Sena SMH10 Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset & Intercom

Product Information

The volume seems more than adequate and can be set very loud, although as always, once you get cranking on a bike at speed, you’re not going to get concert hall sound by any means.

From “G.S.” (June 2016): “Your comments about the weakness with which the intercom module clips into the mount is certainly correct, and a very important point. I lost my intercom on the first day that I used it! And the only time I touched it while riding was to shut it off.” GPS and MP3: The SMH10 easily paired with our trusty Sony Bluetooth adapter (review) when the Sony was connected to an MP3 player and older Mio GPS unit. Since we don’t have one of the newer Garmin GPS units available here, we’ll have to wait for HBC’s report on how the SMH10 interacts with that device. So to recap: for selective A2DP music services, the Phone and Jog Dial on the SMH10 intercom module are used to initiate and complete the process; for hands-free pairing only, the Phone button is used to both initiate and complete the process. I tried both selective pairing options with a number of mobile/smart phones and everything worked as claimed…including my iPhone 4S. Intercom Conferencing I have made and received phone calls whilst riding. It is not something I want to do much of but it has happened and it works well up to about 50-60mph. Persons listening are not aware that I am riding a motorbike. Mostly they don’t believe that I am moving. Easy On/Off: The SMH10 is very easy to turn on and especially easy to turn off. To turn the unit on, press and hold the single button and the Jog Dial for 2 seconds and the SMH10 fires up. Turning it off is a snap — it’s not necessary to press and hold and wait; simply press the Phone Button and jog dial again and it instantly powers down. Nice.Four SMH10 systems can be paired by separate pairings and accessed via 1, 2 or 3 taps of the Jog Dial for discrete one-on-one sessions. Earlier firmware versions also provided a true three-way intercom conferencing by allowing two simultaneous intercom connections. We have been using the units for 15 straight days at 6 to 10 hours per day. I have deleted pairings and started over, but the issues are consistent. So, since I am about to ride through a dense traffic environment (Los Angeles and suburbs) and wish to be in communication with my partner AND receive the GPS prompts, I am returning one unit to v3.3. It seems to communicate with the unit with v4.0 just fine. I thought your readers should know this so that they may factor in my great experience with Sena when they consider purchasing a communication system of their own. My next system will be a Sena and so will the one after that.

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. Once all four units are paired, any unit can initiate an intercom conversation with any other unit by tapping the Jog Dial one, two or three times. This is where it pays to study the owner’s manual, which has a graphic illustrating how this works.

Owner Comments and Feedback

You should have no issues fitting this to your Schuberth - if you look at pictures 5 and 6, they show the intercom fitted to a Shoei flip front helmet, which is similar to yourSchuberth. I am a huge fan of the SHM-10 and have been absolutely pleased with my decision to upgrade to it from the Interphone F4. Great audio clarity, easy to pair, the simplest thing to use while riding. A great product! And I love the fact that Sena planned an upgrade/update capability from the beginning to allow their product to grow and mature. While that may seem normal by today’s standards, it definitely was not in the past with any Bluetooth intercom system. I know that the editorial recommendation is against taking calls, but as I choose to do so, I wanted to say that this setup makes answering/calling safe enough for my taste.

I used the self-adhesive strip supplied and it does not feel as though it will ever come off. Bluetooth pairing with my phone, a Nokia 5800, was simple. This can be confusing to new owners, who tend to release the button as soon as a beep or announcement is heard.Technology in motorcycling has made enormous strides in the past few decades. As far as the bikes themselves have come, nothing has transformed the riding experience as drastically as motorcycle electronics and accessories. Ancient history are walkie-talkies, wired communication, CB radio and even — gasp! — maps that were physically printed on some sort of papyrus. In the category of motorcycle electronic accessories, the future really is now and it's here at RevZilla. The SMH5 will connect to one other unit (Sena or universal). If you would like to use the systems bike to bike and more than 2, I would suggest the 10s. Unfortunately there is no waterproof cover available, however they are weatherproof. Initially, I paired my phone with the selective pairing (HFP only), but dropped it to see if it caused the problem. After 2 days, I returned to v3.3 and awaited a response from Sena tech support. Their recommendation was to pair the Zumo 665 to the SMH10 and the phone to the Zumo. I did so, but just removed the phone from the equation. The problems remain.

Speakers: The Sena speakers actually have very good bass response and the volume has a huge range — the greatest amount of range of any motorcycle intercom system we’ve reviewed so far, from very low to very loud. We never had to use the highest volume at any speed. 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. Bluetooth 4.1 with Headset Profile (HSP), Hands-Free Profile (HFP), Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP). Multi-point Support: GPS pairing is provided to enable users to connect to a GPS (or a Sena SR10 (review)) at the same time with the phone connection. Technically, users can attach another HFP (Hands-Free Audio Profile) audio stream overlaid to the existing HFP, which might be a phone call. You can have four-way conference intercom with three other SMH10 users by adding one more intercom participant to the three-way intercom. While you are having three-way intercom as specified in section 14.1, a new participant (D), who is an intercom friend of your intercom friend (C), may join the conference intercom by making an intercom call to your intercom friend (C). Please note that in this case, the new participant (D) is an intercom friend of (C), not of you (A).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. The Sena 10S can also be controlled by the Sena handlebar remote introduced with the Sena 10U (review). Keep holding it, past the “Group Intercom” announcement; past the pairing announcement with its high/low dual tone beep and then finally, after 10 seconds, you’ll reach the configuration menu. Finally, Sena had me riding with at least a partial product until “they” rectified their warrantee issue with me, with that I think I will have to upgrade my two units this summer and continue communicating and enjoying my tunes.”