Sena SMH5-FM Bluetooth

JMundy

JMundy

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Just ordered the Sena SMH5-FM Bluetooth last night. I have been looking for quite a while and for the price I couldn't pass it up.

The SMH5 didnt have the best reviews , but looks like the biggest complaints were addressed in the new SMH5-FM.

Has anyone used this unit or another similar? Thoughts/Comments?
 
I have the SMH10-11 ... It has been one of the better moto related purchases that I've made. Now mine doesn't have the FM radio feature, but the other stuff is probably the same or similar.

The one friend that I ride with on a regular basis has the matching unit to mine, and we like the functionality of the bike to bike intercom. It is easy to use and has good range.

The ability to make phone calls via Bluetooth is equally nice. It makes keeping touch with family while on long road trips much easier - and it's nice to have someone to talk to on the more boring stretches, or when you are getting tired.

Since we've owned ours, Sena has been fairly consistent with the firmware upgrades, and generally seems to have good product support. The latest upgrade allows for music streaming from user to user - COOL! We haven't had a chance to try that out yet, but I'm sure like all of the other features, it's gonna work well.

I have my bike setup so that I can charge the system while I ride. It works great. The last REALLY long trip I took was 22 hours from Houston to San Diego - I had no problems with the setup.

Ride in the rain? No worries, the Sena will perform.

Now I haven't hooked up a GPS to mine, I pretty much use an iPhone for everything, so I can't comment on that.

The only thing that I wish they would address - with a real, valid solution, is the fact that the music volume is pretty much useless at highway speeds. Phone and intercom volume seems to be fine, even at high speeds, but the music washes out after about 50 MPH. There have been those odd occasions when the wind must have been just right, and I was able to enjoy the music up to 80 MPH or so. But make no mistake, those are rare occasions.

With that said, be aware that I am one of those guys that rides with foam earplugs. So I'm protecting my hearing, but at the cost of lower perceived music volumes. Also, I should mention that all of these impressions are from use in my Shoei Qwest. The Qwest has a chin guard standard, and I am sure that it helps reduce some wind noise.

Recently I discovered and purchased a set of Tork X Pro helmet speakers and a Tork portable amp. I installed these in my helmet using one of Sena's mounting bases that is made for use with ear plugs. The sound is improved. There is more bass response, and I can usually hear the music up to about 80 MPH on a consistent basis. The drawback is that I now have extra stuff to wrestle with when putting on my gear - and something else to charge (the amp). Was it worth the additional $100 I spent? I don't know, I'm still undecided. Is the sound quality improved enough that I would agree with the folks that say that the X Pro speakers provide 'concert hall quality' sound in your helmet? No, I don't think so. They sound ok, but the reviews I read before I purchased mine hyped them up so much that there's no way they could have lived up to my expectations. The X Pro's are a bit larger than the Sena speakers too, so they don't fit into the speaker depressions inside my helmet as well - they touch my ears, and necessitate an extra bit of helmet adjustment after I have donned my helmet.

So what's the point of all that? Just this. Sena puts out some nice products, but it's rare that any product will be perfect. Sena does seem to be one of the leaders in helmet comm innovation though, so I am looking forward with the hope that eventually they will make the kinds of improvements that I am looking for.

(OH! And, I read that they have something AWESOME in the works that will allow Sena users to communicate with folks that have other brands of helmet comm systems. COOL!)
 
I use the SMH-5 and love it. I would have gottent the SMH-10 if I had friends with one where intercom at greater distances would be handy.

I listen to music, turn by turn navigation, phone calls, etc. I get close to 8 hours of non-stop use out of it.

I recommend getting the larger speakers. They are not really louder than the ones that come with the SMH-5 but the audio quality is much much better. I have found that you can hear everything much more clearly if you wear ear plugs. Sounds counter intuitive but true!
 
Hail said:
I use the SMH-5 and love it. I would have gottent the SMH-10 if I had friends with one where intercom at greater distances would be handy.

I listen to music, turn by turn navigation, phone calls, etc. I get close to 8 hours of non-stop use out of it.

I recommend getting the larger speakers. They are not really louder than the ones that come with the SMH-5 but the audio quality is much much better. I have found that you can hear everything much more clearly if you wear ear plugs. Sounds counter intuitive but true!
Click to expand...

+1 on the ear plugs.
 
loosenut said:
+1 on the ear plugs.
Click to expand...

I also agree. The ear plugs filter out the wind noise and higher decibel noise while not filtering the music.

I select more brassy music for riding. Operatic arias don't cut it, too quiet. Same with most classical music except for classic rock, jazz and blues.

I don't have the Sena but have the Nolan B4 with FM. Around town the radio rocks, on the road it lacks decent range still pretty good at 35 to 40 miles from the source.
 
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SM10 and it works perfectly. I use for GPS, iphone talk and music. very satisfied with sound, but you need to wear earplugs as mentioned previously.
 
Thanks for the input.

Ive never rode with earplugs, I may try it. It was a toss up for me between the SMH5-FM and the SMH10-11, but I did the 5 because I couldn't justify the price increase for the little features I probably will not need in the 10-11.

The SMH5-FM comes with the upgraded speakers you can purchase for the SMH5, so that was a big one for me also. Ill be using my iPhone for everything as it sounds like most of you do as well.

I have a friend with a Nolan B4 that says the sound is great, and it seems really loud to be able to hear on the hwy. Im hoping the Sena will perform similarly, or I may have to try the earplugs.
 
After reading your post, I realize that I used the expression 'ear plugs' in my loooong post in reference to two different things. So to clarify ...

I ride with foam 'ear plugs' in my ears to try to protect my hearing, but I used a Sena mounting base that has the 3.5mm jack for use with ear buds (like you would use with an iPod or similar device) to hook up the Tork helmet speakers.

If I wasn't clear before, sorry - I hope that clears it up.

:D
 
I have the SMH-10 and my brother and wife both have SMH-5 units.
They are almost identical for basic use. Biggest difference seems to be the range. When it starts to break down, they can hear me but I can't hear them.
 
So ive got to use my SMH5-FM for a day and its not bad. Call quality is very clear, and people ive spoken with were impressed. Sound is not bad, gets fairly loud, but a bit tinny on the sound. Functionality is great and simple to use, and the voice commands with Siri (iPhone User) works great. Also speak to answer an incoming call is nice as well. Overall for the $120 I spent im very happy. Unit is tinier than I expected and doesn't stick out much from helmet.



 
Awesome! Glad to hear that you are happy with your purchase. I had a chance to ride a bit today too. Just commuter stuff, but riding is riding ...

:D
 
Strider7 said:
Awesome! Glad to hear that you are happy with your purchase. I had a chance to ride a bit today too. Just commuter stuff, but riding is riding ...

:D
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I mostly ride on my commute to work(3 miles each way, nothing crazy) but this morning it was really cold, 28F at 7:45am. So im thinking its about time to park the bike for the rest of the winter until a nice day comes along. Too damn cold to ride to work in jeans.
 
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