Sena SMH10

[Hank]

Cara and I have had a pair of Sena SMH10 blue tooth gadgets for a few weeks now.    So far I'd give them a big thumbs up!

They pair with up to 4 other SHM10s to work as intercoms, and also with your BT phone, radar detector, etc etc.    We've only used the intercoms a few times but they worked great up to extra legal speeds - very easy to chat with clear sound at 80mph.

I've used mine primarily with my phone to this point.  Streaming music from MP3 or Pandora works great.  I've also made and received a few phone calls and the person on the other end had no idea I was riding a motorcycle at 70mph.  No noticeable wind noise on their end.   You can dial hands free but how well that works is really up to your phone.  I've found it only marginally reliable on my Droid.

The speakers fit easily in the ear pockets of my helmet and the boom mike tucked in nicely and isn't intrusive.  The speakers are loud enough that I can hear music at 80 mph on the Norge WITH ear plugs in.   

Installation in my helmet took 5 minutes and battery life seems to be very long.   

The controls are very simple and easy to use even with gloves on.

I tried an intercom maybe 15 years ago and it was really clumsy and disappointing.   The technology has finally caught up and this is a really nice product.

[The Yeti]

The wife and I have also had SMH10s for about a year and love 'em. The only downside is that the VOX (voice activated intercom) doesn't work well at all, but I'm fine with the sudo push-to-talk (more like push to turn on intercom, push to turn off intercom) option.

I've got the mount that has the earphone jack and use my Etymotic ER6i in-ear headphones, sounds awesome! I sometimes have trouble getting the SMH10 to pair with my wifes iPod (3rd gen), but it always pairs up with my 4th gen just fine.

Sometimes you have to get a little creative when mounting the unit on your helmet - modifications 'may' be neccessary!

[Hank]

I'll have to try mine with my ER-6i's sometime.  So far I've been really happy with just the speakers and my ears get angry if I wear ear buds for too long.

[The Yeti]

Did you get the base with the earphone jack too? Maybe the new ones come with both...I had to pay extra.

[Hank]

Yeah the base has the jack, and yes I think its standard now.

[The Yeti]

Yeah the base has the jack, and yes I think its standard now.

DOH! 

[The Yeti]

Just went to Sena's site - that jack on yours is for input, not output - my old one has the same thing. It's so you can hardwire a (non-BT) audio device.

Here is the earbud kit:

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/sena-smh-10-helmet-clamp-kit-earbuds-with-boom-and-wired-microphone

[Hank]

Hmm.. OK.. well I did not know that!  Thanks!

So with this kit is it possible to still use the boom mount mic?    It looks like such a mess of wires, which kind of defeats the appeal of the SMH10 (no wires to F with).

I'll probably stick with what I have for now.      I might change my mind if wind noise is gets to be a problem though!   The Norge has enough protection that its pretty quiet.  The ZX14 however produces alot of turbulence and helmet noise so .. we'll see.

[loingrader]

these are on my wishlist before a road trip this august.  they seem like the best on the market all things considered.  it's good to hear some feedback from you guys.  thanks for posting.

[The Yeti]

Hmm.. OK.. well I did not know that!  Thanks!

So with this kit is it possible to still use the boom mount mic?    It looks like such a mess of wires, which kind of defeats the appeal of the SMH10 (no wires to F with).

I'll probably stick with what I have for now.      I might change my mind if wind noise is gets to be a problem though!   The Norge has enough protection that its pretty quiet.  The ZX14 however produces alot of turbulence and helmet noise so .. we'll see.

Yes, you can use boom or stick-on mic - I'm using the stick on.

There really is only one more wire and that's the earbud extension wire that you really don't need unless the wire on your earbuds is really really short. I plug my earbuds directly into the unit and have the wires wrapped up short.

Plugging/un-plugging your earbuds is one more thing to remember when taking your helmet on and off though....

[The Yeti]

Oh, one more thing - there's been reports on ADV about the earbud connector working itself loose from the base, but I've not had any problems. I've been kinda careful with the connector since reading those reports though.

[Bogus Jim]

So are the Sena SMH10's still the ones to get? Or should I wait for the 20S?

Might be taking a trip latter half of January, I'd like to get a intercom system. I'm not sure when the 20S is going to ship though.

[Hank]

I know nothing about the 20S, but I've been extremely happy with our SHM10s.    Mine has 100s of hours of use and has been flawless, and the battery life is still really good too.

I do wish they would pair with more than 3 others.   Maybe the 20S makes an improvement there?    Group trail riding conversations are great, and sometimes we have more than 4 people.   You can have a 4 way open mic all day long without killing the battery.

I love it when people call me when I'm riding and they have absolutely no clue that I'm not sitting in a chair somewhere.

[Hank]

One other slick thing I like about the 10 is the cost of the bases.   They are around 30 bucks, so its affordable to have a base on each helmet you use, then moving the intercom between helmets takes literally 5 seconds.     Hopefully the 20 keeps that feature.

[Lonesome Dave]

Jim, keep us updated.  I've been planning to get a set next year.