Sena SMH10

[djh3]

so I am kind of thinking maybe tossing the wired headsets. it all started when I was in Cycle Gear yesterday and the sales fellow showed me this pre installed BILT helmet with bluetooth. I forget now which manufacture he said it had in it maybe U-clear. I know it wasnt a Scala, Sena or big name I remember. Then this AM I have a sales flyer e-mail from another motorcycle supply company and they have the Bell Mag 9 that is set up for the Sena smh10 on sale. We like our mag 8 and the the 9 has the drop down inside shield. So I get to looking. $$$$$ then researching and you tube etc. To me it looks as though the Sena has good features, and not really much more than if you upgrade wired headsets. I had to wire in additional plug so I can run ear buds just so the sound quality is good enough on Ic and radio I dont have to ask the wife 'huh" about every 4 words with the J&M headsets. also we had alot of background woosh, so installed the button type mic mute things.

So how are the Sena bluetooth headsets? How is sound quality from factory speakers? I am thinking I will get the mount that you can use earbuds for me and just by-bass the whole speaker route. How is the background noise from mic? How is the sound and volume from the units?

[Kettlinton]

AWESOME!!! They are great! You will not be disappointed with them. Sound quality is clear, mic is clear, waterproof, I have left it on for 9 hours solid with music playing before it died on me, tested range with my finace up to 1-1/2 miles of clear chat.

[Bob Myers]

Ours are clear as a bell, even at highway speed. Once in a while Tina will get a staic noise in hers but it seems somehow related to the aux fuel pump I have on the fuel cell. she hears static, I turn pump on and off and the static goes away. Coincidence?

 

Any way, i have 3 complete helmet setups, and just bought a 4th unit, a Sena 20s for my helmet.

make me an offer on 2 complete setups, the ones with interchangeable mic, one for full face, the other for open. I ran the one for open even in my full face, the closer the mic to your mouth the more background noise it hides. This is sena picture of what I have.

[Money Venture]

We just installed 4 of the 20s and they are great. I didn't want to spend the money and was instead looking at the smh10, but I am sold on the 20s. Just my .02. YMMV.

[djh3]

Watched and read a bit on the 5 vs 10. I could probable get by with the 5,truthbe told. But the 10 seemed to have a couple more features. But danged if I can remember what they are now, past the 5 having FM radio.

Bob now your goning to make me think to hard. I will shoot you a PM or e-mail tomorrow maybe to see what you have.

[cagie]

So how are the Sena bluetooth headsets? How is sound quality from factory speakers? I am thinking I will get the mount that you can use earbuds for me and just by-bass the whole speaker route. How is the background noise from mic? How is the sound and volume from the units?

 

I use the SMR10R on both our helmets. Hers is FF and mine 3/4" we hear each other fine (too well at times, LOL). I like the 10R because it is a lot lower profile and the separate battery can be replaced easily if it goes bad. Mics are crisp and clear. Sound quality from the speakers they come with is good even at 80mph. Have it paired with the SM10 that is wired to the 5 pin so I can use the CB.

[camos]

Have it paired with the SM10 that is wired to the 5 pin so I can use the CB.

Can you actually use the CB or just listen to it?

[dacheedah]

that was my question also, can i use the bikes audio system with the cb ...

[djh3]

Possibly with this? I dont know, CB is not a big deal to me. I think I have turned it one twice since I have owned the bike.

Probably will have to investigate how to make the bike stereo operate over the wireless headset.

[BigLenny]

DJ,

 

Buy it! We love our SMH10's. Have had them for 4 years now and they're still doing great. However, I and seriously thinking about upgrading to the new 20's. We used the Scala product for a couple years before we bought the Sena's. The Sena's are better.

[Stealthblade]

DJ,

 

My buddy and I bought the smh10's for the intercom and music sharing. The Sena is a great product, and until his helmet was stolen, we used it all the time.

 

The only thing I can mention that directly relates to what you are looking at, is the Bell Mag 9 helmet. That is the one he had. The setup with the SMH10 was just as described, though you do have to buy a separate mount system for the Mag 9. No big deal and quite slick looking.

 

The only downside I can tell you from experience is that I have a full face, and the Mag 9 is like a 3/4. He mentioned that he could not get the sound loud enough at cruising speed because of the wind noise inside the helmet. Perhaps the speakers were not placed perfectly, but that was one thing. The other is that from my point of view, the wind noise coming from the mic on the Mag 9 was at times unbearable. I could still understand what he was saying, but it was like he was talking through a leaf blower directly against my ear. At less then highway speeds, say 40-45, it was ok. He does have a windshield on the bike

 

We never got the chance to try a thicker mic cover, but I wanted you to have a real world testimonial.

[Money Venture]

Our Sena 20s we can listen to music while using the intercom. The other person can't hear your music so he hears the singing without the music. No wind noise even with the one helmet that is a 1/2? It looks like a military helmet. Music sounds great. GPS directions kick in when they come up while music is playing. We can speak in nearly a whisper and hear each other. The telephone seems clear to us and the other side also. I was against the extra money for them, but now think they are worth every cent. The girls each have them now too and love them. Also, it allows us to have two conversations at the same time. So the guys have their own channel.

[djh3]

Hmm I have read some that say the 3/4 helmet is noisey and some say its fine. So far 50/50 I am thinking that to use the radio on the bike all I need is a BT dongle transmitter I think is what its called. I already have a 3.5mm out put from the intercom/radio as I use ear buds now. So I should be able to connect the dongle there and get music etc from that if I chose. But for the passenger to hear either say my phone I'm using for music or the bike via the dongle thing, wouldn't they just have to "pair" to it?

We both currently have Bell Mag 8,so same as Mag 9 just the earlier version basicly and no special place for BT, so regular brackets.

[Guest Bluestreak]

Can you actually use the CB or just listen to it?

 

This link is for the Honda Goldwing, but if you call them they can have a harness made to fit Yamaha RSV.

 

http://www.sierra-mc.com/proddetail.asp?prod=SIE-SNA-GW-SMH10

[cagie]

Can you actually use the CB or just listen to it?

 

I can listen and talk. if there is music playing it cuts it out as long as it is running through the SM10. I generally don't do that though as it isn't stereo, I'll cut the music down if I'm on the CB.

[camos]

This link is for the Honda Goldwing, but if you call them they can have a harness made to fit Yamaha RSV.

 

http://www.sierra-mc.com/proddetail.asp?prod=SIE-SNA-GW-SMH10

According to my understanding of the description, the Sierra adapter ($99) attaches to a Sena SMH-10 headset (approx $180) on the bike that is used to transmit to the rider's headset. A bit too spendy for me at this time but then how much is freedom worth?

 

Thanks Bluestreak, it's good to know that option exists anyway.

[camos]

I can listen and talk. if there is music playing it cuts it out as long as it is running through the SM10. I generally don't do that though as it isn't stereo, I'll cut the music down if I'm on the CB.

That's good news, I contacted Sena about the SM10 quite a while ago and was told it was not able to transmit on the CB. I guess they must have modified it since that time. The SM10 is advertised to have stereo output though so I am a bit confused about you saying it is not stereo. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your information.

[djh3]

I was surfing looking at vidieos on the SMH10 headset. One of them mentioned when connecting to like a GPS to do a certain sequence like hold the jog button or something. Anyways it allowed the unit to use a connection that would allow the pairing to the mp3 player to be stereo. Almost like ther is a limited number of " channels" that are stereo.

[camos]

One of them mentioned when connecting to like a GPS to do a certain sequence like hold the jog button or something.

I don't know if this is off topic but how does the GPS get connected to the headset? I recently got a Garmin Nuvi 2598 which has Bluetooth capabilities. From what I have read the Bluetooth in the Garmin is only meant to connect to a cell phone for calls. I have not found anything that says the voice directions can be routed through the headset.

 

Anyone know about this feature?

[Bob Myers]

That's good news, I contacted Sena about the SM10 quite a while ago and was told it was not able to transmit on the CB. I guess they must have modified it since that time. The SM10 is advertised to have stereo output though so I am a bit confused about you saying it is not stereo. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your information.

No, the SM still is only a receive/dual stream only.

you need the SR10 to connect to radio to Tx via bluetooth, and an "open end" cable they sell and wire it to a 5 pin DiN connector

[djh3]

I'm driving myself coo coo looking at videos. I saw one yesterday a fellow had a GPS, cell phone and mp3 player and intercom all working. There is a sequence he went thru so that the MP3 was stereo. I think he paired the GPS to SMH10, then the phone to the GPS, then MP# player via BT to headset. But did mention a step in there so the GPS connection was not stereo I think.

.

 

Bob do you see any reason a fellow couldn't connect the bike stereo thru a 3.5mm cable to the unit via its port if you have something like this wired up? I think it would be fine and save almost $200. (the wiring came from a GW site, but we all know its pin out is the same.)

[Bob Myers]

Sure it'll work. When you buy your SENA unit it will come with the proper cable to connect your stereo cable to the SENA too.

 

pairing all this is really simple and easy to do, just don't add an intercom from another helmet,,, it takes priority and turns everything else off until you toggle the intercom off

[djh3]

So if music is running thru BT and you want to talk you tap the button. For us right now thats kind of where I'm at with the OEM deal. The open all the time mic makes so much wind noise I had to put mic cut outs on it to keep me from going bonkers.

$450+ for the other jobs is way outta range for me. Thats better than 1/2 years insurance premium.

[djh3]

As of now I'm in the sorting out mode. I like these headsets and I believe they would take care of the functions I want. but the flip side is, other than getting rid of the current wires I'm not really gaining anything. I still will have to run extra pieces of electronics to get radio to headsets, and I'm not for certain the intercom is going to be clear and un-noisy So many reviews say with a 3/4 it was noisy enough they had to shut it off with the jog button and reinitiate when they wanted to talk. Well heck I got the same thing now, but at least I have it fixed with a on/off inline mic mute. So I'm on hold basicly.

[Daveand Barbie]

I rode this summer with a friend who has the Amplirider on his Suzuki SV. On a Venture, it could very well be adapted to the existing system to allow for additional devices. As I understand it, each of the 3 inputs has a volume adjust with a remote master volume control.

 

http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html

 

Someone smarter than me could probably figure a way to make it work.