MCN's chief road tester, Michael Neeves reviews the Sena SRL3 intercom after over 15k miles

10

I love listening to music on my bike. Not so much when I’m out for a blast, or road testing, but more for when I’m grinding out swathes of motorway or nipping to the shops. I’ve tried all sorts of ways to tempt Led Zeppelin into my ears over the years, but it isn’t straight forward, if you want to protect your ears from windblast, too…or ‘ear’ in my case. I’m half deaf.

There was a time I used a custom moulded earplug with an integrated sound monitor. That worked well, but the wiring would often break from the constant pulling and tugging of putting them in my ear and getting tangled up in riding kit. But for the past year I’ve been using this Sena SRL Intercom, purely to listen to music and not for the intercom or talking calls, so this is only half a review. One of the joys of riding is being in your own world and not having to talk to anyone…

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Sena are one of the tops dogs when it comes to helmet comms and offer a huge range. The SRL series is specifically designed to fit in a Shoei and this is the SRL3, which I’ve been using in my Shoei GT-Air III.

Is the Sena SRL3 Mesh intercom good quality?

Working in collaboration with Shoei it’s no surprise the Sena SRL3 fits perfectly into my lid. The external control buttons, internal Harman Kardon speakers, microphone and charging pod are all beautifully integrated. Unless, you look very closely, you’d never know they were there from the outside and they’re all so light and unobtrusive you’re oblivious to them from the inside, too. Everything from its waterproof control units to the internal Harman Kardon speakers, microphone and control until are neat and straightforward to fit.

How user-friendly is the Sena SRL3 Mesh intercom?

I’m only using a fraction of the SRL3’s functions and features by not touching its four-way, voice-activated intercom system, but it’s simple to listen to music, which is what I wanted it for. I link the Sena to my phone via Bluetooth, choose my tunes from there and adjust the volume via the control buttons on the side of my lid.

The Sena can also be linked to Bluetooth motorcycle dashes, but quite often they have a mind of their own and aren’t as reliable. I still wear a foam earplug (the best way to block out wind noise) when I’m using the Sena, so the volume needs to be loud enough for me to hear over the top of it. At low speeds my music is audible, but on motorways it’s too faint to compete with the windblast, unless I’m riding a bike with a big screen that quietens wind noise.

I’ve spaced-out the speaker so it’s closer to my ear, which helps, but it’s still not quite loud enough for me to clearly hear Mr Bonham’s triplets. But the Sena’s voice prompts are louder, so using the intercom function may be easier to hear. You can also set and control the Sena’s functions via an app.

Is the Sena SRL3 Mesh intercom good value?

If I was using the Sena in the way it was intended it would be great value, as it’s well made, works well and comes with a three-year guarantee. I also had a Sena SRL 2 fitted to my old Shoei GT-Air II and never had any issues with it. But it’s a lot to splash out if you only use it for music.

Sena SRL3 Mesh intercom – the bottom line

For listening to your tunes while wearing foam earplugs, this Sena system is the best solution I’ve found. It’s far easier to pull on a helmet full of music than fiddling around with combined earplug/monitors. The volume isn’t loud enough to hear at motorway speeds, unless you’re riding with a big, wind-cheating screen, but the rest of the time it’s just the job. You’ll obviously get a lot more value from it if, unlike me, you use its main intercom function, though. The Sena is well-made, reliable, has excellent rechargeable battery life and fits beautifully on and inside my Shoei.

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