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[kiro]

Over the winter I purchased a Sena 20S Bluetooth headset and last weekend tried it out. Although this device is quite capable for many tasks - phone/group intercom, etc., I purchased it to do one thing – pipe audio into my helmet speakers from my iPhone, whether music or audio books. The 20S would allow any Bluetooth device to link up without using the bike’s audio system. Installing the earphones in my full face helmet, a Shoei GT-Air, worked well – I placed pads behind the earphones to mount them closer to my ears, and attaching the 20S to my helmet was simple enough. It sounded plenty loud when testing indoors, so it was time to take it on the road. It worked okay at low speeds cruising around town with marginal audio, but at highway speeds over 50 mph between wind/road & muffler noise it could be heard, but was so faint as to be useless. I plan to experiment more to learn if this can be improved by speaker placement or some other method, but found the results less than anticipated at this point. The 20S is a remarkable device - I was hoping it would suffice when used with my aging and sound challenged ears. If anyone else has tried this out I’d be interested in your comments.

[MrSurly]

I've not had a 20S but have been using the 10 for years with great success.
Two points to consider, turn up the volume on the iPhone AND the volume on the 20S. Note that when you turn up the volume knob on the 20S, you're adjusting the volume of whichever 'mode' it's in at that moment. If you're talking on the phone (HFP), for instance, and adjust the volume of the headset, once the call is over and the headset switches to music (stereo A2DP mode) you will need to turn the knob again to set the volume in music mode. The headset remembers the volume settings for each mode. You can adjust it such that the when the phone rings or you get a notification of a text, that it doesn't 'blow you away' but your music is turned way up.

Second, in the case of the SMH10, the original speakers suck. Several in my group have opted to upgrade by swapping in some speakers from a particular set of cheap Koss headphones and have found a huge improvement in sound levels AND quality. I do not know if the speakers of the 20S have been improved over the SMH10's.
(edit, related) The original speakers on the SMH10 are VERY "focused"... meaning that it is as if the sound is in a very concentrated beam...like a laser pointer compared to a floodlight. This (in my experience with the SMH10) meant that I couldn't hear it unless the speaker and my helmet were positioned *just right*. You can easily test this (when stopped) by grabbing your helmet while the music is playing and moving your lid around to see the audible effect.
My primary reason for doing the Koss upgrade was to fix this aspect; the Koss speakers (again, *to ME*) are more like 'floodlights' and are very forgiving on placement and direction. Oh, yeah, they also have bass. Very satisfying 15 dollar upgrade. 

[kiro]

Excellent reply and much appreciated MrSurly... The 20S has supposedly has much better speakers from what I read, but I have no experience with the 10 series. I'm fairly certain the volume was all the way up as it can be adjusted on the fly and beeps at 100%. I know it was on the iPhone - I stopped several times when checking it out to make adjustments. I do think speaker positioning plays a major part and I will work on this. Thanks for the insight.

[FlaHeatWave]

We're using a different brand, but speaker placement is very critical. Our brand speakers are slightly oval shaped, and when they're rotated properly to set comfortably in the ear, we don't want full volume, too loud, even at high speed...

[FLTRI]

We're using a different brand, but speaker placement is very critical. Our brand speakers are slightly oval shaped, and when they're rotated properly to set comfortably in the ear, we don't want full volume, too loud, even at high speed...

With all helmet speakers, placement is the key to getting all, or at least most, of what the speakers put out.
I've personally used harley's headsets, j&m's headsets, and the Sena smh10 headsets.
Sena is the best of the 3 and, when properly placed in the helmet for my ears, more volume than I can take. They even have a little bass, which is nice.
As always, JMHO,
Bob

[kiro]

Thanks for the replies - looks like I have some speaker placement experimentation to do this weekend as this appears to be the issue.

[Arctic John]

I've got the 20S also and it works great.  But, I'm using my earbuds from skullcandy so they block outside noise and are actually "in" the ear.  I think it sound much better.  I have my gps and iPhone paired and then I use the 3.5 to 2.5 cable to get the bike audio to the headset.  So far, so good....no complaints.

[mike_b]

Kiro,

I have your same set up.  I found that I had to remove the ear pads on my Shoei and place the Velcro on the inside of the helmet.  This let me adjust the placement of the speakers easier and did not cause any discomfort.  (I learned this after a 200 mile day).  As others have said, the placement of the speakers is critical.

[kiro]

Thanks Mike... I'd hoped to have time over the weekend to check helmet speaker placement but ended up going away without my bike.