Why use the Sena SM10?
After a few months of delay, Sena has finally unveiled its SM10, a dual music Bluetooth transmitter. This allows 2 people to travel with Bluetooth headsets to conveniently use a music source, such as a Zumo with XM radio, a single Pandora phone, or any other music device that may or may not have Bluetooth capability. In the case where the music device such as an iPhone has Bluetooth, it can only be paired with one headset so that the driver and passenger cannot easily listen to the same music. With the new Sena SM10, any music device with a headphone jack or other audio output cable can be connected via a 1/8 “cable to the SM10 and the Sena SM10 can be paired with two headphones of any brand as long as the headphones accept an A2DP stereo connection.
How to pair it with two Scala Rider G9 headphones?
The SM10 has a simple pairing process. It has an on / off slide switch and a button. Once powered on, press and hold the button for 5 seconds to enter pairing mode for channel A, indicated by a flashing blue light. Press and hold the button for 9 seconds to enter pairing mode for channel B. Note that at 5 seconds the blue light flashes indicating channel A pairing, however, keep pressing until the red light flashes, which which indicates that the pairing mode for channel B does not affect the previously paired channel A connection.
Using the Sena SM10 with Scala G9 Powerset
Once paired, the music source can be connected to the SM10’s “Audio” port and music can be listened to on both headphones. The headphones will behave as if they each have their own music device and can interrupt music for phone conversations or intercom connections. After the other conversations are over, the Scala Rider G9 headphones will return to music. The SM10 also has an “Aux” port that can be used for radar detectors or GPS signals. However, you should be aware that as a music connection, the SM10 has the lowest priority on the Scala G9 list, so if you have a conversation over the intercom or on the phone, you will completely lose the radar detector. or the GPS alert. If you are listening to music, the SM10 will simply mix the signals (no prioritization or delay) and hear the prompt / alert at the same time as the music. For this reason, we suggest turning up the volume quite high on the device that is fed to the Aux port so that the signal is clear.
Cool feature
Sena includes a 3-pole 1/8 “patch cord and a 4-pole 1/8” patch cord. If you are using an AVRCP device such as your phone or MP3 player, using the 4-pole cable allows you to control (skip and repeat tracks) the music device from your Scala G9 headset. This is a common feature when headphones are paired directly with the phone, but we were quite pleased and impressed when we found out that we could do it through the SM10 with the phone. Additionally, you can skip or repeat tracks from any of the Cardo G9 headphones.
Problem solving
While testing, we turned one or both earbuds off and on to see if they reconnected (not paired) and the music continued to play. In several cases, after turning one of the three devices off and on, only one earbud was reconnecting properly and we were unable to get both earbuds to play music. When this happened, turning the SM10 off and then back on again sometimes fixed the problem, while other times we had to turn both earbuds off and then back on before we could properly play music on both earbuds.
