New Sena product

[kiwiaudio]

I've been considering the SMH10 from Sena. Just noticed they have a new model available late Jan, early Feb, that has promise for me. It is the SMH5 and an attractive price too !

http://www.jcmotors.com/p-30350-sena-smh5-motorcycle-bluetooth-headset-and-intercom.aspx

Someone on advrider noticed it lacks the wired mp3 input, but of importance to me is the addition/option of a wired microphone that i could hide inside my helmet. I think i would rarely use the mic so don't really want that big boom mic anyway. Having said that, my son tells me that the bluetooth software has voice recognition, meaning i could speak commands like track change and volume level. Is this true ?

Of premium importance to me though, is audio quality. It is one reason i've been on the fence regarding bluetooth as opposed to wired. How good are these Sena speakers ? I don't need to blow my head apart, I just require quality audio !

 

What do you guys think?

[marcopolo]

I have an Autocom (installed 2007) on my RT and last year I bought two Sena SMH-10s (one for me and one for my wife). I don't use it for music, just for a rider-pax intercom. That said, I hate in-helmet speakers, so I ordered the optional helmet clamp that excludes speakers, but instead allows me to plug in my Arizona Al earbuds. They work like a charm.

[kiwiaudio]

Mark, I compared helmet speakers to ear buds once and at comparable volume I could still hear ambient noise around the speakers, that i could not with the earbuds. It was in a showroom, and i could converse with my buddy standing beside me with the helmet speakers. That told me i would still hear things around me on the road as long as my volume wasn't crazy. I'm sure the earbuds were sealing better in my ears and would sound better because of it though.

I guess i should change my original statement. I love high quality audio, but not at the expense of hearing nothing else. I am on a motorcycle after all, and there are a lot of cage morons around me !

Please explain why you hate helmet speakers ?

[kiwiaudio]

Mark, one other thing. The clamp system without speakers that you have allows you to use your own earbuds, correct?

Then this unit would allow your own choice of helmet speakers also right?

 

[jaytee]

Sena's speakers are excellent for the type. That being said, the alternate baseplate available for the Sena to use earbuds is far better from a sound perspective. There is a problem with some headphones, however, that introduces transmission buzz if your headphones aren't shielded. I use a shure branded in ear headphone that had horrible interference until I strategically placed tinfoil on the outside of the main unit.

 

So in answer to your Q, the voice recognition that is available to me is what my iPhone has. The Sena unit will activate that function with a button. It's usefulness is dependant on your phone.

 

The small wired mic is excellent and just as good as the large boom mic, no worries there.

 

On the whole the Sena unit is excellent. While I haven't looked at the 5 (I own 3 10s), so long as the internals and noise reduction circuitry are the same I think you will be pleased. I have never used the mp3 hard line since the Bluetooth from the iPhone is excellent (digital). The speakers (while excellent) will never sound as good as in-ear noise isolating units, but still sound as good as can be expected over the wind noise in the helmet and are loud enough to be heard even through earplugs.

 

I heartily recommend the product (even with its limitations) over the wired options for ease of use, quality components, weatherproofing and solid sound quality.

 

JT

[kiwiaudio]

Thanks JT.

[OoPEZoO]

Mark, one other thing. The clamp system without speakers that you have allows you to use your own earbuds, correct?

Then this unit would allow your own choice of helmet speakers also right?

 

I'll answer for him......Yes, and Yes

 

I also have a pair of SMH10 for the wife and I. I run the same setup as Mark with regards to the earbuds. I always wore foam earplugs when riding, so I had to crank the volume to almost 100% in order to hear anything. I ended up buying a kit to make my own custom earbuds from www.earfuze.com. I have been thrilled with the results. I actually use them at work now when I need to get computer work done and don't want to be distracted.

 

I use the SMH10 to listen to music all the time, and also use it as an intercom when my Wife is on the back of the bike. The whole setup has been flawless. The music gets pumped into the system via bluetooth streaming from my iPhone and the audio quality is great. Its a little lacking in the bass department, but thats because of the earbuds not the unit. I know voice command works for certain things. I have used it a few times to place a phone call while riding. I have never tried to switch songs with it. I always do that by the control knob on the side of the module. There is a bit of a learning curve to figure out all of the different controls and button combinations, but it comes natural after 15 minutes of fiddling with it. I would buy them again in a second.

[kiwiaudio]

Thanks Keith. Great info guys !

[marcopolo]

As Keith just posted, yes you can certainly use any brand of earbuds that fit the socket on the optional Sena helmet clamp kit for earbuds. I don't quite understand your second question about this unit allowing your own choice of helmet speakers. If you buy the optional clamp kit for earbuds, there are no helmet speakers.

 

As for why I don't like helmet speakers, I found the Autocom ones incredibly uncomfortable. Also, given I always wear earplugs, I had to crank the volume up to hear anything. I find earbuds (mine are custom-made) much more comfortable and much more effective. Yes, they do reduce ambient noise (which I want), but not to the extent that you can't hear what's going on around you. I suppose if you were listening to music at high volumes, that wouldn't be the case. FWIW, I tried Etymotic ER-6i earbuds, but didn't like them at all. That's when I switched to Arizona Al's custom-made ones. He's a board member and I'm simply one of his many satisfied customers (no affiliation beyond that etc.).

[OoPEZoO]

Thanks Keith. Great info guys !

 

The other advantage of going to earbuds with the Sena units is that your run time will be greatly increased since you are no longer driving the helmet speakers.

 

With the helmet speakers I got about 7 hours of run time with constant music streaming at a high volume.

With the earbuds, I managed a 14 hour day of music streaming (plus intercom use) and it still wasn't dead when I pulled into the garage. That was a very pleasant surprise

[kiwiaudio]

I've been conversing with Pedro @ Sena, and he tells me they don't yet have the SMH5, so I don't know how that one website I mentioned is setting a price for it !

Anyway, i'm going to wait till it is released and see what the speakers are all about etc. Apparently the intercom operating distance is half that of the SMH10, and it has a new look so there are probably other changes to get the price to about half that of the SMH10.

 

I want to try speakers for a while for a few reasons. Most of my riding days involve frequent stops and my riding buddies don't wear helmets. They are ready to go way before i get my hat strapped on, so if i had earbuds to mess with also, i probably wouldn't use them. Bluetooth is something i want to try over wired, for the same reason.

Also, my new Bell has areas inside for speakers, which is a first for me, and i want to try it out.

 

Mark, those Etymotics (sp?) are supposed to be fantastic earbuds, and expensive too if i remember right. If Als are better, they must be amazing. I'll look into those too !

[marcopolo]

Mark, those Etymotics (sp?) are supposed to be fantastic earbuds, and expensive too if i remember right. If Als are better, they must be amazing. I'll look into those too !

 

A lot of people swear by the Etymotics, but they didn't work for me. Given I always wear earplugs, I wanted the Etymotics to also cut down some of the ambient noise. They didn't and fI ound them irritating in that respect. I tried every tip they supplied and none worked to my satisfaction. I also found them uncomfortable under my helmet; not so with custom-made earbuds.

[OoPEZoO]

I started with the helmet speakers because that is what the kits come with. I didn't buy the new earbud helmet clamp till a few months later. I think I paid like $35 for it or something like that. Either way, its nice to be able to try different configurations without breaking the bank.

 

My wife still uses the helmet speaker setup and likes it.

[JimD]

One more thing, you do not have to use the boom mic with the SMH 10. There is a base plate that allows you to use the small wired mic or no mic at all. I use the helmet speakers with custom earplugs and still have plenty of volume.