Who has the best (or loudest) BT headset, Sena or Cardo??

[Sadlsor]

and they are more durable than they look.

They are, indeed.
But they are no match for little sharp kitty teeth chewing on the little wires.
Learned that lesson, only took one time. So there went pair #2.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

If possible aligning the speakers with the opening of your ears and getting the speaker close to (but not touching!) your ears will make a huge difference in volume and bass in particular.

Speakers centred and as as close to the ear as possible. Best is using the foam covers and having them in contact with the ears.
From the Sena 20S manual;




The Sena 20S limits the maximum volume to protect the user from hearing damage. This can be overridden if increased volume is desired.
This can easily be set using the Sena phone app.
From the Sena 20S manual;

It would be nice if the volume was speed sensitive... maybe the newer firmware fixes this?

Not speed controlled, but there is an option for automatic volume control based on ambient noise. I have no idea if it works, I have never tried it.
This can be more easily adjusted using the Sena phone app as well.
From the Sena 20S manual;

 

[MidLife]

Re volume with plugs, a lot of that will depend on the ear plugs you're using.

Same experience here. Beside aligning the speakers, found that using "filtering" type plugs (like musician plugs) instead of plain sound-"blocking" plugs helped. These are soft and comfortable and worked well for me:

MOTO PRO Earplugs

Moto PRO features premium filter technology and patented comfort, filtering sound to a safe volume whlle reducing wind noise and fatigue. Includes 2 sets of PRO Contour earplugs, 1 set of PRO filters and a carrying case. Shop now at earpeace.com

www.earpeace.com

Main issue with my dated Cardo unit is the short 7 hr max battery life, which means that on trips I have to revert to earbuds by the end of the day anyway!

 

[spiderman302]

Smart volume control would be the speed sensitive volume control.
Cool !! I will have to try it.

Thanks.

 

[ad.hom]

short 7 hr max battery life

I think you & I define "short" differently. But I guess it depends on the type of riding.

If I were regularly doing IBA runs for example, I'd probably fit speakers into the grills that mother Honda gave us on the 13's.

 

[paulcb]

Same experience here. Beside aligning the speakers, found that using "filtering" type plugs (like musician plugs) instead of plain sound-"blocking" plugs helped. These are soft and comfortable and worked well for me:

MOTO PRO Earplugs

Moto PRO features premium filter technology and patented comfort, filtering sound to a safe volume whlle reducing wind noise and fatigue. Includes 2 sets of PRO Contour earplugs, 1 set of PRO filters and a carrying case. Shop now at earpeace.com

www.earpeace.com

Main issue with my dated Cardo unit is the short 7 hr max battery life, which means that on trips I have to revert to earbuds by the end of the day anyway!

You can probably find a replacement battery on eBay or Amazon. I've not seen how the Cardo units come apart, but I've replaced the batteries in my two Sena SMH10s 4 times each. I use them most days, so they only last 1-2 years before they need to be replaced, but they're easy to replace.

Not sure what Cardo you have, but...

Amazon.com: Battery Replacement for Cardo Packtalk Duo Scala Rider Packtalk SRPT0102 BAT00007 : Health & Household

Amazon.com: Battery Replacement for Cardo Packtalk Duo Scala Rider Packtalk SRPT0102 BAT00007 : Health & Household

www.amazon.com

 

[MidLife]

You can probably find a replacement battery on eBay or Amazon. I've not seen how the Cardo units come apart, but I've replaced the batteries in my two Sena SMH10s 4 times each. I use them most days, so they only last 1-2 years before they need to be replaced, but they're easy to replace.

Mine are old old Scala Riders. Not serviceable. They quickly degraded when new and Scala already replaced the batteries once under warranty. But 7 hr is best they could ever do and then it's down from there. Latest units may be more efficient.