Cardo Scala or Chatterbox
- Thread starter sk8snw8s
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Deal
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Did quite a bit of research on these recently, so I might be able to help. First though, I apologize for the novel I'm about to write. 
The short for is that it really depends on what you're looking for in a system. Both systems have their ups and downs, and they don't do all the same things in the same ways. We ended up getting the chatterbox system, as it seemed to come closer to meeting the list of priorities we had. On the other hand, we were able to find clearer internet reviews of the Scala Rider G4. In any case, I'll list off some of the things that Myself and my riding buddies had in mind when we went shopping for headsets, and maybe Gpmo will chip in with anything else he remembers at some point.
1.) Are you concerned with having Full Duplex communications?
(this is where both/all parties are able to speak at once, rather than one person keying up to transmit at a time) Scala will have this, Chatterbox won't. However, even though the Scala has it, it gets less useful as you increase the number of riders. For only 2 riders, its perfect. At 3 riders, it will take over one of your bluetooth device channels, so you can't connect as many bluetooth devices to it. Also, at 3 riders, it works differently. There will be a channel A and a Channel B, each headset can only connect to one other headset per channel. So Riders 1&2 connect to each other through channel A, Riders 2&3 connect to each other through channel B. This means that everyone can hear rider 2, and rider 2 can hear riders 1 and 3, but riders 1 and 3 can't hear each other.
2.) How many people will be in your riding group?
Scala will handle up to 4 total, and at 4 riders, you can once again do full duplex. Sort of. Riders 1&2 connect via channel A, Riders 3&4 also connect Channel A seperately, then Riders 1&3 also use channel B to connect to each other, while riders 2&4 connect on another channel B as well. Then, when everyone wants to start talking, there's a series of buttons to hit, which eventually opens up a full intercom mode. Sorry I couldn't clarify the Scala connections any better, but they explanations in the manual aren't great, although it IS possible to puzzle it out using the diagrams. Chatterbox will handle pretty much as many riders as you can possibly cram together. There are a bunch of channels, but everyone just switches to the same channel, and then when one person talks, everybody hears it (as long as only one person tries talking at once.
3.)What kinds of distances do you want to be able to reach?
Scala is rated for 1/4 mile, but I haven't gotten the opportunity to test the range in practical application. Chatterbox is listed at up to 5 miles. Obviously, you won't be able to reach 5 miles through town, or arounds 6 corners up a canyon, but on a flat highway we've confirmed several miles of range, and in the canyons we still have a good spread, but haven't really tried pushing this limit.
There's a number of other concerns, obviously, but I'm feeling bad for taking up so much time already, so I'll just keep the rest handy for answering whatever questions you might have regarding your priorities. In short, the Scala Rider G4 looks like a very nice system and got positive reviews from most people we talked to, as well as being much smaller. If there were only 2 of us riding, we'd have probably picked it up. However, there are 3 of us riding together frequently right now,a nd we wanted the option of expanding to more, as several other friends are interested in getting motorcycles and joining us. In addition, we wanted the process of connecting additional riders to be simple, and to be sure that everyone could always hear whoever is in front giving warnings regarding road hazards, fuel stops, and whatever else we all need to know. We also didn't want to be concerned about getting far enough out of range to lose somebody out of the communication system and not realize it.
Ok, again, sorry for the book, and I'll try to be more brief with any followup. Or, Just PM me, and I can answer more via email or phone.
The short for is that it really depends on what you're looking for in a system. Both systems have their ups and downs, and they don't do all the same things in the same ways. We ended up getting the chatterbox system, as it seemed to come closer to meeting the list of priorities we had. On the other hand, we were able to find clearer internet reviews of the Scala Rider G4. In any case, I'll list off some of the things that Myself and my riding buddies had in mind when we went shopping for headsets, and maybe Gpmo will chip in with anything else he remembers at some point.
1.) Are you concerned with having Full Duplex communications?
(this is where both/all parties are able to speak at once, rather than one person keying up to transmit at a time) Scala will have this, Chatterbox won't. However, even though the Scala has it, it gets less useful as you increase the number of riders. For only 2 riders, its perfect. At 3 riders, it will take over one of your bluetooth device channels, so you can't connect as many bluetooth devices to it. Also, at 3 riders, it works differently. There will be a channel A and a Channel B, each headset can only connect to one other headset per channel. So Riders 1&2 connect to each other through channel A, Riders 2&3 connect to each other through channel B. This means that everyone can hear rider 2, and rider 2 can hear riders 1 and 3, but riders 1 and 3 can't hear each other.
2.) How many people will be in your riding group?
Scala will handle up to 4 total, and at 4 riders, you can once again do full duplex. Sort of. Riders 1&2 connect via channel A, Riders 3&4 also connect Channel A seperately, then Riders 1&3 also use channel B to connect to each other, while riders 2&4 connect on another channel B as well. Then, when everyone wants to start talking, there's a series of buttons to hit, which eventually opens up a full intercom mode. Sorry I couldn't clarify the Scala connections any better, but they explanations in the manual aren't great, although it IS possible to puzzle it out using the diagrams. Chatterbox will handle pretty much as many riders as you can possibly cram together. There are a bunch of channels, but everyone just switches to the same channel, and then when one person talks, everybody hears it (as long as only one person tries talking at once.
3.)What kinds of distances do you want to be able to reach?
Scala is rated for 1/4 mile, but I haven't gotten the opportunity to test the range in practical application. Chatterbox is listed at up to 5 miles. Obviously, you won't be able to reach 5 miles through town, or arounds 6 corners up a canyon, but on a flat highway we've confirmed several miles of range, and in the canyons we still have a good spread, but haven't really tried pushing this limit.
There's a number of other concerns, obviously, but I'm feeling bad for taking up so much time already, so I'll just keep the rest handy for answering whatever questions you might have regarding your priorities. In short, the Scala Rider G4 looks like a very nice system and got positive reviews from most people we talked to, as well as being much smaller. If there were only 2 of us riding, we'd have probably picked it up. However, there are 3 of us riding together frequently right now,a nd we wanted the option of expanding to more, as several other friends are interested in getting motorcycles and joining us. In addition, we wanted the process of connecting additional riders to be simple, and to be sure that everyone could always hear whoever is in front giving warnings regarding road hazards, fuel stops, and whatever else we all need to know. We also didn't want to be concerned about getting far enough out of range to lose somebody out of the communication system and not realize it.
Ok, again, sorry for the book, and I'll try to be more brief with any followup. Or, Just PM me, and I can answer more via email or phone.
lil charlie
Registered
^^ nice review 
are you sure? ??? we have used our in the rain lots of times with no problems, and they do say they are on their web site.
I think the only ones that are waterproof are the xbi ones. I'm fairly positive the gmrs ones aren't.
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gforce_190
Registered
If you go X1 get the bluetooth , works real well with htc cell phone and music , stop,fwd,back,pause etc.
oops, i see that they are both bluetooth. I have nothing neg to say about my x1, been using them since the first frs unit 10 + years.
oops, i see that they are both bluetooth. I have nothing neg to say about my x1, been using them since the first frs unit 10 + years.
Deal
Registered
If that's the case, the Scala would probably do just fine. As mentioned, though, the Chatterbox GMRS X1 is waterproof, have ridden in the rain for several hours with no problems.
Yep, the Scala should work fine for this. I know the Q2 wasn't listed as one of your options, but mine work great. The wife and I have loved being able to retire the hand signals and actually talk on the bike. They are also compatible with the G4. The FM radio is nothing to write home about, but other than that they were a real bargain. $169 for the multi-set (2 units).
I recently was looking to upgrade from my original q2 multiset to something like the g4. after reading all the reviews and stuff, webbikeworld was a good one, I ended up getting the smh10 by sena off of amazon. works well and has lots of options so if you would rather have in ear headphones rather than helmet speakers you can. Just another option that you can try. Only thing is it doesn't have the fm radio, but hte radio on my q2 wasn't great so I never used it. Just throwing that out there.
Amazon.com: Sena SMH10 Dual Pack: Cell Phones & Accessories
Amazon.com: Sena SMH10 Dual Pack: Cell Phones & Accessories
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