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Sena Bluetooth phone conversation?

4K views 26 replies 17 participants last post by  N4HHE 
#1 ·
Hi all,
I'm looking at BlueTooth on the bike for music, directions, and -- potentially phone calls. Any experiences? I'm looking at either the 20S or 30K. Thoughts?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I have a hm-10r on one helmet and a Evo 20S on another and they both work perfectly. I don't integrate my GPS as I don't see the need for it. I can make and receive phone calls, talk to my riding buddies and listen to music. The 20S has a bit of a learning curve but once you get used to it, it works well. When I'm talking on phone, people can't believe I'm on the bike.
Speaker placement is critical to the audio level. Place the speakers as close to your ears as possible. You may have to move them around a bit to find the sweet spot. The speakers are tuned to be used with ear plugs. They will sound very tinny if you don't wear plugs.
 
#3 ·
Sena works great, people can never tell that i'm riding. Even with my significant hearing loss, I can typically hear conversations just fine and will even turn down the volume every now and then while listening to music. Still rocking the old smh10 so I can't speak for the the 20 and 30 models.
 
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#14 ·
On my daily rides commuting to work or talking with my wife on long rides, the 20S is great. If you look at consumer ratings general, the 20S is rated higher.

Really long battery life and you can even charge it and update your firmware on this cradle. They do software updates maybe three times a years to increase functionality and quality. Around Seattle, Sena has displaced Cardo regarding what dealers are carrying and what you see on the streets. If you do group rides, Sena is strongest

With their introduction of the 30S and this newer headset, you can get the 20S on sale. I recommend a pair if you ride 2-up with the spouse or significant other. Being able to talk on the ride is huge for getting them on the bike.

My only gripe: Wish they would have even better integration with my Samsung Galaxy to do more voice commands (like play music to activate Samsung Music off of my smartphone).

Very very happy. Going on third year riding with our pair of Sena 20s.:smile2:
 

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#7 ·
I had buggy 20S then foolishly “upgraded” to the even buggier 30K. Both were tinny sounding for music but did well for telephone. Lots of problems with intercom audio. Snare drum sound effects. Often connection was “Donald Duck” for which the only solution was power off reboot.

Got the impression Sena hired consultants to design the product. Then micromanaged assignments to lowest bidder. Finally code rot resulted in the horrible 30K. Remember they were supposed to release a noise canceling helmet, too. Underwhelming and a year or two late to market. As I say, I get the impression, I don’t really know they gutted their engineering and started anew with firmware 2.0 for the 30K. When my (2) 30Ks behaved totally different from each other even with 2.0 and “factory reset” I gave up and bought Cardos.

Packtalk Bold has been much more reliable and orders of magnitude better sound, and that was before the JBL version.
 
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#8 ·
20S since the day it came out, Sena has free software updates and mine has never given any issues, even in bellywasher downpours. I think most have pleasant experiences, some have disasters, as with any product. My other helmet had a smh10 and that worked great. I have no issues with Sena, and like the control options settings that the software has when connected to the computer.
 
#9 ·
I'm looking at BlueTooth on the bike for music, directions, and -- potentially phone calls. Any experiences? I'm looking at either the 20S or 30K. Thoughts?
Helmet can make a difference with phone calls. In a Shoei RF1200 you couldn't tell I was on the bike except for the padding pushing in my cheeks changed my voice. Tested good up to 100mph. Nolan N104 Evo? Starts having trouble at 50mph. Might be the different microphones. Shoei used the flat disk microphone glued onto the front. The Nolan is a flip up, so used the boom microphone.
 
#10 ·
Im still using an old Sena SMH5 and have transferred it several times between helmets using both stick on mic and boom with same result. Perfect operation.
Only problem i ever had was the sun making the units body very sticky - Sena sent me a new one !!
 
#11 ·
I have the Sena 30K, no complaints, I easily got use to a couple of it's quirks.
Mainly used for the bluetooth connection to my cell phone where I can listen to my music, directions from the MapQuest App, occasional phone use (incoming calls and dialing out).

A couple road trips per year using 2-way or 3-way comms with other riders.

I use voice commands such as:
"music" (to toggle between "on" and "off")
"speed dial" (followed by me saying the speed dial number, I think I have 3 stored)
"check battery"

I can probably communicate with Siri on my iPhone too but I haven't tried that yet.
 
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#13 ·
I have an SMH10 Sena. This unit works great. Pairs well with others I have been using it now for 7 years. No problems in 100 Deg. to 20 Deg. wind, rain, sand storms, hail storms, and Cardo on wifes helmet.
I use this for music, music sharing, incoming calls, maps, and 1 to 4 way conversations.
Cons
The speakers do not have much bass and the communications are fine as long as you are in line of site. I know it is supposed to affect it but it does. So if you ride in twisty mountain roads and are spaced apart you loose Coms. with other riders.

Pros
When riding with a group on a multiple day trip and someone makes a wrong turn they can call you so you can regroup. We don't always set final destinations since the scenery my dictate a great place to camp.
 
#15 ·
I have a 20 and 20S, and an ancient SMH-10 somewhere. Sena is one of those names like Garmin. Some like them, some think they're evil. My history with them has been mixed. That said...

In the Sena line, I have yet to hear of anyone who's happy they have a 30K. It seems to be a bad implementation of a network system coming into use. Particularly if you ride alone or with only a couple of other folks, there's zero need for the 30.

The 20S is a slightly tuned up 20. There's no need for a pop-up FM antenna, and supposedly the Bluetooth (BT) antenna is somehow better. Having both, staying in contact with the one person I ride with (another bike), there's no difference. Otherwise, they're so similar the firmware updates have been the same for both units. Having a 20 doesn't mean giving up anything that matters.

As to living with the thing, it's pretty much transparent. It works, I don't need to fiddle with it, I just turn it on and go. But... pairing, even with another Sena unit, is a PITA. Maybe it's a user thing, maybe it's a Sena thing. It's been a non-stop PITA. Connecting with phones, GPS' is no problem. Follow the steps in the book, and life is good. One of the details that is "wouldn't think of it if you didn't have it" is the ambient mic. That is, enable the mic and hear the outside world with needing to take off your helmet, or sound like a fool from trying to figure out what someone's saying. There is a small tip with the mic. It's next to the charging port. Close the port's cover, and the mic can't hear anything. Leaving the cover open isn't a biggie except in real rain.

Rain... hoo! I've worn my 20 in serious, frog-choker rain on I-95 with no problem from the 20. Some people report they drown in a heavy dew. I have no good answer for this except I think the 20 has some attempt at seals. NTL Sena doesn't say the 20,S or 30K are weatherproof. YMMV

I bought the 20 because of a couple of things I didn't like about the SMH-10 (very scary, too ready to let go mount, for example). The 20 mount is solid and the 20 isn't going anywhere except in a dump. (the SMH-10 cannot work on a 20 mount or vice versa). I bought the 20S out of "It's later, therefore it's better" non-thinking. Silly me.

Now, all of that said, Cardos do well in reviews. I haven't owned or used one. My opinion on that would be worthless.

AFAIK, the Cardo battery isn't user replaceable. The Sena battery is, for sure not user replaceable but... There are a few YT vids on how to replace the battery. It takes care, patience, and a little willingness to make something fit with some "customization". It's that or pay Sena for a battery change. I've done the job without too much trauma. Look at the videos and decide.

Otherwise, I've needed no support on the 20. I have reported issues to Sena with zero feedback. That's annoying but doesn't keep me grounded. Meh.
 
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#17 ·
IMHO, at anything above 25-30, your ears aren't in for a HiFi experience...
 
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#19 ·
Actually, no. Almost all speaking voices fill the range of frequencies from about 350 to 4000 Hz. Women are typically an octave above men's voices and kids' voices are, surprise, higher than that. NTL, topping 4 KHz is unlikely. Harmonics are, of course, above that. But the basic info is not that full range. Harmonics do have a very real role, but if the idea is hear a GPS or even phone call, broad range speakers don't count for much.

My point about speakers in helmets is they're not worth obsessing about. As long as they don't squeak and buzz, and have usable volume, life is good. No matter at what age.
 
#22 ·
I see some quite different information. The frequency ranges you noted are for consonants. Vowels are different: (https://www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-university/facts-about-speech-intelligibility)
However, the cavities that contribute to the formation of the different vowels still affect the passing flow of air. This is why the characteristics of vowel sounds also occur in a whisper. In general, the fundamental frequency of the complex speech tone - also known as the pitch or f0 - lies in the range of 100-120 Hz for men, but variations outside this range can occur. The f0 for women is found approximately one octave higher. For children, f0 is around 300 Hz.

The consonants are created by air blockages and noise sounds formed by the passage of air through the throat and mouth, particularly the tongue and lips. In terms of frequency, the consonants lie above 500 Hz.

Actually, no. Almost all speaking voices fill the range of frequencies from about 350 to 4000 Hz. Women are typically an octave above men's voices and kids' voices are, surprise, higher than that. NTL, topping 4 KHz is unlikely. Harmonics are, of course, above that. But the basic info is not that full range. Harmonics do have a very real role, but if the idea is hear a GPS or even phone call, broad range speakers don't count for much.

My point about speakers in helmets is they're not worth obsessing about. As long as they don't squeak and buzz, and have usable volume, life is good. No matter at what age.
 
#20 ·
I have the SRL2 on my current helmet which is based on the 20S Evo and had a 10S before that in my last helmet. Audio quality on both is fine for phone calls, music and intercom, so long as you enable the HD audio option, but I find the controls on the SRL2 are really difficult to use as even when wearing summer gloves it's quite difficult to feel which button I'm pressing. The 10S was much easier to use.


Also, the SRL2 battery life is crap compared to the 10S.
 
#21 ·
Sigh... I referred to 20 and 20S in my posts. That should be 20S and 20S EVO. The descriptions are correct for the devices.
 
#25 ·
Good call! Beats paying full price for something else. :)

Placing speakers is always trial and error. The idea is to get them as close to your ears as possible, for the best sound possible. It doesn't take being very far off to make a surprisingly big difference. At the same time, the speakers need to be just far enough away to avoid "hot spots" that can be really uncomfortable in minutes. Don't expect "one and done" on this project.
 
#26 ·
Right now the Cardo Packtalk Bold is the hot ticket. I have the SRL2 in one helmet and the Packtalk in another. The cardo sounds better, connects better and can be used with an external battery on longer rides (not so on the Sena SRL2). You can look up Chris Caliente or Cruiseman garage on YT for their opinions.
 
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