I installed the unit today and then took a ride on the expressway. I easily installed the unit in my new helmet and then paired it to my phone. I've tried several helmet speaker methods such as having regular phone earbuds in my ear. That works OK but the problem is keeping earbuds in my ear when I put the helmet on and the mic positioned near my mouth. At highway speeds the wind noise makes it difficult or impossible for the other party to hear. I tried a dedicated wired motorcycle helmet headset but the volume was too low to hear clearly at highway speeds and it was a hassle connecting the dangling wire from the helmet each time I got on and off the bike. Thus my purchase of the Sena bluetooth unit. I read many reviews of other units. Most had volume complaints or were double the price.
The volume on this unit is simply amazing!!! At 70 MPH on a phone call I can hear the other party very clear and loud. Believe it or not it actually hurt my ears and I had to turn the unit down. The same is true of music. How is the music quality? Good enough. It's not five star orchestra quality and there's not much bass but it sounds good and most importantly LOUD rolling along on a bike. The amp in the bluetooth unit actually drives the speakers to the edge of distortion but that's a good thing.
I believe one key is to make absolutely sure that you use the included pads to position the speakers where they press right up against your ear when you put the helmet on. Proximity probably makes a huge difference in sound volume. 1/4 to 1/2 inch away would probably reduce the volume in half which would make the system much less effective.
I have a Motorola Razr Maxx phone and the volume button on the unit does not affect the phone volume. Most bluetooth units work in conjunction with the phone volume. If you lower or raise the volume on the bluetooth unit, it correspondingly raises or lowers it on the phone. With this unit, volume controls seem to operate independently of each other therefore you need to turn the phone volume to max and adjust volume from the bluetooth unit. The unit is firmware upgradeable so perhaps that will be corrected in a future release but I am so thrilled with the performance of the unit that such a minor detail is insignificant.
There is a plus to this arrangement in that music playback and phone conversation volumes are independently maintained. In other words, if you set the volume on a phone conversation and then switch to music and set a different volume the unit will remember the phone and music volume independently. So I guess it's designed to work independently of your phone volume and as I thought about it, that's probably a better arrangement. Your helmet system would always be set to motorcycle preferences regardless of what level you set your phone.
I haven't tested the intercom features and performance. My wife is terrified of my motorcycle therefore I usually ride alone so I don't need the intercom feature but it's there if I ever do need it.
Pros:
1. Volume is FANTASTIC and you can hear phone conversations or music clearly at 80% volume at 70mph.
2. The person on the other end hears virtually no mic wind noise at 70mph. They couldn't believe that I was on a motorcycle at 70mph. They heard NO wind noise which was hard for me to believe but I was talking to my mother so I knew she was telling me the truth. Of course I had on a full face helmet with the visor down.
3. Unit can operate while charging. The battery life talk time is rated at 12 hours with a standby time of 10 days. I haven't tested that yet but if it truly lasts 12 hours and you do happen to talk longer than 12 hours at a stretch you can plug up the unit and talk while charging. I've never ridden more than a few hours in a day so a 12 hour talk time before recharging is NOT going to be problem for me. I'm going to poop out long before the bluetooth battery. Talking while charging is something that most bluetooth units can't do.
4. Volume control button is big. On a motorcycle with gloves the button is easy to find, turn or push.
5. It looks cool on your helmet with the blue blinking light.
6. Good price. I bought the H10 instead of the H5 since the price difference was not that much and it appears the H10 comes with better speakers. I'm not sure about that as I couldn't fully tell from the descriptions but it read like the H10 had better speakers than the H5. The upgrade speakers cost the difference between the two units but the H10 does more. It's about a $25 street price difference between the H10 and the H5.
7. Uses a standard micro USB port for charging.
8. Has a standard 1/8" port to plug a wired music player.
9. Ports covered by rubber plugs for weatherproofing.
10. Easy to remove from the helmet if necessary.
Cons: NONE that I've found so far.
I installed it in this helmet:
Bluetooth Ready Modular Flip-up Motorcycle Helmet Matte Flat Black DOT #936 (XL)
I am just as impressed by the helmet as I am the bluetooth unit. I can't believe the quality of this helmet for the price. I've got five helmets. This is the cheapest one and it seems to rank right up there with the quality of the very expensive helmets if not better. It has perforations in the helmet liner for the speakers so it works perfectly with the Sena bluetooth unit.
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There is a newer model of this item:
Sena 10S Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset Communication System
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| SMH10-11 | SMH10-10 | 5S | 10S | 10R | 20S EVO | |
| Customer Reviews |
6,008
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6,008
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114
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231
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55
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497
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| Price | $175.67 | $167.67 | $138.95 | $205.27 | $224.12 | $211.76 |
| Bluetooth/Mesh | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| Bluetooth Version | Bluetooth 3.0 | Bluetooth 3.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 4.1 | Bluetooth 4.1 | Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Riders Connected | Supports up to 4 riders | Supports up to 4 riders | Supports up to 2 riders | Supports up to 4 riders | Supports up to 4 Riders | Supports up to 8 riders |
| Type of Control | Jog Dial | Jog Dial | Jog Dial | Jog Dial | 3-Button Control | Jog Dial |
| Battery Life | 12 Hour Talk Time | 12 Hour Talk Time | 7 Hour Talk Time | 12 Hour Talk Time | 10 Hour Talk Time | 13 Hour Talk Time |
| Intercom Distance | Up to 900 m (0.5 miles) | Up to 900 m (0.5 miles) | Up to 700 m (760 yards) | Up to 1.6 km (1.0 mile) | Up to 900 m (0.5 miles) | Up to 2 km (1.2 mile) |
| Speaker Type | 6.5mm Standard Speakers | 6.5mm Standard Speakers | 7.2mm Premium HD Speakers | 6.5mm Standard Speakers | 6.5mm Standard Speakers | 7.2mm Premium HD Speakers |
| Microphone Type | Wired Boom, Wired | Boom, Wired Boom, Wired | Wired Boom, Wired | Wired Boom, Wired | Wired Boom, Wired | Boom, Wired Boom, Wired |
| Stand Out Feature | Glove Friendly Controls | Glove Friendly Controls | LCD Screen | Audio Multitasking | Low Profile | Audio Multitasking |
Compare with similar items
This Item  Sena SMH10-11 Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset / Intercom with Universal Microphone Kit (Single) , Black |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $175.67 | -7% $211.76 Typical: $228.90 | $94.46 | $59.95 | -10% $287.20 Typical: $319.99 | $359.96 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | — |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Battery life | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Noise cancellation | ||||||
| Voice Recognition | ||||||
| Easy to install | ||||||
| Sold By | Amazon.com | RPSB Tech | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| connectivity tech | Wireless | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Wireless | Wireless | Bluetooth, Wired |
| headphones form factor | On Ear | On Ear | Over Ear | On Ear | On Ear | On Ear |
| connector type | — | — | USB Type C | clamp | — | USB Type C |
| noise control | active noise cancellation | — | active noise cancellation | — | — | active noise cancellation |
| headphones jack | 3.5 mm Jack | — | usb | — | — | usb |
| cable feature | Detachable | Without Cable | Without Cable | Retractable | Retractable | Without Cable |
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Reviews with images
Good unit for money; flexible microphone placement; some issues w/ speaker volume
This is my first motorcycle communications system. I wear an Arai Signet-Q, XL, with upgraded thicker cheek pads.WHY I BOUGHT THIS* Wanted Bluetooth communication w/ iPhone 5* Wanted* Easier on/off removal from helmet vs. SMH5-XX models* Wanted flexibility with mounting of the mic* Sena had the best reviews and price vs. other brandsI've ridden with this communications system for about 2-3 months (before the weather got cold).PROS* Easy on / off between rides - It's really easy to un-snap the unit and stash it in a tank bag or pocket when you're not wanting it on the helmet. Takes 0.5 second and is relatively easy to do IF you have the helmet off.* Easy iPhone pairing - I've not had any issues with the pairing. I stash my iPhone in my Tourmaster jacket with Bluetooth enabled, hop on the bike, turn on the Sena, and I get a voice confirmation that the phone is paired.* Top / bottom volume range tones - If you turn the unit all the way up or down, you get a tone to indicate that you've reached the end of the adjustment spectrum.* Mic flexibility - I used the bud mic because I didn't want to be limited with a full face helmet and a boom mic. There IS a boom mic included, but it requires you to velcro attach it to the inside of the helmet shell. I MAY eventually set this up to have options -- the boom mic MAY be better for voice quality, but for compactness, the bud mic can't be beat.* Battery life - The battery life is awesome. I've had it charged for almost 2 weeks and listened to it to / from work (25 mile round trip) for podcasts and music before it needed charging.CONS* Placement of speakers - You need more velcro options for sticking the speakers in the helmet. The back of the speakers isn't velcro-y (???) enough by default to just stick to the liner padding outright. I stuck the included velcro pads too high and behind the ears because that was the closest place I could find that was just styrofoam shell w/o the clothe liner. I eventually moved the speakers into the ear pads themselves -- not sure if this is safe, but I couldn't get them to sit close enough to my ears to hear them.* Volume of speakers for Bluetooth audio (music, podcasts, etc.) - There is a software issue -- in my opinion -- that makes all Bluetooth audio like music, podcasts, etc. too soft. Note -- these speakers are the larger units included with Sena products. There are many complaints about this unit and this type of audio. I often have to boost audio for music and podcasts while, sadly, blowing out the speakers with phone calls and other activities. Firmware updates have not helped with this issue.* Bud mic quality - I opted for the multiple mic model because I didn't like the fixed boom mic model (slightly cheaper). The bud mic that I mounded just under the chin vent is unobtrusive, but I get complaints that I cannot be heard very well. Additionally, Siri on the iPhone has a lot of trouble distinguishing commands.* Firmware update process - You have to register the unit to get firmware updated. This is annoying -- it's done to discourage unauthorized Sena dealers and their buyers, but it feels more like having to use a social media login to get to a service that really shouldn't require a login. I've updated the firmware once and, once you're registered, it's fine, but it's still annoying to have to register the unit.* Battery warning is untimely - I like the battery life, but the voice notification for the battery is abrupt -- you get one warning that the battery is low and the unit shuts off, completely dead. Definitely NOT a "You have 10% battery left" style system like on an iPhone.
Top reviews from the United States
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Top reviews from other countries
Andrew Steel
Great quality
Reviewed in Canada on November 11, 2023Size: SingleStyle: SMH10-11Verified Purchase
Abel Delgado Montañez
buen producto
Reviewed in Mexico on November 4, 2023Size: SingleStyle: SMH10-11Verified Purchase
David Brown
Awesome product
Reviewed in Canada on July 23, 2021Size: DualStyle: SMH10-10Verified Purchase
Mauricio E Alarcon L
Excelente desempeño!
Reviewed in Mexico on September 8, 2020Size: DualStyle: SMH10-10Verified Purchase
