Sena SMH10R Low Profile Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset and Intercom Dual Pack - SMH10RD-01,Black,Medium

I'm a fairly new rider. I've only had 1 helmet (Shoei GT-Air), and I've only used this bluetooth unit. So, I can't really offer a comparison helmet-to-helmet or bluetooth-to-bluetooth for this review. What I can say is that this bluetooth unit does about everything I could want, and does it well. I'm riding for work now, and put a LOT of time in the saddle for my job (approaching 3k miles, been less than a month since I got the bike), so I do feel like I can offer a good review for this product based on my usage and gear.Installation:Easy, easy, easy. Never installed any bluetooth or modified a motorcycle helmet in any way. I tried putting the velcro side of the speakers directly onto the ear pad of the helmet (they stick to the fabric with no trouble, nice and secure) but I didn't like the fit after a few hours of use in that way. The following morning I removed the padding that covers the ear cavity (pops right out, stuck 'em in a drawer where I have random motorcycle gear stuff in case I want them back in later) and used the velcro mountings that came with the Sena to install the speakers. Fits good, speakers sit right by my ears.The main part of the unit can go just about anywhere you want on the left side, so figure out a good spot and stick it there. A lot of folks have said they got the battery on the inside of the helmet, but as I mentioned I'm gonna put a lot of hours on this thing so I'm going to leave mine mounted on the rear outside of the helmet so I can carry a couple extra charged batteries with me.Finally the microphone. I haven't used the boom mic, figured I'd start with the other one. Stuck a piece of their mounting velcro in front of where my mouth goes in the helmet, stuck the mic to it, done.Last but not least, all these wires. Basically, I unbuttoned the padding and neatly ran all the wires around until nothing was sticking out more than it needed to, but none of the wiring was stretched tight. Looks good! Very inconspicuous.Sound:Works great for voice. I've listened to audiobooks through it, phone calls sound good, turn-by-turn navigation from the phone is clear. Music however... well, there aren't a lot of really AWESOME sounding speakers for motorcycle helmets out there. If you're after some really nice sound you may want to get the adapter that lets you connect earphones to it and get a nice pair of ear buds. I appreciate great sound quality, but not enough to drop the convenience of the helmet-mounted speakers. IMHO this quality can be tolerated while riding.What "THEY" hear:Great. I've got a bluetooth stereo in my car that includes microphone, used it for a long time for work. It does an alright job, but I've had complaints that it sounds like I'm in a wind tunnel while I'm at highway speeds. Not so with the Sena! I would have thought on the motorcycle the noise would be even worse than in the car, but because of the positioning of the mic folks on the other end don't even know that I'm riding, even at high speed! The first night I used it I called my girlfriend while riding around. Even with the face shield open she couldn't hear that I was riding. I got to a highway on ramp and when the light turned green I went from 0 to 60 fairly quickly and she said "I kinda heard that a little". I've got a Honda VTX 1300, not what I'd call "stealthy" but certainly not the loudest.Controls:Pretty simple, takes some getting used to. You've got 3 buttons, + , -, and a center button in between the two. Everything's done by tapping the buttons or by press-and-hold for various lengths of time and in various combinations. I'd advise actually reading the instructions when it comes to this, because aside from tapping + and - to adjust volume, it's not intuitive and you will have to memorize some stuff. It's not hard, once you use it a handful of times you've got the hang of it.Good luck on your quest for a bluetooth unit for your helmet. Keep the rubber side down folks!

This little intercom is a jewel, and installed like a factory fit on my Nolan N104, with one small modification to the helmet's plastic trim to allow the wiring harness to pass through beneath the helmet liner. The interface is reasonably intuitive, size of the unit is unobtrusive, battery life is excellent, and the voice prompts let you know what you're up to when you're mashing the buttons. Phone pairing was easy, but updating the firmware was a little fiddly.My particular unit had problems with the Bluetooth connection to my phone. Unless the phone was in line of sight to the unit, the sound would cut out badly, and simply turning my head would cause it to be interrupted. This was a single bad unit and a replacement corrected the problem. Rather than exchanging at Amazon, I RMA'd the unit to Sena. It took them about two weeks to turn the unit around to me, which seems excessive. However, the RMA was for the main unit only, and I received a full brand new unit in return, so I now have a spare battery, headphones, hookups, etc. Based on that I am completely happy even though there was a bit of a wait.My replacement unit works great, and will play music all day long and into the next day before recharging. It also paired easily with a friend's Sena (different model) and voice communication is fine after a little bit of practice with the controls.This is a real game changer for long trips - the volume is just loud enough to hear through earplugs, don't expect home theater quality, after all, you are listening to tiny speakers inside a poorly insulated wind tunnel, but it's really nice to have tunes on board that don't require fussing with wires, earbuds falling out, etc., and being able to wear hearing protection on top of it all.

Out of the Box: This is a great product, takes about 15 minutes to download a software update and about 30 minutes to install the way you like. Personally I didn't use the tape to install the speakers as the attached velcro made it easy to attach and move slightly If I didn't like the placement the first time. Just follow the handout in the package to connect a cellphone, Ipod, GPS, or other helmet for the first time and then every other time you turn it on takes 30 seconds to connect to your devices automatically.Included: instruction manual for everything you'd ever want it to do, a quick guide for most operations you'll want to know how to do such as volume control, skipping songs, pausing, answering phone calls. Larger and lower profile speaker pairs, boom mic and velcro mic, charger, usb cable to connect to computer...basically everything you will ever need is included.Sound Quality: 9/10 I ride a CBR250, a sportbike with a small windscreen and at 60 mph there is a little windnoise but these speakers get plenty loud to hear over it. Every so often the connection to the IPOD will beep or cut out for 1/2 a second but almost always works flawlessly. Cellphone calls are easy to hear with my Iphone and those I talk to say it sounds pretty good but slightly muffled (expect that to be because I am wearing a fullface helmet with the velcro mic). Clarity is very good, much better than if you were using your speakerphone to listen to a call.Controls: Take a little getting used to as there are only 3 buttons (plus, minus, and middle button), skipping songs and changing volume is easy enough while riding and using the left hand to hit the buttons. Connecting devices is a little more complicated but you do this in the comfort of your home with the instructions in front of you. Accepting phone calls is easy through either talking into mic or pressing a button and you can set up 3 phone numbers to dial easily using your computer to program them into the headset and then pressing a series of buttons on the bike. Controls are large but the first time I rode it took me a few seconds to determine which button to press for volume/skipping song, expect this to be instant once I ride with it a lot moreDurability: No problems yet, but haven't dropped it or rode through the rainWould definitely recommend this product, will probably buy another in the future for a passenger helmet