SMH10 vs 20S
I've been a Sena SMH10 user for many years. The first ones we had were the original ones that were not firmware upgradeable. Later on took advantage of the Sena upgrade program, and got the newer SMH10's. But now many many years later (5+ years and 1 battery change) our SHM10's have grown old and tired. The mounts are beat up, the transceivers are dinged up (but still work with some issues), mic booms are used up, etc. Mine will intermittently shut off when my SR10 makes a connection, and often the intercom audio is garbled and full of static, even when within 100 feet of my wifes SMH10. Have to re-boot booth units to clear this issue. So, I'm thinking it's time to retire these and go newer. But, the reviews of the 20S have me on the fence about going to them, instead of just buying 2 new SMH10's, or going to the Scala units. My wife and I basically use our SMH10's for music, intercom, and I have the SR10 on my bike with a radar detector, and VHF/UHF amateur transceiver connected. We never make or receive phone calls on the bikes. We don't ride in big packs. Maybe 2 or 3 others tops, and they all own SMH10's. The only new feature of the 20S that is interesting too me is the reported extended range of 20S to 20S. But that too has received several negative reviews, saying it's not that much greater than the SMH10's range. In our terrain we typically get about a 1/8 to 1/4 mile range in the mountains, and slightly greater than 1/4mile on open highway.
So I guess my question is for those who have used the SMH10's for years like we have, then upgraded to the 20S. What do you like, or dislike about the 20S as compared to the SMH10? Was it worth the cost?
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Cannot blame you for questioning the decision to upgrade to the 20S. There are only a few issues with the units and they've been shared by a lot of us. (units turn off randomly, Intercom low priority gets blanked out by the 1st Phone device, short battery life, not rain resistant, etc.). Those items, however, are not enough for me to put my SMH-10R back onto my helmet. I used the SMH-10R for over 2 years and was pretty happy with it. However, the 20S has so many superior features that that I decided to pay the $250+ to upgrade.
I'm not sure that any of the major issues that we've all experienced and complained about will ever get fixed, at least not with the current hardware. Sena appears deaf to our troubles / requests and has not directly addressed our issues with specific firmware changes. But my 20S is still superior to my SMH-10R.
Regarding the 20S range, I have found it to be superior to the SMH-10 and 10R. Many times, I've been able to intercom to another 20S user even though I could barely see him up ahead. However, when you lose line-of-sight, you're going to lose intercom unless an intermediate 20S can fill the gap. I've experienced this on the Devil's Highway in Arizona. Sharp corners around cliffs and if the two riders in front of me go around the cliff, I lost communication. But when the middle rider was still in sight, I could also communicate with the first rider that was up the road.
I'm still hoping that Sena comes out with a more user-friendly human interface and a way that Intercom can be the highest priority in a future firmware release. It may be a long wait.
Ken
Ken
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Thanks for the reply Ken,
I guess I'm at a crossroads. I'm going to have get a new pair of devices soon. I don't have any major complaints with how the SMH10's performed, but do I want to spend $$$ on old technology??
The numerous negative reviews on the 20's, have me concerned as well. Maybe I'll nurse the SMH10's along for a while longer, and see if SENA addresses these issue, with development of a new, robust, device...
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