SMH10-11

I’m updating my original review from 2 stars to 5. See my original review, below. I ended up repurchasing this dual pack of communicators and have been using them for more than a year. I enjoy long battery life and like being able to talk to my riding buddies. When riding, I can accept calls and people don’t even know that I’m riding. I have one on my full-face helmet and a second one on my half-shell helmet. I really enjoy having them and have determined that one of my riding buddies, with whom I tested my original set, didn’t have his microphone placed high enough in his helmet which is why I couldn’t understand him and usually only heard wind. I still can’t understand him but I have no problems with other riders so it must be his set-up. Great product that works as expected and I really enjoy listening to music when riding. Original review: I purchased these headsets based on positive reviews. I used them on 2 rides; performance with the telephone was good. People that I spoke to said they could hear me well. I was also able to listen to music and GPS directions. The bike-to-bike intercom feature, however, left much to be desired. I think that we could have shouted at one another and been heard better than we were when using the communicator devices. I'm not sure what the issue was: when we were off the bikes, we could hear fine. But riding the bikes at any speed over 25 mph presented serious challenges to hearing one another -- from almost any distance (as close as 10 feet); both of us use full-face helmets yet there was a tremendous amount of wind noise and my buddy sounded very, very distant. I contacted Sena and they were helpful in providing suggestions like resetting the units to a factory setting and updating the software. Unfortunately, I was unable to perform these updates and have an opportunity to ride with my buddy to try them out before owning the units beyond the time for which they could be returned. Moreover, I'm not sure why brand-new units should require a reset or software update. Over the past few days, I did a search for problems with Sena headsets and, despite the great reviews here, I found a lot of information relating to Sena failures and a lack of product support from the manufacturer. In addition to emailing Sena, I also called them. Strangely, I couldn't understand very much of the person was saying -- it was like he was using a phone that kept cutting in and out. As a result of Sena's instructions to reset the units, the unintelligible response from Sena's telephone customer service and the negative information about Sena units and the lack of customer support, I returned the items to the seller. I still want communicators but if these are among the best, the technology leaves a great deal to be desired. We expected a lot better performance and usability.

Installation of this product was very easy, maybe took about 15 minutes to get it positioned right. Make sure you use the adhesive backed pads to keep the speakers where you want them, even if your helmet has speaker pockets in it. I also used the speaker pads that move the speakers closer to your ears. Believe me, you'll want to use them. I only had one issue with this product: I couldn't get it to pair with my Samsung Galaxy S5. My phone would show that it paired with the SMH10 but the SMH10 wasn't seeing the phone! I left an email with Sena Support on Saturday then I took everything to the T-Mobile store to see if they could fix it. Turns out, the magnet on the S-View Flip Cover that I have on my phone was keeping the headset from completing the pairing process. When we removed the flip cover the headset paired right up with the phone. Once the two were paired I placed the S-View Flip Cover back on my phone and they stayed paired! Sena Customer Support emailed me first thing Monday morning to verify that I got the headset to pair up with my phone and I told them everything. As for the product...it works great! My ride to work is 1 hour one way. I've used voice command to play music and make phone calls with no problems! My wife can hear me loud and clear on her end, she can still hear a little bit of the wind when we talk (I use a full-face Bell Arrow helmet) and that's at 80MPH! I used to use a UCLEAR HBC100 headset and I need that at full volume to hear the music and my wife kept asking me to repeat myself when trying to talk to her with it. With the SMH10 everything is clear and you don't need the volume all the way up to hear. The volume for the music and the phone are separate so you can play your music loud an when you get a call the volume will adjust to where you set it last when you were on a phone call. One more note to make: These are little wafer speakers! Not 15" sub-woofers! They're not going to sound as good as your car audio system but they sound a lot better then the UCLEAR HBC100! With the Sena SMH10 I'm able to use the bass function on my phone, as well as, theater sound, surround sound, and all the other functions on the player that comes with my phone (couldn't do that with UCLEAR). In summary: I'm very happy with the Sena SMH10 and I'm glad I made the switch! I highly recommend this product to anyone who want a quality product with good sounding speakers, at a reasonable price!

I commute on my motorcycle as much as possible all through the year.. I am a general practice attorney, so unfortunately I have too often run into occasions where emergencies come up, and calls from Judge's chambers come in while I am riding.. I had relied on feeling the vibration from the phone in my chest pocket, and if there are repeat calls, I would pull over and check to see if the call coming in was a priority.. Obviously, there have ended up being plenty of occasions where the call was my wife calling about the garbage disposal being clogged or the wireless internet in the house not working!! So my purchase of this Sena unit was initially fueled by a desire to have the ability to press a button and answer a call to find out if a pull over was needed or not.. but then as I looked at these units, I realized I could also play my music wirelessly into the helmet AND have turn by turn GPS.. all from the phone.. I had to give it a try, and the Sena SMH10-11 received rave reviews from a few of my friends who are "real" riders.. not pretty Sunday ride type guys. These guys ride in the sun, the rain, the snow, hot, cold, 10 hour highway days, 10 hour blue ridge parkway days.. So I trusted their recommendations.. IMPORTANT PART OF MY REVIEW: I was initially considering going with the SMH10r version, because on some pictures I viewed the SMH10 looked big and possibly in the way.. now that I have it installed, it is totally fine, in my opinion.. the toggle is handy as heck, and as I have messed with it, I think the little buttons on the streamlined "r" version may have been a hassle. I popped the unit on my Scorpion EXO-1000 and routed the wires in about 10 minutes.. install was simple and a breeze. Paired the phone in 5 seconds.. Test run today in a monsoon of sorts -- raining, getting blown all over the road.. this unit stinking rocks!! Music in my helmet was plenty loud and I didn't have it cranked all the way.. my Exo-1000 is not a quiet helmet, and I'm splurging on a GT-Air, so sound will be better with a more quiet helmet. But plenty loud, and absolutely AWESOME not to be tethered with earbuds when I'm craning my neck around looking for predatory cage drivers! If water resistance was a big flaw, today's downpour might have created a problem.. but nada. I haven't tried a call while riding, because I didn't get one.. but the phone worked well when I bugged my wife calling from the garage inside my helmet. She couldn't tell, but that is not a useful "test" anyway.. Main reason I wanted to post this is on the size issue. I think these Sena units have a great rep already as far as function, but I just wanted to give my two cents on the form aspect. I almost didn't go with this one thinking I didn't want some bulbous thing on the side of my helmet.. but now that it is installed, for me the size is a non-issue, and surely is outweighed greatly by the simplicity and convenience of the toggle type operation of the unit.. FIVE STARS!

Communicating with my passenger is a total game changer when riding. My passenger was able to relax more knowing that we were turning in specific directions and pointing out things was so much easier. We both were able to speak naturally without raising our voices at all. Installation was easy even though it seemed kind of daunting at first. The wires snake through the side and under the inside of the helmet padding to Velcro to the liner. The mount is extremely solid on the outer shell of the helmet. Sound quality is just okay. I would say that the audio is all high-end and full of treble. We live in an age where tiny earbuds produce rich sound for their size - this isn’t the case here. But, it beats a blank. Pairing with an iPhone was easy and worked fine. I use it for music and navigation, both work 100%. These get LOUD. But, as noted, it’s all top end. They do manage to get loud enough to hear over a noisy helmet and loud exhaust. Got these as a 2-pack for $200 during the Prime Day deals. I wouldn’t pay more based on the audio quality, but they work, I prefer using it when riding, and the ability to speak with my passenger has reignited my kids’ desire to ride with me. I call that a win.

I have been using my Sena SMH10D-11 for a few weeks now and just love it. The sound is clear and the controls are easy to use. I can adjust the volume up or down with my Tourmaster gloves on or even skip ahead or back on songs when I pair my smartphone to it. The battery life seems to be quite good as well. One day I was listening to music while riding and I started to hear beeps go off. I thought '"what's that?" and then thought it might be someone trying to call my phone. So, I said "Hello", and the Sena SMH10 answered. It was my friend calling me. He said he couldn't tell I was riding a motorcycle. The sound quality was very good - using my full-face helmet. I will say that playing music lacks good bass but is still pretty good. You can't expect much from such small speakers. They're not like earplug style speakers. Voice quality (send & receive) is excellent. Installation was pretty easy on my full-face helmet. Just unsnap and pull out the liner panels and run the wires through it, then snap everything back in. Took about a half hour for each helmet. I did have to cut a notch in the plastic edge molding on the helmet next to where I mounted the Sena to make it easy to keep the it's wires close to the edge. The "11" model is the way to go for full-face helmets since you get an additional mic that can be attached just in front of your mouth on the chin guard with the Velcro strip provided. You also receive a boom mic if you need to attach it to a 3/4 or 1/2 helmet. Just a word on Sena's Technical Support folks...(since some reviews have entered negative comments regarding Sena's customer support). I emailed them (Tech Support, not Customer Support) before I made the purchase because I had questions regarding the differences between the SMH10D, SMH10D-10 and SMH10D-11 and also how to interface with the CB radio on my '05 Harley Ultra Classic. I received an email back from Tristan right away and he and I exchanged several emails until I had all of my questions answered. Tristan went above and beyond to help me. So, I'd like to give a little praise where praise is due. I was a bit disappointed to learn I would not be able to talk through the additional SM10 transmitter (in conjunction with the 7-pin DIN connect cord they sell) on my CB, but I could listen to it - and the FM radio as well. I told him it would be great for Sena to add that feature and he said he'd pass it on to their engineering department. So, I'm hoping something happens as a result of that. I ordered the SM10 and interface cable today. So, once I have that installed and working I'll review that as well. Once again, great product - and looks good too!

I'd give it 4.9 stars if I could. Not perfect, but it is a terrific device. Amazing little thing. One downside isn't really aimed at this item, but it could be solved by describing it more clearly. I bought the Bell Qualifier DLX Helmet along with it, which is specifically designed for the SMH-10. Problem is, for both the Bell helmets, (this and the MAG-9), you need the Bell-specific clamp, not the one that comes with this kit. It is now costing me an extra $40 to order the proper clamp, and I would have just ordered the proper kit in the first place if I had known. I looked to see if it required the same clamp as the Mag-9, but neither Amazon nor the Bell or Sena websites pointed that issue out for the DLX. The Bell site did point the issue out only on the MAG-9 description, so I assumed that since they DIDN'T point it out on the DLX that it didn't need it. I assumed wrong. I had to use the wrong clamp for my trip. It was a little ugly, but worked flawlessly otherwise. Very well-made, great intercom range, fair sound quality with music and super battery life. Calls are quite clear. Controls are well designed for use with gloves on the road. I used it for 12 hours straight and it showed no signs of running out of battery. I tried it both without earplugs at part volume and with earplugs at full volume. Pretty much the same, but the earplugs cut the background noise a bit better. If I were to nitpick, I wish they had a lot more bass and a bit more volume, but I assume it would take LOTS more power to drive this small a speaker and accomplish all that. Better than 2 or 3 other more expensive solutions I've tried in the past. The only thing with better sound quality are some expensive earbuds, but they are a huge hassle to take in and out and keep in your ears while dealing with a helmet. You can order another clamp kit for use with earbuds, but I didn't want that hassle and there doesn't appear to be a kit for both earbud use AND for the Bell helmets anyway. Overall, I would highly recommend this product with the caveats I mention. For a non-Bell helmet, this works great. Just order the Bell kit instead if you need that for your helmet.

This was a great purchase for my wife and I, and I am very pleased with it. The quality of sound is good and it functions great with my iPhone which I also use as my GPS on my motorcycle. The variable volume is more than adequate to hear while riding on the bike and my pipes are not quiet. We use them as a intercom between my wife and I and they work great we do not use them to speak to other riders. We also use them as communication via our iPhones and they work very well, so much so that when we are riding the party on the other end didn't realize I was even on the bike. Just make sure that you have the latest firmware once you get the unit. Changing the firmware and setting up the system was easy and I would highly recommend this unit to others. REVIEW UPDATE: It has now been about a year and half and the headsets are still working great! I have had them is all types of weather from blistering heat, to freezing cold and pouring rain and they still function well and sound terrific. I never had any issues and have updated the firmware several times as new updates have come out. I now have a Samsung Note 2 and although I am still playing with its functions with relation to the headset, I can say it is working well. My previous iPhone 4 worked very well with the headset and I used the iPhone and now the Note 2 as my GPS on the bike as well. When speaking on the phone the person on the other end rarely if ever knows I am on my bike and the units switch easily from phone to intercom to GPS to music. The jog dial wheel is very easy to work with gloves on, even winter riding gloves. I still consider this a good and smart purchase and I am still very pleased with them.

I bought this to replace the built-in Bluetooth from my Hawk H-6607 Modular helmet, and i'm SUPER IMPRESSED!!! The built-in Bluetooth on my helmet was a let down. Music sounded good up to about 70mph but phone calls were impossible above 25-30mph. The Sena SMH10-11 not only fits OVER the built-in Bluetooth on my helmet so that it's not noticeable, but the Sena speakers fit perfectly in the slot in my helmet designed for the built-in Bluetooth. Also, music AND phone calls sound crystal clear at 90mph! And that's not even an exaggeration!!! I'm telling you, it sounds PERFECT on BOTH ends at "at least" 90mph with a full face helmet on a 2005 Yamaha R6 with aftermarket pipe!!! This thing has waaaaay more volume than the built-in garbage on my helmet! I never drive about freeway speeds, 65-75mph, but at 75mph my test phone call person said they couldn't hear any wind whatsoever and it sounded like I was at my house, so I decided to speed up to see at what speed wind noise kicked in. At 90mph with my visor down, she said it was still perfect with no wind, so I decided to slow down as I don't drive that fast anyways! At 75mph I lifted my visor and she said she could start to hear just a little bit of wind, "as if you were in your car with the window cracked". Then I lifted the whole front on my modular helmet at 75mph and she said "now it just sounds like you are in a car with the window down, but you are still perfectly understandable. I can still hear every word you are saying with no trouble whatsoever." Some other cool things to point out: You can answer a phone call by saying any word you want, just speak when the phone rings and it will answer the call. This can be shut off if you choose. Or you can push a botton and answer the call also. Pandora pauses on my phone when a call comes in and resumes play when the call hangs up. You can pause and skip forward a song on Pandora, but Pandora doesn't have a play previous song option, so that doesn't work. If you are playing music through another app on your phone, you can skip a song as well as go back a song, pause and play. Navigation from my phone still plays during a phone call and during music. You can hook up 2 devices to the Sena at the same time. 2 phones, or 1 phone and a radar detector or 1 phone and a stand-alone GPS unit, etc. I haven't used the conference feature as I ride solo most of the time, but based on how well music, phone and GPS work, I have no doubt whatsoever that conference would work amazingly well also!! I am 110% blown away by the quality of this Bluetooth, it FAR exceeded my expectations! It was the best purchase I have made for my motorcycle by far! P.S I don't even talk on the phone when i'm riding, but I do go on out of state trips on my bike and I wanted to be able to "check in" with people without having to pull off the freeway just to say "i'm ok, i'm about 2 hours away still" or whatever.