I just used my SMH10R for the first time today and I was immediately disappointed by the audio quality. I would definitely pay for an accessory that was a better version of the current speakers. I know they are slim and need to be loud, but there is no bass response and the sound is harsh and high pitch; could just need some better filtering/EQ to do the trick...but at any rate, if you sold a "performance version" I would buy it
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Dan I recently purchased the SMH10R and overall I am quite pleased with the product with one exception. The speakers have extremely poor low frequency response. When listening to music through the iPhone, I cannot hear any low frequencies at all. This might be good for phone calls, GPS or intercom operation but it's quite disappointing when listening to music.
Do you offer another set of speakers to go with this unit that would have better low frequency response or is the tone limited upon output? -
jonathan moulin I totally agree, the speakers do not deliver low frequence sounds, which is very frustrating when you are listening music. I had previously the N-com (from Nolan) speaker and the spectrum was much wide.
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Brian McCarthy I just took my SMH10 maiden voyage... It was like a little gremlin was banging a small pot right next to my ear drum.... Where is the mid and bass response??? Any way to adjust this on the unit? Playing from Pandora does not allow for the iPhone 5's EQ to adjust sound.
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Mijeau Can't agree more ...the bass response must cut off around 500Hz when playing music . So listening to music is AWFUL !
Would cutting the wires & installing some alternative speaker brand (possibly slightly deeper?) fix this or is it simply a case of the amplifier output bypass capacitor being woefully too small? -
Jason Kelly It could either be that the cutoff is too high (because of the cap) or because of the frequency response of the speaker. If you have access to an oscilloscope you could play a 20-40hz done wave through and measure the output voltage compare to a few hundred and thousand hertz. If the voltage is significantly lower it's the cutoff cap. If not, it's the speaker. I haven't investigated mine yet. -
Jason Kelly Sine* -
Mijeau Thanks Jason - sadly , no scope. Might be easier just to cut the speakers off, add a jack & try out a few commercial headphones ......
Also find it a tad strange that Sena aren't wading in & offering some options here? -
Dan Unfortunately they do not have a set of speakers that produce the sound quality that you are looking for. However, they have an Earbud Adapter Cable for the SMH10R that allows you to plug in your own earbuds and have the sound quality that you desire. The Earbud Adapter Cable can be found here on their online store: http://www.buysenabluetooth.com/smh10r/sc-a0305.html
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Dan Unfortunately they do not have a set of speakers that produce the sound quality that you are looking for. However, they have an Earbud Adapter Cable for the SMH10R that allows you to plug in your own earbuds and have the sound quality that you desire. The Earbud Adapter Cable can be found here on their online store: http://www.buysenabluetooth.com/smh10r/sc-a0305.html.
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Mijeau Thanks for that idea Dan - but I'm uncertain whether the part you've suggested would fit the 10R ....unless the adapter cable plugs into the charging port (which is pretty hard to determine from the image provided)??
Perhaps you could confirm - thanks. -
Nathan Huck I ordered two smh10r sets recently from Amazon. One had battery pack with reflective sena sticker, the other did not - it instead had some sort of battery holder that stuck to the helmet and the battery slid into. The set with the reflective sena sticker also had 3M branded adhesive strips. The audio quality on this set was far superior to that of the non reflective sticker set. There was actual bass and midrange. The serial number on the "good" set with the reflective sticker started with 13 while the poor quality set started with 14. I would guess sena went for some cost cutting and the newer 14 sets have cheaper but inferior components. The difference was so bad I sent the 14 set back to Amazon twice trying to get an older 13 series - but no luck. Help sena! I want one of your 13 series smh10r sets!
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Dan I have the SMH10R and the Earbud Adapter Cable fits. http://www.buysenabluetooth.com/smh10r/sc-a0305.html
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John Roberts Just bought a SPH10h-Fm. The sound from the FM radio is terrible. Sounds like something out of the 40's. I assume everything is updated. I wonder if there is anyway to get more mid tone and bass? I use the stock set up but I saw someone said you could use earbuds and get a better sound. Would this help? Any help would be appreciated.
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Mijeau @John, you're sooooo right.
Sena music sound is rubbish - literally almost no bass response!
I got so pissed with mine I started experimenting with other speakers, but whilst an improvement was noted, I wasn't exactly over the moon with the 'solution'. In the end I modded & fitted a set of active noise cancelling headphones/speakers and have to say , my helmet rocks as now I get real bass.
Sena need to start listening & sort this out if they are to hold on to their market share.
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Aaron Hushagen I have the 20S, and when I stream music from my phone via Bluetooth I also find that the music quality is very sub par when I'm riding in anything other than stop-and-go traffic. I understand that this device is primarily an intercom and secondarily a music player, but the lack of bass & mid-range coupled with the high amount of treble makes it hard to listen to. I've seen many complaints about the max volume not being loud enough, and that's not my complaint, but rather the quality of the sound that comes through.
In my searching around the web for an answer I wasn't able to find anything other than "make sure the speakers are positioned correctly - both in line with your ear canal and close enough to your ear that it's touching." My speakers couldn't be lined up more perfectly than they are, and I used the foam speaker covers and have them positioned so that when I put my helmet on they are touching my ears - to the point where my folded over ears (from pulling the helmet down over my head) won't unfold easily since there's no room between them and the speakers. I have to wiggle/twist the helmet, or stick my hand inside, to get the top of my ears to fold back up into their normal position, so I think the speakers are positioned as good as they can be.
I was hoping that there was a setting that would allow me to adjust the level of bass, mid-range and treble coming through the speakers, but that doesn't seem to be an option. It's as if there's no bass coming through the speakers at all and the treble is so high that it literally hurts my ears, yet I'm not able to understand what's being said/sung in the music. I also understand that there's an option to use my own ear buds rather than the speakers, but I've tried multiple different kinds of ear buds in the past and they all get pulled out of my ears when I pull my helmet down over my head. Besides, that kind of defeats the purpose of having speakers in your helmet.
I'm no engineer, but I'd think that it would be possible to have a system where you can adjust the bass/mid-range/treble and even have different settings that automatically switch when the user switches between intercom/phone and music. For example, the bass is up and the treble down when the music is playing, but when on the intercom or a call the treble is up and the bass is down.
At this point I'm considering looking for other speakers that have better sound quality (and will work with this headset), but it kills me to have to consider spending more money when I've already spent a good chunk of change on a top-of-the-line headset system. Please work on a remedy for this issue. Thank you.
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Dan Unfortunately they do not have a set of speakers that produce the sound quality that you are looking for. However, they have an Earbud Adapter Cable for the SMH10R that allows you to plug in your own earbuds and have the sound quality that you desire. The Earbud Adapter Cable can be found here on their online store: http://www.buysena.com/sc-a0305.html
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Bryan Lambert07 I agree with this, SENA, you need to produce higher quality speakers capable of quality music output. Calls are fine, but you need to add in some bass for music. It sound terrible and you have to crank it up to hear anything because you can't hear the low frequencies, but then the high pitch noises are too loud. Just add some BASS! The speakers are modular, so "upgrade" speakers could be purchased without buying a whole new SENA set. I'd buy them and I'm sure plenty of others on here would too.
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Mijeau I worry that Sena isn't even paying attention - after all this thread has been running for 2 years now & so far not a single comment from them.
So 'talk' with yr feet guys & next time buy something else....
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Bobandt I just purchased a pair of 20s's and the music quality is still bad as everyone in the thread has commented about. In addition, I have significant distortion at higher volumes needed to hear at highway speeds. Previously I had a wired J&M headset and never had this problem. I am also very disappointed that Sena hasn't fixed the problem yet but I'd suggest that everyone submit a helpdesk ticket. Perhaps that way they will consider addressing the problem.
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Dan You can buy the Earbud Adapter Cable and hook on any speakers or earbuds you like with a 1/8th inch plug: http://www.buysena.com/sc-a0305.html.
Just unplug the old speakers, plug in the new connector, and plug your earbuds into that.
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helensteiner091 I completely agree, the speakers do not allocate low frequency sounds, which is very unsatisfying when you are listening song. I had earlier the N-com (from Nolan) speaker and the range were much extensive.
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Chris Harries I totally concur, the speakers don't allot low recurrence sounds, which is exceptionally unacceptable when you are listening tune. I had before the N-com (from Nolan) speaker and the extent were much broad.
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