Sena speakers suck for music... Dolby Surround Sound for under $20. Yep!


sti491

Member
Ok, maybe not Dolby Surround Sound, but how about taking out 40% or so of the wind noise in your helmet, get close to double the volume, and actually hear bass?

After a recent 3-day MC trip it became really clear the the Sena SMH10 speakers suck to listen to music. Very tinny, volume so low that at 70 MPH you can't hear it. :-(

My son and friend are using earbuds connected to their Sena, but thats a PIA to take your hemet on & off. So as I was researching alternatives, including over $100 replacement helmet speakers (ouch!), and how to best position the speakers, considering an in-line amp, etc, I ran across this video: https://youtu.be/9QpgDCYyRcY

So I bought those $19.90 Panasonic headphones on Amazon, and started cutting wires. As I was pondering how to best do it, before I Frankenstiened the headphone speakers to fit into the helmet mesh ear pockets, I was thinking about why headphones and earbuds have so much bass and sound good. The drivers are part of it, but a lot of it comes from being more sealed in or on your ears... and I know the wind in helmet at 70+ MPH is an issue.

So I began the somewhat arduous process of attempting to fit a different way of Frankestining the headphones, keeping the headphone cushions. It was a PIA getting something too big to fit in such a small space, and to get the pads to touch my ears with no pressure points and still be comfortable.

The results are stunning to say the least! Night and day compared to stock Sena junk speakers. Comfortable, at 70 + MPH I still do not have to turn volume all the way up. At slow speed the bass is amazing. Faster, and without earplugs you do lose a little bass, but plenty of volume. I thought with less wind noise, I could go with no earplugs, but my open intake howl is obnoxious without earplugs. Interesting to see the effect of earplugs with this set-up; at highway speed the plugs dull treble and make the bass more pronounced. Perfect.

A cool side effect is the wind noise reduction even without the music on. There is actually no noticeable wind noise difference in the helmet with the visor up or down.

Very <$20 effective mod. Highly reccommend! >>> and Kermet the Frog Day Glow Green is a bonus.... LOL!
 

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