Better helmet speakers?

[jcthorne]

I have the Sena SMH10R headsets with the speakers that come with. The system works 'fine' but I have never been all that happy with the fidelity of the audio. Would have expected a wider frequency response much more like real headphones. Compared to real over the ear headphones, the sound quality is sorely lacking. Is the lack of treble and bass response a result of the Bluetooth link or would better speakers help? If speakers, any that work well with the Sena?

 

[finless]

It's the speakers. One tip. Make sure you used the foamy disk thing that came with the speakers to give them some air to move. If you just stuck them in the helmet against any hard surface or foam they get tinny. Also try to get them as close to the ears as possible.

Other people that did not like them anyway, went to ear buds.

Bob

 

[HedonismBot]

I bought a pair of noise cancelling earbuds by Logitech off Amazon (~$40) and the earbud adapter base for my Sena. I looove this setup and in my opinion is worth the upgrade. With my earbuds, I get the added benefit of wind and noise reduction on the road. It's amazing how much less fatigued I feel after a longish ride not being subjected to the extra noise. It was a bit spooky at first

I bought these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YKG2XM/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which come with different ear adapters and this for the Sena http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YD0YTM/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Note that I did not have to use the long stretchy cord that is in the picture. The earbuds can plug directly into the port on the unit and there is more than enough slack in the cables to not pull or tug with my full face helmet on.

 

[jcthorne]

Thanks for the tips guys. I really would like to try and make the speakers work better or better speakers rather than ear buds inside my helmet. Don't really like in the ear headphone and they get uncomfortable for me in pretty short order.

I will try more foam behind the speakers getting them closer to my ear. Are there any better helmet speakers on the market that work with the Sena?

 

[NancysToy]

Be sure to get the speaker properly positioned, too. If they are not directly over your earholes, the will lose the fringe frequencies fast, as well as substantial volume.

 

[belowme29]

Thanks for the tips guys. I really would like to try and make the speakers work better or better speakers rather than ear buds inside my helmet. Don't really like in the ear headphone and they get uncomfortable for me in pretty short order.

I will try more foam behind the speakers getting them closer to my ear. Are there any better helmet speakers on the market that work with the Sena?

I had the older design of ear buds that dropped into your ear, the ones that were completely plastic, and they did get uncomfortable after a while. I have a pair that is similar to the ones on the link in a previous post and I have not had any issues with them, had them in for 2 hours one time without ear pain/numbness. The key is to get the ones that have the soft rubber pieces that go into your ear so that there is some give and take and not just solid plastic to irritate your ear.

 

[MarkLawson]

Be sure to get the speaker properly positioned, too. If they are not directly over your earholes, the will lose the fringe frequencies fast, as well as substantial volume.

Scotty is exactly right. The best way to position speakers is to listen to them before installing them. This means wiring everything together outside of the helmet. Then, while listening to your audio source, experiment by moving the speaker around on your ear until you find the best position, the 'sweet spot', & then REMEMBER what it sounds like. When you then have them installed in the helmet, you now know what you're listening for to determine when they are properly positioned inside the helmet, plus they'll also have fuller fidelity. Without the work outside the helmet first, you're just guessing. The difference when properly position can be startling.

 

[jcthorne]

Scotty is exactly right. The best way to position speakers is to listen to them before installing them. This means wiring everything together outside of the helmet. Then, while listening to your audio source, experiment by moving the speaker around on your ear until you find the best position, the 'sweet spot', & then REMEMBER what it sounds like. When you then have them installed in the helmet, you now know what you're listening for to determine when they are properly positioned inside the helmet, plus they'll also have fuller fidelity. Without the work outside the helmet first, you're just guessing. The difference when properly position can be startling.

Thanks. Too late for the 'before you install' part but they come back out easy enough. Will tinker this evening now that I have some ideas to try.

 

[NancysToy]

My ear holes are very tiny, and placed well toward the edge of the outer ear. I end up putting a finger in my helmet with a small loop of tape on the tip. I find the earhole, then stick the tape to the helmet liner directly opposite. I attach my speakers there. The speakers attached with Velcro allow fine tuning the adjustment. It is pretty amazing what a difference placement makes. Even as little as 1/4" off center can cut the volume and flatten narrow the frequency spectrum. I'm not trying to get outstanding fidelity, I think that is impossible in an open vehicle. I just need to have the frequencies I hear best available.

 

[Flanker]

I believe Red Green offers a very economical set on his web site.

5 1/4" rounds duck taped to the outside of your helmet; over 5" holes drilled through it; with old window screen hot glued in the holes to keep out debris, and screen out annoying high frequency squeal/feed back. Bit heavy though. :thumbup: Beats the :cus: outta any of those dinky little, tinny sounding things those other guys are talking about. Keeping the boom box they're wired to balanced on the seat can be a bit of a challenge unless you have more duct tape.....................you'll need a 12v converter for the boom box too! I think he offers an entire kit for $37.72.

 

[daveinva]

Counter-intuitively, I find my Sena sounds better while I'm wearing foam earplugs than without. The plugs cut the wind noise but allow the music to come through quite nicely (obviously, at full volume!).

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Be sure to get the speaker properly positioned, too. If they are not directly over your earholes, the will lose the fringe frequencies fast, as well as substantial volume.

Good suggestion, but hard to follow in some cases. My Nolan N103 helmet has speaker locations pretty well locked in by design. You punch out a disk in the liner and that's where the speaker goes.

 

[NancysToy]

Good suggestion, but hard to follow in some cases. My Nolan N103 helmet has speaker locations pretty well locked in by design. You punch out a disk in the liner and that's where the speaker goes.

Yes, the Nolans hurt my ears because of the way their liner crushes them. It lends a whole new meaning to "Buy a helmet that fits." You can modify the liner or forego good sound from the speakers...no other real choices.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

HELMET SPEAKERS

I have the Sena SMH10R headsets with the speakers that come with. The system works 'fine' but I have never been all that happy with the fidelity of the audio. Would have expected a wider frequency response much more like real headphones. Compared to real over the ear headphones, the sound quality is sorely lacking. Is the lack of treble and bass response a result of the Bluetooth link or would better speakers help? If speakers, any that work well with the Sena?

I can't vouch for them.................but you can check these out ....From ---EDSETS.COM _____ thunderclap ( the newest version ).......Mike :thumbup: PS.............Thanks for the info and help WasWinger

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I can't vouch for them.................but you can check these out ....From ---EDSETS.COM _____ thunderclap ( the newest version ).......Mike :thumbup:

I don't have the Thunderclap version, but the previous versions and his service have, IMO, been pretty much unbeatable.

 

[jcthorne]

Just as a followup, I purchased these Tork X-Pro helmet speakers and could not be more pleased with them. Helmet now sounds like a good pair of over the ear headphones. Great upgrade and they work very well with the Sena unit. They are also much more efficient so need not be turned up near as high to hear.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I6HOQA/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[SteveMac]

Just as a followup, I purchased these Tork X-Pro helmet speakers and could not be more pleased with them. Helmet now sounds like a good pair of over the ear headphones. Great upgrade and they work very well with the Sena unit. They are also much more efficient so need not be turned up near as high to hear.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I6HOQA/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Interesting. Been a while since I put my SENAs in. Did the ones you bought just plug into the unit, or did you have to splice?

 

[jcthorne]

Interesting. Been a while since I put my SENAs in. Did the ones you bought just plug into the unit, or did you have to splice?

Sena has an adaptor for standard headphone jack:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DSOUFTG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[SteveMac]

Sena has an adaptor for standard headphone jack:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DSOUFTG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Aha. So they just plugged into the 3.5mm plug. Cool. Thanks :thumbup: