Sena and they say yes, they are aware, and that the Sena mesh is coming soon with integrations from Harmon Kardon. I would advise you save your money. The audio is a modicum better but certainly not worth the added cost and not worth ditching the SRL2. It is still, really bad. I will be keeping them for Intercom only, but, when not using the intercom, the buds go in for phone and audio. Truly, and underwhelming upgrade.

   

• 1
  
  Mark Mallonee 10 dicembre 2022 14:15

  it is truly sad that that Sena does not respond nor care about this issue.  :(  last Sena product I will ever purchase.

• 1
  
  Kirill 13 marzo 2023 17:03

  Switched to SRL2 from Freecom 4+ JBL because of seamless integration with Neotech 2 helmet and music quality is nowhere near freecom's, my head starts aching after a 15 minute ride with radio on

  The main issue with the music quality is Audio Boosting mode - switched it off immediately, but also I found out that speakers might not be ones to blame - tried to replace them with speakers extracted from JBL Tune 500 wired headphones which sounds great, deep bass and mids. They have the same 32mm size and can be installed "bolt-on" to SRL2)
  So, I installed one tune 500 speaker into left side + original srl2 speaker into right side, played several tracks with balance 100% to the left and to the right, and hardly noticed any difference in sound. So, 2 different speakers, same wiring, seems to be that it's mainly a firmware issue - HD Kit will be no help here and will be a total waste of another 40$ and will enrage customers even more ) Probably quality issue can only be fixed by Sena with an EQ or an alternative FW, I found a github project that looks promising

  Modificato da Kirill 13 marzo 2023 17:04
• 1
  
  DW 13 marzo 2023 18:14

  Howdy, thanks for your feedback.

  I tried different speakers long ago and had the same problem.  Its not down to the firmware either.  Its a physical limitation of the audio hardware and there is nothing that can be done about it.  The driver/amplifier are sh*t, this is purely because of the p*ssy little battery in the unit.  With a more powerful audio chipset it would probably eat the batter.

  I am never going to buy another SENA product.  They dont care, scumbags have not even chimed in on this thread.

• 1
  
  DW 13 marzo 2023 18:20

  On a sidenote, some of you may have developed crackling in one or both speakers.  The problem is the crappy little white connector they have used inside the speaker housing.  I chopped the wires and soldered them together doing away with the connector. 

  No more crackling.  Still shite music though -.-

• 1
  
  Kirill 14 marzo 2023 07:58

  Yep, just checked the PCB - looks like they used a MAX9719AE low cost stereo amplifier which is supposed to be used with phone loud speakers and not headphones (4-8 Ohm target load instead of 32-64 Ohm according to datasheet). Maybe it's worth to try 16 Ohm speakers from another headphones - they should be a bit louder at max volume setting.

  What's more interesting - does brand new SENA mesh have the same hardware inside but with harman kardon HIFI speakers? )

  Modificato da Kirill 14 marzo 2023 08:02
• 1
  
  Tom (masterX244) 14 marzo 2023 08:05

  Kirill PCB pics for you:

  https://nplusc.de/srl-mesh-side1.jpg

  https://nplusc.de/srl-mesh-side2.jpg

  (the blue sub-board is a Airoha IC used for the mesh, haven't ID'd the other smaller chips yet, had no need for it)

• 1
  
  Kirill 14 marzo 2023 08:29

  Thanks a lot! What a surprise - the same MAX9719AE, definetly will not buy it then ) Sena is really a joke

  Modificato da Kirill 14 marzo 2023 09:32
• 1
  
  ldubbizm 19 marzo 2023 23:08

  I too purchased the SRL2 for my Neotec2 and had customer support involved as recently as November 2022. I am extremely disappointed with the sound quality of this device. I agree that Sena should be overly concerned and excited to get existing customers up to speed with the latest technology. We riders are out there on the roads representing their product and have very little good to share. Sena…boost your name and reputation by doing the right thing for the riders that are using your product. Upgrade or Replace!

• 1
  
  chris vincent 25 marzo 2023 23:23

  Thank goodness I found this forum.  Just bought a Neotech 2. Got the dealer to swap-out my Cardo Packtalk for now with a view to purchasing the SRL2 in a couple of months when funds will allow. I'll stick to the Packtalk & forget the SRL2....

• 0
  
  Troy Lorencz 26 marzo 2023 05:00

  I might be a sucker for punishment, but I bought the new SRL Mesh system with the Harman Kardon speakers for my Neotec. I will report back when I get to try it out. 

• 1
  
  Kirill 27 marzo 2023 11:17

  Well, some more research here - I've tested the headset with jbl headphones connected to srl2 JST speaker connectors - when speakers sit tightly on the head and ear is isolated with ear pads - sound quality improves greatly, not to a HI-FI level, but at least headache goes away ) and bass can be heard. So I think that amplifier is cheap, but not cheap enough to produce such crappy sound. Oscilloscope shows that we have bass freq on the amp output, so we should hear it.

  

  Geometry and helmet acoustics also is a bigger issue than hardware - those speakers of srl2 are only 32mm size (compared to 40-50mm of hifi speakers) sit too far from ear, so if your ears are not in the right place in the helmet - you'll hear almost only high and mid freq at low volume. So I'll continue to mod my setup with bigger size speakers and will try to attach ear pads to provide more isolation for sound, then it should be ok.

  Modificato da Kirill 27 marzo 2023 11:52
• 0
  
  Kirill 27 marzo 2023 12:16

  Troy Lorencz  yep, Harman Kardon might make a little difference - they are wider and thicker so will sit a bit more tightly. In my previous setup with Shark Dskwal + freecom 4 jbl I had to cut out some absorbing material from speaker installation places inside the helmet to be able to put in on, otherwise speakers didn't let my head in )

  But here with neotec 2 I don't feel any push on ears from speakers at all, so they sit very loose probably to fit all head sizes.

  Modificato da Kirill 27 marzo 2023 12:26
• 0
  
  Troy Lorencz 27 marzo 2023 13:50

  I had wondered if moving the SRL2 speakers closer to the ears would help. Like a spacer that mounts to the back of the SRL2 speaker that moved it closer, something that would snap in like the speaker and the speaker snapped to the spacer, or perhaps an extra thick foam speaker cover to actually make contact with the outer ear to utilize some resonance to achieve some bass output. 

• 0
  
  Kirill 27 marzo 2023 14:38

  foam is great for blocking wind noise, but it's a killer for lower frequences, so it is good to have lots of foam around the speaker and a textile cover (like in any headphones on the market) above the speaker itself to achive sound with deep bass

• 0
  
  Troy Lorencz 27 marzo 2023 15:17

  I found that my SRL2 actually sounded better while wearing the 3M foam earplugs. Maybe just because it's helping to quiet external noises? But the difference is quite noticeable for phone and coms usage, and a little better but still not great audio quality for music. 

• 1
  
  Tom (masterX244) 28 marzo 2023 11:08

  Noticed that there is another model in the SRL series planned (appearing as SRL3 in the naming scheme)... a XML file used by the current sena app has some hints (that file often gets entries with a "hidden flag" before stuff gets released). Archived copy of the XML incase something changes: https://web.archive.org/web/20230328110641/https://api.sena.com/support/SenaNeoApp/snm.xml

   

  (i got that XML monitored, too)

   

  Modificato da Tom (masterX244) 28 marzo 2023 11:09
• 1
  
  Troy Lorencz 30 marzo 2023 21:51

  So I received and installed the new SRL Mesh into my Neotec, definitely way more bass than the SRL2. Audio Boost feature kicks in at max volume, way louder but at the expense of bass. I'll have to wait for the snow to melt to really give it the proper test while riding. I messed around with speaker placement using some of that 2 sided "alien tape" to function as a spacer to get the speakers closer to my ears, that made a huge difference in volume. I think someone needs to 3D print some plastic spacers that snap into the helmet, and then the speakers snap into the spacers. That would be a huge improvement for the SRL2 speakers. 

• 1
  
  Wayne johns 8 maggio 2023 10:24

  Like everyone else here, I think the audio quality of the SRL unit is just absolutely shocking!!

  I purchased the Shoei Neotec 2 and paid the extra for the interested SENA SRL unit because the intercession looked so nice…. If only Sena could have put as much effort into the sound quality as they did the intercession design.

  Voice nav is quiet and unclear, music quality is really bad, almost zero bass at all which like others have said makes it a very thin sound and difficult to hear when on the road.

  Sena are aware they need to test these units while on a bike at speed and not just in a lab room with no residual noise right?

  I hate the unit, the sound quality is so poor and for the money spent on them here in the uk, it’s just shocking!!!

  The money to replace is so much, which you just wouldn’t expect.
  I should have listen to my fellow riders and went for the Cardo unit.

  Although we all give our comments and opinions here what I would like to see is for Sena themselves to respond on this feed to at least one of us, instead of just ignoring all of us!!

  Come on Sena time to get involved and to help all the riders that have parted with hundreds of pounds/dollars on your below par units…

  What are you going to do about it for us all?

  Waiting for Sena’s reply now…

• 1
  
  Thomas Remenar 8 maggio 2023 23:10

  Can’t wait to hear from Sena tech on this and totally agree that this is a major disappointment and too high cost to let go.

• 0
  
  Peder 9 maggio 2023 06:13

  Would also love a comment from Sena but it seems they don't care at all about us, well they got our money so what do they care.

  Won't be a Sena product again for me that's for sure...

• 0
  
  Lillie Forbes 12 maggio 2023 20:55

  WOW. I'd have to concur with the sentiments about a regrettable purchase. So disappointing. Fooled me once. I'll never purchase another Sena headset. 

  Signed,

  Sena SRL2 crap owner

  Modificato da Lillie Forbes 12 maggio 2023 20:55