Sena just came out with their 30K which makes me think - if you could wait a couple of months like until Black Friday or winter clearance deals, you might be able to get more on your budget.
Side note: You mentioned Sena's customer service rep. Was talking to a Sena field service rep over the summer and he told me nobody he works with is happy about Sena's decision to switch to an overseas customer "service center". Said they were getting constant complaints and everyone pretty much found them useless. FWIW.
I had the Scala team set for 4 years and was frustrated OFTEN with pairing etc particularly after a season end/ start up.
Went to just the Sena 5 and it is far superior. Speakers larger and easy to hear WITH earplugs and ease of use with gloves on is far superior IMO. We use the PTT all the time and have never been sorry we got rid of Scala.