Sena SMH10B Review

[k1oj]

Sena SMH10B-10 Review

This is a review of my new Sena SMH10 Bluetooth Headset and how well it functions for my particular application. Spoiler alert! It works extremely well! The Sena is a replacement for a three year old Scala Cardo Q2 headset. I considered a new Scala 4 but the reviews were not stellar. I have tried several different wired systems over the years but have a need to go wireless for some of my activities. I have used starcom, kenedy, rider and a couple others. Basically I need connectivity between the headset and the following items: 2 GPSs, phone, MP3, intercom, ham/wx band radio. Why so much stuff? I have only one motorcycle and it needs to meet all the requirements for its intended duties; pleasure rides, long distance endurance rides (IBA), touring, bicycle charity ride escort (Motorcycle Marshal), and anything else that comes to mind. The idea is to throw my leg over the FJR1300, turn on the headset and go. No fuss, no hassle, just go. I will not discuss the installation and set up of all this equipment here. Only the bluetooth connectivity and headset operation.

Here are the general equipment specs:

Headset - Sena SMH10B-10 FW V4.1, BT V3.0

GPSs - Garmin Zumo 550

Ham/WX Radio - Yeasu FTM10R Transceiver, AM/FM/VHF/UHF, Dual channel Bluetooth

Phone - Apple iPhone 4

The Sena SMH10 allows several connection profiles including Headset Profile, Hands-free Profile (HFP), Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), Audio Video Remote control Profile (AVRCP). I have yet to try all the possible profile combinations but have already found that by simply using HFP and A2DP everything works as I need. With the multiple connects and the availability of the SM10 Dual Stream Stereo Transmitter (dongle), which allows wired audio connections, the connectivity is nearly limitless. The basic helmet mount comes with a single stereo 3.5mm input. My particular needs have been met without having to acquire the SM10 dongle.

The old Scala Q2 worked pretty well but two major problems were the short battery life (3-4hrs) when connected to the ham radio, and the fact that it could not be paired to anything else when the ham radio was in use. When not using the ham radio, it was paired to another headset (intercom) and the GPS which also paired to the phone and those worked well also. Battery life was then extended to a more realistic 6 hours or so. The Sena allows for multiple connections via HFP profile and allows me to connect to the ham radio, GPS, and intercom at the same time. I use A2DP profile for the GPS to allow stereo MP3 streaming. Another plus for the Sena is the available volume is 3x that of the Scala. Instead of straining to hear, I am able to run it at about 75% volume at highway speeds. The audio is clearer and has more bass than the Scala even though the speakers are only slightly thicker. With the helmet on, I can fill up with gas at the pump, walk inside the store while still hearing and talking on the radio or phone. While assisting a down or injured rider, I can stay in contact via the ham radio with out having to carry a separate hand held radio on my belt. Audio reports from the phone and ham radio have been very positive. Audio prompts from the menu system are nice.

I found this SMH10 on ebay for about $160. Not bad when comparing to other available units.

 

[Eric L]

I have my iphone streaming music, phone, and pandora to the Sena, and the zumo sending routing. It pairs quickly, never drops the devices, has plenty of volume. I love it. I especially love being able to pop it off the helmet to charge without fiddling with fragile wires.

 

[AlleyCat]

Happy with mine... but I had to use the speaker pads to get them closer to my ears seeing that at highway speeds my music was not loud enough. However, the music recording levels are to blame because when the phone rang I could easily hear the ringer (not to mention the caller was loud and clear). I also confirmed that the music loudness protection was deactivated on the phone.

Only issue was the other day, I had the wife using her SMH10 to listen to her music via her iPhone and I was doing the same via my iPhone, but my SMH10 kept cutting out about every 5 seconds. The cutting off was a very regular predictable pattern. I just stopped the music. When we were using the intercom, no cutting out. My phone was located at my waist, so that should not have been an issue. I will have to retry the setup to see if the issue can be reproduced. All the times I was solo riding, no problems ever with regards to my music cutting out.

I really like the simple 2 button use (with gloves)... easy to remove from the helmet, simple firmware updates etc. Time will tell about how solid the unit will be facing the elements. I would buy again (purchase was made through Canada's Motorcycle website).

 

[A41Billy]

I love my Sena units. I use earbuds with mine. I find the audio much richer and get the effect of ear plugs. Free firmware upgrades make these all the better. All the other companies leave you to buy the next model to get improvements.

 

[escapefjrtist]

I'm in the market for something that will do exactly (minus Ham) what you've described and allow comm's with the SO. Good information, thanks for the positive report.

--G

 

[Checkswrecks]

I love my Sena units. I use earbuds with mine. I find the audio much richer and get the effect of ear plugs. Free firmware upgrades make these all the better. All the other companies leave you to buy the next model to get improvements.

Be VERY careful with the plug, where it goes into the base of the helmet clamp. I've broken two and I was trying to be gentle. My son says taht the wind catches the cord and it flaps behind my shoulder, which I've never felt, so my guess is the plastic fatigues to death.

 

[Reble9mm]

I ordered the SMH10 and have loved them so far. I use the earbuds also. I tucked the wires into the liner of the helmet and leave the earbuds attached to the helmet, that way never have to unplug them and very small amount of the wire is exposed. Also got bluetooth transmitter, was hooking in the my Radar Override, with it plugged into Radar Det. and MP3 player. Works well! Also have tried with music thru the phone (b/t) and radar det. still thru Radar Override. Going to try hooking the b/t transmitter into the detector alone and see how that works. Want to get rid of the Radar Override since it uses 9v batttery.

Reble

 

[Fred W]

A few questions / concerns about these units functionality:

1) For those that use the helmet speakers, do you also wear high attenuating earplugs? And if so do you feel the audio amplitude is high enough from the helmet speakers to listen to music on the highway?

2) When you have multiple inputs paired to the headset, what happens when an input of a higher priority occurs. Does it mute the lower input when switching between profiles or does it mix the audio? IOW, If I was running a GPS over A2DP and had the passenger intercom function set as the highest priority, would it mute the GPS's audio (including any phone or music coming from it) any time my passenger talks to me?

I still think that the best possible solution would be using a Bluetooth headset paired to a full featured intercom (Starcom or Autocom) just as an A2DP wireless headset and have the intercom box do all of the wired or wireless signal processing, audio mixing, muting, prioritizing, etc. Unfortunately, while this is achievable (at least with Starcom gear), it is an extremely expensive proposition, and if question #1 is still an issue, if you can't use good 33dBa earplugs and hear the thing well enough, well then that's still a deal breaker.

 

[Enn]

A few questions / concerns about these units functionality:

1) For those that use the helmet speakers, do you also wear high attenuating earplugs? And if so do you feel the audio amplitude is high enough from the helmet speakers to listen to music on the highway?

2) When you have multiple inputs paired to the headset, what happens when an input of a higher priority occurs. Does it mute the lower input when switching between profiles or does it mix the audio? IOW, If I was running a GPS over A2DP and had the passenger intercom function set as the highest priority, would it mute the GPS's audio (including any phone or music coming from it) any time my passenger talks to me?

I still think that the best possible solution would be using a Bluetooth headset paired to a full featured intercom (Starcom or Autocom) just as an A2DP wireless headset and have the intercom box do all of the wired or wireless signal processing, audio mixing, muting, prioritizing, etc. Unfortunately, while this is achievable (at least with Starcom gear), it is an extremely expensive proposition, and if question #1 is still an issue, if you can't use good 33dBa earplugs and hear the thing well enough, well then that's still a deal breaker.

1) I do use the high attenuating earplugs and helmet speakers. The sound is not too loud, but enough for me as it silences all the road and engine noise as well

2) It does have a priority system and it does not mix the audio. Gps has the priority over intercom and that can be pretty anoying. I have been talking to my wife and while coming to the roundabouts the gps comes in and tells me where to go, which means that I missed what my wife was just telling me and then there was a lot of explaining afterwards as I was accused of never listening to what she is saying. She of course did not know that my audio was switched on gps for a while ...

 

[Fred W]

Thanks for the feed back.

#1 is good news. I had heard a similar report previously, but that was from a guy that doesn't normally use earplugs and tested it for me.

#2 is not so good. But if one was to shell out the big coin to use a starcom1 and just use their BT headset interface with a Sena headset... well it shows there may be a real wireless headset solution with all the features one could possibly ask for.

It's all just a matter of money now.

 

[Harald]

A few questions / concerns about these units functionality:

1) For those that use the helmet speakers, do you also wear high attenuating earplugs? And if so do you feel the audio amplitude is high enough from the helmet speakers to listen to music on the highway?

I used to wear 33dB Howard Leight Max earplugs, but they attenuated the sound too much. I even used an awesome freeware utility called mp3gain to bump up the volume on all the mp3's on my zumo, but it still wasn't enough volume for me. I ended up going back to the good old 29dB EAR yellow foam earplugs so that I can hear the music loud enough while on the freeway. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Fred W]

A few questions / concerns about these units functionality:

1) For those that use the helmet speakers, do you also wear high attenuating earplugs? And if so do you feel the audio amplitude is high enough from the helmet speakers to listen to music on the highway?

I used to wear 33dB Howard Leight Max earplugs, but they attenuated the sound too much. I even used an awesome freeware utility called mp3gain to bump up the volume on all the mp3's on my zumo, but it still wasn't enough volume for me. I ended up going back to the good old 29dB EAR yellow foam earplugs so that I can hear the music loud enough while on the freeway. Of course, YMMV.

I assume that this is while using the Sena SMH10B headset, right? (I only ask because you didn't say that)

From experimentation I have come to realize that I need to use higher attenuating earplugs, either those 33 dBa Howard Leight Max or the E-A-R Earsoft grippers (hard to find them un-corded). If I use the regular foam ones my ears are ringing at the end of the day.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I would like to hear from someone who has had both the Scala G4 and Sena SMH10 for a direct comparison. But from the little I can gather, they are both similar in volume and bass response. Experiences are going to differ due to windshield and helmet selections, e.g., my Rifle is good at cleaning up the noisy environment, so any earplugs around 20 db work best for me to hear the music/GPS. I agree with Harald, 33db earplugs are too much, but these days, 33 db seems to be what everybody stocks locally. One solution is to trim some off the outer ends to let more sound in.

Also, for next season, I hope to have my G4's paired up with a good Autocom system I bought used, with the Autocom bluetooth module. I'll not likely have a review until I get some riding done next spring.

 

[Harald]

A few questions / concerns about these units functionality:

1) For those that use the helmet speakers, do you also wear high attenuating earplugs? And if so do you feel the audio amplitude is high enough from the helmet speakers to listen to music on the highway?

I used to wear 33dB Howard Leight Max earplugs, but they attenuated the sound too much. I even used an awesome freeware utility called mp3gain to bump up the volume on all the mp3's on my zumo, but it still wasn't enough volume for me. I ended up going back to the good old 29dB EAR yellow foam earplugs so that I can hear the music loud enough while on the freeway. Of course, YMMV.

I assume that this is while using the Sena SMH10B headset, right? (I only ask because you didn't say that)

From experimentation I have come to realize that I need to use higher attenuating earplugs, either those 33 dBa Howard Leight Max or the E-A-R Earsoft grippers (hard to find them un-corded). If I use the regular foam ones my ears are ringing at the end of the day.

I realized later yesterday that I should have mentioned that I have the first gen Sena SMH10 headsets. They are the ones with a coax type charging connection and are not software update-able. The gen II Sena might have different volume capabilities?

But you wouldn't want anything that's gen II, would you Fred?

 

[Fred W]

But you wouldn't want anything that's gen II, would you Fred?

Only if it's better than the first gen...

 

[Niehart]

Gen II Sena SMH10-SM10-Escort 9500ix-Zumo 550/XM Stereo-Samsung Galaxy SIII-Cee Bailey's 21 inch w/curved upper lip

The Sena is much better than my Scala G4 [scala might have made improvements now]. Sena is easier to use, pair up and more volume. Panman and I installed the SMH10's our helmets the day we left for CFO. We printed out the directions on how to pair the units up and headed out of town. They worked great and paired easily.

I added the SM10 later because I wanted the radar detector and Zumo XM stereo. Small unit, easy to install and easy to pair too. That part works awesome with good volume.

My only problem is with the phone. When folks call, the call goes through the Zumo. I hear the folks clearly but they say it sounds like I'm talking in a barrel. I have not played with that yet. I have the option of pairing the phone to the SMH10 headset and a few other choices. Also might just be the phone.

Fred, I have not used the headset and foam ear plugs yet. Will try that one of these days and let you know. Also can't help on how the setup works with a passenger as I'm always solo.

I have the system setup for radar [have to damn many points] first priority, then GPS, then phone and them stereo music.

 

[BigFJR]

Gen II Sena SMH10-SM10-Escort 9500ix-Zumo 550/XM Stereo-Samsung Galaxy SIII-Cee Bailey's 21 inch w/curved upper lip

The Sena is much better than my Scala G4 [scala might have made improvements now]. Sena is easier to use, pair up and more volume. Panman and I installed the SMH10's our helmets the day we left for CFO. We printed out the directions on how to pair the units up and headed out of town. They worked great and paired easily.

I added the SM10 later because I wanted the radar detector and Zumo XM stereo. Small unit, easy to install and easy to pair too. That part works awesome with good volume.

My only problem is with the phone. When folks call, the call goes through the Zumo. I hear the folks clearly but they say it sounds like I'm talking in a barrel. I have not played with that yet. I have the option of pairing the phone to the SMH10 headset and a few other choices. Also might just be the phone.

Fred, I have not used the headset and foam ear plugs yet. Will try that one of these days and let you know. Also can't help on how the setup works with a passenger as I'm always solo.

I have the system setup for radar [have to damn many points] first priority, then GPS, then phone and them stereo music.

I've been using the SMH10 for a while with a droid and love it. I recently got an SR10 to add on Ham, RD, and GPS. I now have to figure out how you guys are "prioritizing" things and I'll be good to go.

 

[psd2001]

I just got mine a week ago and very impreesed. Nothing to compare but easy to use, recie ing calls while riding is clear with no wind noise. Music is 50% volume using my iphone. Battery life is good, played music all day ride and still had juice.

 

[NightShine]

I just got mine a week ago and very impreesed. Nothing to compare but easy to use, recie ing calls while riding is clear with no wind noise. Music is 50% volume using my iphone. Battery life is good, played music all day ride and still had juice.

Hey. Do you wear earplugs while riding with this setup? If so, which ones?