Sena 20S vs Sena SMH-10

[stevenolts]

My Sena SMH-10 will not take a charge any longer so now I have to buy a new bluetooth system. I need this ASAP because we all know once you have it you can't live without it. I have always loved this system and have done the unit only replacement once before when my first unit would no longer pair.

Is the Sena 20S worth the extra cost over the Sena SMH-10?

I have currently have 3 helmets all with the Sena SMH-10 mounts.


If I upgrade to Sena 20S: $341.95

Sena 20S = $269.99
Sena 20S Universal clamp kit = $ 71.96

-------------------------------------------------

If I go with another Sena SMH-10: $142.00

Sena SMH-10 (replacement unit) $108.00
Sena 20S (speaker upgrade only) $ 34.00

I have read that the speaker (upgrade splice wires yourself) is 10 times better than the original speakers.

If anyone has owned both of these systems please let me know if you think it is worth the extra cost $200.00 +

I would love to go with the Sena 20S but I am not in a good place to be spending $341.00 right now. I may just wait for the next version of Sena next year since I have the initial investment already in the helmet mounts.

Do you think I am wasting my money on the older technology?
Steve

[Kolsch]

For what it is worth, I really like my 20s. I want to say I paid around $260 for it. Use it for phone/gps. Works great!

[Deer Slayer]

We like them. We both upgraded the speakers. I used my old J&M speakers from my old helment. Ken installed some from the internet also wowing. The blue wire is the FM antenna and not connected. I use a doggle for my XM Sat radio. I turn the doggle on and off with a relay in the neg goggle battery lead. That way the doggle battery does not die if you forget to turn it off. Good luck.

[stevenolts]

Is the audio quality better with the Sena 20S?

Is the volume higher with the Sena 20S?

[stevenolts]

I have been reading from Sena that the audio quality is better on the 20S / but from forums etc on the internet people do not think the sound volume or quality is very good. There are some that did speaker upgrades to a Koss headphone type mod. Does anyone know about this?

I use my Sena for music / GPS / phone / I Heart radio (nationwide) (no bike to bike or radio) so I don't know if the extra $250.00 is worth the money to switch everything over to the 20S.

I can get a replacement SMH-10 for $100.00 and would not need to buy an extra helmet set up for my other helmets.

Maybe I should get the SMH-10 and do a speaker upgrade.

Steve

[Jimmytee]

I ended up with the 10 in a dual pack. My wife bought them as a gift. She misunderstood which ones I had been looking at. I had been looking at the 20s. When I checked them out, I figured it wasn't worth returning and paying the extra money for the 20s. I've been pretty happy with the 10s and figured a few less options to deal with for more simplified use was better. As far as sound quality, on my modular helmet, I did install a clamp/ dock that allows me to choose between the in helmet speakers or plug in some ear buds. No question ear buds provide a much better sound, but you have to then deal with the extra complication of the cord etc... My sound system on my bike pretty much nulifies using the system for music anyways, so I primarily use mine for bike to bike communication,GPS and phone calls.

[stevenolts]

The bike stereo sounds great with a 3/4 or 1/2 helmet. When I use the full face/modular helmet I use the Bluetooth. I also use the Bluetooth for GPS with all my helmets along with the bike stereo at the same time when traveling cross country.

This stereo thing on the bike is always making me crazy. I thought I was happy with all the options available short of the 2nd amp, rear speakers, and sub until my Sena SMH-10 stopped working this morning. Now I am obsessed again I have 2 trips comming up in October. St Louis to Denver / then St Louis to Panama City Beach.

I can play the bike Bluetooth Sena / I can play the Android cell phone Bluetooth to the bike / I can play the cell phone to the Sena Bluetooth / I have the JBL speaker upgrade / I have Kuryakyn USB charger on handlebars / I have the phone mounted on the handlebars.
Steve

[Jimmytee]

The bike stereo sounds great with a 3/4 or 1/2 helmet. When I use the full face/modular helmet I use the Bluetooth. I also use the Bluetooth for GPS with all my helmets along with the bike stereo at the same time when traveling cross country.

This stereo thing on the bike is always making me crazy. I thought I was happy with all the options available short of the 2nd amp, rear speakers, and sub until my Sena SMH-10 stopped working this morning. Now I am obsessed again I have 2 trips comming up in October. St Louis to Denver / then St Louis to Panama City Beach.

I can play the bike Bluetooth Sena / I can play the Android cell phone Bluetooth to the bike / I can play the cell phone to the Sena Bluetooth / I have the JBL speaker upgrade / I have Kuryakyn USB charger on handlebars / I have the phone mounted on the handlebars.
Steve

The ear bud thing I was talking about works pretty well with some quality ear buds.
But with the 4 speakers and a sub on my bike... well

The thing is, that volume is not an issue. However, if I am needing to run for an extended time on the Interstate (which I don't do often, because Interstates are boring) having the ear buds allows me to have a more subtle volume level that won't tax your ears after several hours.

I had read about upgrades people had dine by installing some speakers from some quality head phones. SOunds like a possibility. I had thought about it myself.

I have the Sena bluetooth transmitter that will transmit everything that is on my system to my headset. Problem with thiis is it works, but I had to also install a switch to turn off my amplifiers. This is because there is a delay between the stuff coming through the bluetooth transmitter compared to what is playing through the amplifiers. So running both simultaneously this way is not an option.
I have a wide assortment of options as I have an aftermarket head unit.

[stevenolts]

I run the 1/2 helmet with the SMH-10 using earbud connection.

I never really had a problem with the Sena SMH-10 / I have had it for 5 or 6 years now.

But I need to buy a replacement and now I hate to not upgrade to the 20S. It is just going to be costly because the extra helmet setups are $75.00 each and I use 4 different helmets for different purposes (I got the SMH-10 helmet setups for like $25 each on sale). It may be just time to bite the bullet and pay the man.

I have been going back and forth all day. I am going to try to see if I can get my SMH-10 working / maybe it is just the charging cable??? If I can get it running I may go ahead and get the Sena 20S so I am guaranteed a bluetooth device on my trips just in case the SMH-10 fails again. (but this morning it would not turn on)

Steve

[Jimmytee]

I run the 1/2 helmet with the SMH-10 using earbud connection.

I never really had a problem with the Sena SMH-10 / I have had it for 5 or 6 years now.

But I need to buy a replacement and now I hate to not upgrade to the 20S. It is just going to be costly because the extra helmet setups are $75.00 each and I use 4 different helmets for different purposes (I got the SMH-10 helmet setups for like $25 each on sale). It may be just time to bite the bullet and pay the man.

I have been going back and forth all day. I am going to try to see if I can get my SMH-10 working / maybe it is just the charging cable??? If I can get it running I may go ahead and get the Sena 20S so I am guaranteed a bluetooth device on my trips just in case the SMH-10 fails again. (but this morning it would not turn on)

Steve

Summer months I run the half helmet, but I have speakers in the flaps that come down with the chin strap. I hadn't really priced the clamps for the 20s for obvious reasons, but those prices are quite a bit more than the clamp prices for the 10s.