Sena SMH10 Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset & Intercom

Product Information

From “P.S.” (April 2012):“I see you’ve received reports of “issues” with the Sena SMH10 firmware 4.0 updater. I’m not sure what to make of those reports since I just successfully updated from 3.3 to 4.0 without any drama whatsoever. It only took a couple of minutes.

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, intercom volume can only go so loud and each rider’s definition of “loud enough” is different. The 10S also has an auxiliary input port on the rear of the helmet mount and an earbud port on the front, but note that the speaker wires with one half of their tiny snap connectors are permanently attached to the mount. I wear earplugs when using my Roof Boxer V8. How does this fair if using earplugs? February 25, 2019 I tried it out one day on a longer journey by wearing a conventional set of earphones attached to my phone. I discovered two things: 1) the music does not distract me and 2) the ‘in ear’ headphones were not the ideal solution.

A definite improvement over single-point (instance) profile support, the multipoint capability still has limitations due mainly to system audio priorities which for the SMH10 are: Phone/GPS, Intercom, Wired Audio and, Bluetooth Music streaming, high to low respectively. So we can now call these the “Gen 3” systems; characterized by very nice products like the recently reviewed Interphone F4 (review); the Scala Rider G4 (review in process); and the Sena SMH10 system described here. With a new feature comes a new pairing procedure. Turn the system on, press the Jog Dial for five seconds until the Red LED flashes rapidly and a series of beeps is heard. Within two (2) seconds, tap the Phone button. The Blue LED starts flashing and high tone double-beeps are heard, followed by a “ Multipoint Pairing” announcement. Unfortunately the Sena 10s does not have the smart volume control, sorry. The 20s does include thisfeature.

The procedure for setting up a hands-free only connection is the same as for A2DP stereo music only, but in this instance it is the Phone button that gets tapped again within two seconds of activating the Red/Blue LED sequence. This system is reasonably loud,but we would suggest ear plugs that filter the noise, such as the Auritech. Conversations are still audible whilst wearingthese. There are two design factors that are immediately noticeable on the Sena SMH10: first, the absence of buttons. Believe it or not, those M2M engineers at Sena have made what we think is a breakthrough in a motorcycle intercom user interface — take a look at the SMH10 and what do you see? A total of one button. All devices connected to the SR10 will mix the audio to the SMH10 when an ongoing intercom connection is in progress. Even all 3 inputs will mix to the SMH10 simultaneously. This may sound like it could be confusing, but it’s really not.We love the SENA because it is ease of use, excellent range and excellent quality stereo sound. In may however I did start having issues with the quality of sound coming from my speakers. I examined my wires for any breaks or intermittent issues but couldn’t locate any issues with the headset. Note that zumo 660s do not play nice with selective or multiple pairing; they disconnect repeatedly while trying to “hog” both HFP and A2DP slots. That’s why mine is hardwired. Update from “I” (April 2016):“When I got to work, I did some research and found that some units needed to be factory reset right out of the box, and that resolved the issue.

The Sena SMH5 and 20s will connect together whilst the other 20s is connected and unfortunately the SMH5 does not come with a wallcharger. For example (illustrated in our video), to reach the main configuration menu, first push the jog dial in past the 1 second hold used to answer or end a phone call and keep pushing. The problem is that it doesn’t take much of a push — or pull — on the clip to push module in or pull it out. General installation and use of the latest SMH10 Manager software is straightforward and well detailed in the v1.3 SMH10 Manager .pdf document. There is even a driver workaround or troubleshooting section.

SPH10H-FM

Motorcycle intercom systems just keep getting better and better, and the rapid improvements in technology and availability now offers many different choices to the motorcyclist. Battery: Lithium polymer. Claimed ~12 hours or more talk time, 10 days standby. Listening to MP3 players takes slightly more power, so a combination of the above will vary the battery life, as is usual with intercom systems. The zumo 550 is just a bit different – its audio is fine, but output is lower and for testing, I probably used it at aro

UPDATE (April 16, 2012) – Sena confirmed that the maximum volume is reduced by approximately 10% after the Version 4 firmware upgrade. This was done to “tune the audio overlay feature in HFP and intercom”, according to Sena. There is no volume difference in A2DP, however. They’re working on the issue and it will be resolved in the next firmware update. That is, while riding a motorcycle, where it may be both dangerous and frustrating to try and remember the correct sequence of buttons to work the intercom system. Note, however, that the SMH10 is also an excellent communications system, so there isn’t a huge difference in sound quality between the SMH10 and the 10S. The Microsoft Windows versions of this latest software seems stable; I have used it successfully on all the Windows platforms supported, with the only issue encountered being an outdated patch for the compiler on the XP platform. Once this was updated, everything worked fine.Another new feature of SMH10 version 4 firmware update is the ability to bring a previously paired intercom (B, C or D) user into an ongoing mobile phone call (while stopped of course). Cell Phone: Although we recommend never using a cell phone while riding a motorcycle, a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone can be easily paired with the SMH10 as described above and illustrated in the video. I would recommend this headset to anyone who wants to listen to music and/or satnav. One thing I will say is “don’t be afraid to listen to music on the move”.