- Joined
- Aug 6, 2007
- Messages
- 4,218
- Age
- 49
- Location
- Grant, MN (aka Stillwater)
- Bike
- ST1100 & ST1300
- STOC #
- 6145
Well I am coming up on my first month of using the 20S and I was talking with another member about my experience so far.
+Sound Quality
+Battery Life
+Size
+App to configure device
+Switching between devices
+Ambient Mode
+No optional bases
-FM Radio
-Voice Control
Good
I originally bought an SMH10 but a day or two after it arrived the 20S was announced so I sent it back without trying it so I can only compare it to my Starcom.
Some people complain about the sound quality/volume level. I use custom molded ear plugs and the stock speakers. I also suffer from a lot of hearing loss. Now I run it at full volume but I have no issues hearing anything. From my use of the Starcom system I found a long time ago that speaker placement is critical. My guess is many of the complaints in this department are people that don't have their speakers placed correctly. Just because your helmet has speaker pockets, doesn't mean that centering the speaker there will be optimal.
Battery life seems fine. Charged it once when doing a firmware upgrade. Haven't done any long trips though but since I can charge it on the bike no worries there.
It seems a little smaller than the SMH10 I ordered but it isn't super small. The battery will take space so that is fine.
There is an Android and iPhone app for configuring the device. You can go through and set various things like FM presets, Speed Dial numbers (up to 3), set up intercom groups with other riders, as well as device settings like side tone. This makes it easier to do than trying to go through the device's built in menus. Some of the settings (everything but intercom groups) can also be configured when connected to a PC for firmware updates.
Switching between devices seems to work really well. I can be listening to Pandora on my phone and the GPS chimes in with turn guidance without missing any of the message. Though I wish I could disable the touch tones on my Zumo 550. There are times I am making adjustments to it and I don't need to hear those confirmation beeps. When it switches to the GPS it flips back to my phone or FM Radio in about 2 seconds. It doesn't mix but rather flip from one device to the next. MP3s over Bluetooth from the Zumo 550 sound like crap but I knew that I didn't have A2DP (stereo) support on the Zumo 550. Also no XM but I have a Sena SR10 that I want to add to the mix to see how it performs.
Ambient Mode is nice when you have someone come up to you to talk while you still have your helmet and earplugs in. Hit the button and I can hear them fine even though they don't have Bluetooth.
What comes in the box is all you need. I think there were 3 different versions of the mic. Full boom, boom with short wire, wire for full face. You can run the speakers or pop them out and run ear buds. I think with the SMH10 you had to watch which version you bought or have to buy a different base if you want to change the mic versions or go between speakers vs ear buds. The only thing missing is a wall charger. Since I have an Android phone and tablet that also use micro USB that isn't an issue for me. I just use a phone charger. If you use an iPhone, you might want to buy a charger or charge on the bike. I don't want to charge on the bike unless I have to or am on a long trip. Since most of my trips are shorter (40min commute) I don't want to do a partial charge on the bike.
Now for the bad. Some of this may get fixed with future firmware updates.
FM Radio - I doubt there is a way to fix this. The antenna used is horrible. This was one of the reasons I sent the SMH10 back and find it disappointing. Not enough so to send the unit back but I have read a lot of complaints about how well it works. I live and work in the suburbs of St Paul and the local FM Stations constantly cut in and out. If I put my hand on the device they come in better but it is kind of hard to ride around like that. There is a flip up antenna on the device but that is only to increase the range of Bluetooth. They should has extended the FM antenna up in that as well. Unless you are in a city the FM will be totally useless. When it does come in the sound quality is really good but it cuts out all the time. Another complaint about it may be fixed with firmware. I don't need it to announce what preset and frequency I am on all the time. I am fine if it does this when I first turn on the FM tuner so I know where I am at and when I change frequencies or presets. However every time it switches inputs and comes back to FM it pauses and has to announce this info. This is why I was trying to disable touch tones on the Zumo. If I touch the screen, FM stops, I hear the tone, 2 seconds pass, then it goes back to FM, I hear a split second of the FM radio then it cuts out again so that it can announce the preset and frequency. Yeah, I was just listening to that FM channel 10 seconds ago, I know where it is. I guess this could be a nice feature if one has short term memory issues. If listening to Pandora off my phone, I get the beep, then after 2 seconds it just switches back to Pandora.
Voice Commands - This was another selling point. I hope they improve things with firmware updates. Some people love it but I have done nothing but fight the system. Part of it is I am still learning the commands but most of it is that it just sucks. Here is an example. I put on my helmet and turn on the device. I am not on the bike and it isn't even running. It responds with the power on tone and "Hello". I respond with "Hello Sena" 70% of the time it asks for my command. I would assume it should catch this 100% of the time as it isn't trying to pick me out of the background noise. I have sidetone on so I can hear what I am saying and I can hear it loud and clear. Ok, so I say "Hello Sena" a couple times. It wakes up. "FM Radio" again 70% success. At first with firmware v1.0 I would use my three strikes and have to start over without it hearing me say "FM Radio". Now I think I am on FW v1.1.1 and it is better. So eventually it hears me and I am in FM Mode. Music is playing and I want to go to the previous preset. To do this you have to wake it up again and say "Previous". So I say "Hello Sena". This works about 0.5% of the time or pretty much never. I can scream it at the top of my lungs and it won't hear me. So now you are stuck on whatever preset you were on. Well when saying "Hello Sena" won't wake the device your other option is a Tap-Tap. Tap your helmet twice, one second between taps. So, Tap-tap is my option, well that worked about 20% of the time in FW v1.0. In FW v1.1 they released an option where you can adjust the tap sensitivity. I have it maxed out on high now and it is better. I would say 90% of the time Tap-tap works but so does things like opening my chin vent or adjusting my visor. Not a big deal because it goes back to what you were listening to but if that is FM Radio you get to hear what preset and frequency you were on all over. Now there is a third option that I find I use more often. If you are in FM Mode and tap the phone button it goes to the next preset (up to 10). I have 4 set and when it gets to 4 it will jump back to 1. So I am glad I don't have to hear 6 presets of nothing if I go the button route. A couple days ago I was leaving work and was making a left turn at a stop light. Because of this and traffic I was doing clutch work as I was filtering my way up to make the turn. Phone rings. I don't recall if I was listening to Pandora or FM but music stops and I hear the phone ringing. The book says you can say "Hello" or anything at all and it will answer. If that doesn't work you can tap the phone button. Well I am working the clutch so no phone button. I start saying then screaming "Hello", nope keeps ringing and goes to voicemail. Grrr, since I no longer have my phone paired to the Zumo I have no way of knowing who called. Oh well. I'll look when I get home. Turns out it was the wife just wondering when I was leaving work. Yesterday I initiated a call while on the bike. Listening to Pandora on the phone. "Hello Sena" a couple times, nope isn't going to work. Tap-tap, ahh there it goes. "Speed Dial One" Phone rings and I tell her I am running late and just leaving work. Phone call ends. She said that she couldn't tell I was on the bike. I was going about 40 at the time.
So over all, don't buy it for the FM radio. A very poor execution of that and since it is likely hardware, there probably will be no fix. I hope the voice control gets better with firmware. One thing I want to try but don't see why it would matter is to disable the sidetone. I have checked to make sure my mic is oriented properly. I hope they fix the voice control with FW updates and the FM announcement can be fixed. It is nice but a few bugs yet.
+Sound Quality
+Battery Life
+Size
+App to configure device
+Switching between devices
+Ambient Mode
+No optional bases
-FM Radio
-Voice Control
Good
I originally bought an SMH10 but a day or two after it arrived the 20S was announced so I sent it back without trying it so I can only compare it to my Starcom.
Some people complain about the sound quality/volume level. I use custom molded ear plugs and the stock speakers. I also suffer from a lot of hearing loss. Now I run it at full volume but I have no issues hearing anything. From my use of the Starcom system I found a long time ago that speaker placement is critical. My guess is many of the complaints in this department are people that don't have their speakers placed correctly. Just because your helmet has speaker pockets, doesn't mean that centering the speaker there will be optimal.
Battery life seems fine. Charged it once when doing a firmware upgrade. Haven't done any long trips though but since I can charge it on the bike no worries there.
It seems a little smaller than the SMH10 I ordered but it isn't super small. The battery will take space so that is fine.
There is an Android and iPhone app for configuring the device. You can go through and set various things like FM presets, Speed Dial numbers (up to 3), set up intercom groups with other riders, as well as device settings like side tone. This makes it easier to do than trying to go through the device's built in menus. Some of the settings (everything but intercom groups) can also be configured when connected to a PC for firmware updates.
Switching between devices seems to work really well. I can be listening to Pandora on my phone and the GPS chimes in with turn guidance without missing any of the message. Though I wish I could disable the touch tones on my Zumo 550. There are times I am making adjustments to it and I don't need to hear those confirmation beeps. When it switches to the GPS it flips back to my phone or FM Radio in about 2 seconds. It doesn't mix but rather flip from one device to the next. MP3s over Bluetooth from the Zumo 550 sound like crap but I knew that I didn't have A2DP (stereo) support on the Zumo 550. Also no XM but I have a Sena SR10 that I want to add to the mix to see how it performs.
Ambient Mode is nice when you have someone come up to you to talk while you still have your helmet and earplugs in. Hit the button and I can hear them fine even though they don't have Bluetooth.
What comes in the box is all you need. I think there were 3 different versions of the mic. Full boom, boom with short wire, wire for full face. You can run the speakers or pop them out and run ear buds. I think with the SMH10 you had to watch which version you bought or have to buy a different base if you want to change the mic versions or go between speakers vs ear buds. The only thing missing is a wall charger. Since I have an Android phone and tablet that also use micro USB that isn't an issue for me. I just use a phone charger. If you use an iPhone, you might want to buy a charger or charge on the bike. I don't want to charge on the bike unless I have to or am on a long trip. Since most of my trips are shorter (40min commute) I don't want to do a partial charge on the bike.
Now for the bad. Some of this may get fixed with future firmware updates.
FM Radio - I doubt there is a way to fix this. The antenna used is horrible. This was one of the reasons I sent the SMH10 back and find it disappointing. Not enough so to send the unit back but I have read a lot of complaints about how well it works. I live and work in the suburbs of St Paul and the local FM Stations constantly cut in and out. If I put my hand on the device they come in better but it is kind of hard to ride around like that. There is a flip up antenna on the device but that is only to increase the range of Bluetooth. They should has extended the FM antenna up in that as well. Unless you are in a city the FM will be totally useless. When it does come in the sound quality is really good but it cuts out all the time. Another complaint about it may be fixed with firmware. I don't need it to announce what preset and frequency I am on all the time. I am fine if it does this when I first turn on the FM tuner so I know where I am at and when I change frequencies or presets. However every time it switches inputs and comes back to FM it pauses and has to announce this info. This is why I was trying to disable touch tones on the Zumo. If I touch the screen, FM stops, I hear the tone, 2 seconds pass, then it goes back to FM, I hear a split second of the FM radio then it cuts out again so that it can announce the preset and frequency. Yeah, I was just listening to that FM channel 10 seconds ago, I know where it is. I guess this could be a nice feature if one has short term memory issues. If listening to Pandora off my phone, I get the beep, then after 2 seconds it just switches back to Pandora.
Voice Commands - This was another selling point. I hope they improve things with firmware updates. Some people love it but I have done nothing but fight the system. Part of it is I am still learning the commands but most of it is that it just sucks. Here is an example. I put on my helmet and turn on the device. I am not on the bike and it isn't even running. It responds with the power on tone and "Hello". I respond with "Hello Sena" 70% of the time it asks for my command. I would assume it should catch this 100% of the time as it isn't trying to pick me out of the background noise. I have sidetone on so I can hear what I am saying and I can hear it loud and clear. Ok, so I say "Hello Sena" a couple times. It wakes up. "FM Radio" again 70% success. At first with firmware v1.0 I would use my three strikes and have to start over without it hearing me say "FM Radio". Now I think I am on FW v1.1.1 and it is better. So eventually it hears me and I am in FM Mode. Music is playing and I want to go to the previous preset. To do this you have to wake it up again and say "Previous". So I say "Hello Sena". This works about 0.5% of the time or pretty much never. I can scream it at the top of my lungs and it won't hear me. So now you are stuck on whatever preset you were on. Well when saying "Hello Sena" won't wake the device your other option is a Tap-Tap. Tap your helmet twice, one second between taps. So, Tap-tap is my option, well that worked about 20% of the time in FW v1.0. In FW v1.1 they released an option where you can adjust the tap sensitivity. I have it maxed out on high now and it is better. I would say 90% of the time Tap-tap works but so does things like opening my chin vent or adjusting my visor. Not a big deal because it goes back to what you were listening to but if that is FM Radio you get to hear what preset and frequency you were on all over. Now there is a third option that I find I use more often. If you are in FM Mode and tap the phone button it goes to the next preset (up to 10). I have 4 set and when it gets to 4 it will jump back to 1. So I am glad I don't have to hear 6 presets of nothing if I go the button route. A couple days ago I was leaving work and was making a left turn at a stop light. Because of this and traffic I was doing clutch work as I was filtering my way up to make the turn. Phone rings. I don't recall if I was listening to Pandora or FM but music stops and I hear the phone ringing. The book says you can say "Hello" or anything at all and it will answer. If that doesn't work you can tap the phone button. Well I am working the clutch so no phone button. I start saying then screaming "Hello", nope keeps ringing and goes to voicemail. Grrr, since I no longer have my phone paired to the Zumo I have no way of knowing who called. Oh well. I'll look when I get home. Turns out it was the wife just wondering when I was leaving work. Yesterday I initiated a call while on the bike. Listening to Pandora on the phone. "Hello Sena" a couple times, nope isn't going to work. Tap-tap, ahh there it goes. "Speed Dial One" Phone rings and I tell her I am running late and just leaving work. Phone call ends. She said that she couldn't tell I was on the bike. I was going about 40 at the time.
So over all, don't buy it for the FM radio. A very poor execution of that and since it is likely hardware, there probably will be no fix. I hope the voice control gets better with firmware. One thing I want to try but don't see why it would matter is to disable the sidetone. I have checked to make sure my mic is oriented properly. I hope they fix the voice control with FW updates and the FM announcement can be fixed. It is nice but a few bugs yet.