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Scala comunicators any good ?

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Another vote for the Sena SMH10. I've tested the range to just shy on 1km before becoming garbled, although this was not a clean line of sight.

Connects to iPhone easily, music streaming works perfectly, callers on the phone claim not to know I am on the bike (even at highway speed), which I've read others claim as well. The jog dial is plain simple to use.

I typically get all day of riding while streaming tunes and chatting with my wife on the back. This last trip I actually managed to squeeze out 2 days worth of all day riding (I forgot to charge our comms at the hotel). We didn't talk much the second day tho, still I was more than impressed. Daily commuting I easily get over a week before the need to charge.
 
I now use the Q3 and so far it is the best of the communicators that I had, I can understand conversations upto 140ish and music is loud and clear. (full face helmet) I had the Q2 and the G4 as well. The Q2 was very good and the G4 did not perform anywhere near what I wanted and was unreliable. In March at the bike show I spend $450 on the uclear system. Over 80kmh I you could not understand anything the pair set was saying. After about 2 months battery life was reduced to a solid 5 minutes on a charge. Scala is amongst the best that is out there but there is still a lot of room for improvements on all the communicators that I have owned.
 
I think Sena gets my vote and I DON't Own one ;)..... can you plug earphones into the Sena directly??

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I found the Scala G4 unreliable as well and since they came out with the G9 quite quickly I'd say Scala knows it.
Losing a channel seems all too frequent on the reports.
 
MacDoc said:
I think Sena gets my vote and I DON't Own one ;)..... can you plug earphones into the Sena directly??

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I found the Scala G4 unreliable as well and since they came out with the G9 quite quickly I'd say Scala knows it.
Losing a channel seems all too frequent on the reports.
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yes you can plug earplugs directly into the Sena unit bracket that clamps to the side of the helmet.
 
That's a sold feature right there.
So that would funnel all communications through the earplugs?
Or just music or is it settable between earplugs and speakers.
 
I have a G4, and like it alot.
Comms bike to bike have been great up to at least 30 seconds apart in the twisty foersts of West Virginia no problem. I can hear my music clearly with earplugs in at freeway speeds. I am not very tech savy, and the lack of a screen telling you what mode you are in irritates me, so I have to keep the owner's manual with me at all times. If I used it more I would probably remember how to use each feature, but I only street ride a few times a year. I would like to try them in an endurance race for bike to pit Comms.
I do not use the bluetooth function as it kills the battery very fast (4-5 hrs). Instead I plug into the headphone jack of my IPOD , and have gotten more than 22 straight hrs of music out of the Scala in one charge, and the red low battery warning light still hadnèt come on, but I decided to charge it anyways as I finally had a campsite with service.

I think the OEM speakers that Scala use for the G4 arenèt up tp task for the amount of amplification the unit has. Many people hve replaced them with ones from an affordable Koss set from headphones, and the sound volume and quality is apparently much better. I intend to try this upgrade.
 
Apollo95 said:
yes you can plug earplugs directly into the Sena unit bracket that clamps to the side of the helmet.
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There is a jack at the back of the (stock) SMH10 but it is a direct line in for an mp3. So you can connect your iPod or iPhone directly instead of streaming. So your iPhone essentially becomes an mp3 player, you are not able to make/take calls this way and you can not also connect via BT at the same time - it's one or the other.

MacDoc said:
can you plug earphones into the Sena directly??
Click to expand...

Yes but you will need a different clamp (under $40).

I will also add a negative to my experience with the SMH10. Although I find the volume to be the best of any of the systems I've tried (Autocom, Starcom and now the Sena), I still find the volume to be lacking at highway speed (with my windscreen down). Anything up to 100 is fine, above that and it really depends on the amount of wind noise but it becomes difficult to hear the words. My wife and I keep having to ask each other to repeat stuff as we can't make out what the other is saying. Not always but a lot of the time.

Now with my windscreen up, Bob's your uncle! Disclaimer is that I wear earplugs. I have tried using in ear type headphones (Etymotic - er-6i iirc) with just my iPhone or iPod and found it lacking in protecting from the amount of wind noise. I read others claim this works for them so ymmv. Ultimately I think custom in ear headphones would work the best but they are a little cost prohibitive.

Without earplugs, this thing is loud!
 
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l84toff said:
There is a jack at the back of the (stock) SMH10 but it is a direct line in for an mp3. So you can connect your iPod or iPhone directly instead of streaming. So your iPhone essentially becomes an mp3 player, you are not able to make/take calls this way and you can not also connect via BT at the same time - it's one or the other.



Yes but you will need a different clamp (under $40).

I will also add a negative to my experience with the SMH10. Although I find the volume to be the best of any of the systems I've tried (Autocom, Starcom and now the Sena), I still find the volume to be lacking at highway speed (with my windscreen down). Anything up to 100 is fine, above that and it really depends on the amount of wind noise but it becomes difficult to hear the words. My wife and I keep having to ask each other to repeat stuff as we can't make out what the other is saying. Not always but a lot of the time.

Now with my windscreen up, Bob's your uncle! Disclaimer is that I wear earplugs. I have tried using in ear type headphones (Etymotic - er-6i iirc) with just my iPhone or iPod and found it lacking in protecting from the amount of wind noise. I read others claim this works for them so ymmv. Ultimately I think custom in ear headphones would work the best but they are a little cost prohibitive.

Without earplugs, this thing is loud!
Click to expand...

I too found the Ety Er6-i not to block enough sound at highway speeds. My fix are Comply eartips (http://www.complyfoam.com/products/P-Series/). There's a guy from Toronto that sells them at a reasonable price on eBay. With the Comply tips, I have no issue with wind noise at highway speeds
 
regder said:
I too found the Ety Er6-i not to block enough sound at highway speeds. My fix are Comply eartips (http://www.complyfoam.com/products/P-Series/). There's a guy from Toronto that sells them at a reasonable price on eBay. With the Comply tips, I have no issue with wind noise at highway speeds
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm! Could be a good alternative. I see they come in 3's or 5's - do they last? How to they compare to foam earplugs in terms of noise blocking?
 
l84toff said:
Hmmmmm! Could be a good alternative. I see they come in 3's or 5's - do they last? How to they compare to foam earplugs in terms of noise blocking?
Click to expand...

Depends on how much you sweat, sweat will break apart the foam quick. If I'm doing a week long tour, I'll generally go through a pair or two. Makes sense just to get 5 pairs.

The long ones are comparable to 33db earplugs.

Edit: this is the guy from Toronto, http://stores.ebay.ca/Marco-Polo-ca
 
Comply eartips are terrific but wear out fast....I'm getting to the point I'm going to freeze some of my orange earplugs and turn them into tips ( there are instructions on this around the web )
Damn comply are terrific but too much money given how fast they wear.
 
I got a scala g9 and am enjoying it. No problem with volume at highway speeds with earplugs in, in fact I turn it down a notch to avoid some bass distortion. I like the voice commands best "music on" "next track" etc. works very well.
 
I bought a set of Sena SMH10R this spring. People have no idea I'm on my bike when they call and I can hear them no problem. Plays music for days between charges and range is more then enough for me. The unit is super small but still don't have a problem with controls. Only problem I have is the little battery is external and they give Velcro to hold it onto the helmet. I ended up using 2 sided tape because the Velcro would let go some times. I love this unit!
 
Biggest beef I've had with the smh10 has been the helmet clamp for earbuds. The jack sticks out from the back and was very brittle. Didn't take long to break it. Second version had some flex but only lasted a month before it you could see breaks in the cable.

Added Sugru to beef it up and haven't had a problem since.
 
Pros for the Scala across the board ( all models ) is that there is a wide number of users so more likely to have someone in a group with a set to hook up to and it really enhances both the ride experience and safety. Not too bad to get them to link up.
My kid is hooked on it now as well.

I've also got very good battery performance on both the Q2 and G4 and microphones have been durable and effective and I ride with 3/4 tho also with a windscreen.
When I drop the visor the mike works better.

Cons are moisture failures both models - but likely my fault leaving the power port open.
Marginal ability to get cost effective repairs.
Annoying beeping on the Q2 as the voice actuator picks up the wind. ( no way to turn it off ).

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wtf is Sugru? :D
 
Sugru is the second greatest invention known to man. (Next to motorcycles, of course). It's a silicone rubber that comes in "silly putty" texture that you can form any way you wish. When cured, it's firm but flexible and extremely durable. Comes in a number of colors.
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