Schuberth C4 and Sena SC1

lee · Jun 19, 2018

We started to use our C4s and SC1A intercoms this spring.
Manufacture date on the helmets is Feb 2018 and we purchased them from Engle Motors in Kansas City.
This is our first time using intercom on our bikes.
Helmet fit and feel is good, similar to to our previous HJC Sy-Max II and Schuberth Concept before those.
I always wear ear plugs but noticed this last week on a couple 200 miles rides without ear plugs the helmet was quiet enough.
I'll probably still use ear plugs on long rides.
Ventilation is better than any other helmets we have owned.
On a trip to Texas we were disappointed the SC1a did not have enough volume. Intercom and music was only loud enough at slow speed.
After the trip I checked settings and turned Audio Boost on. This did not help much.
Moving the speakers helped but not enough.
Rode down to KC to have Adam check my SC1A and he agreed the volume was lower than his Sena 20S. He also checked my settings and did not see a problem.
Later in the week he contacted Sena they suggested I change my firmware back to 1.0. We were using the current 1.1
This made a big difference in volume.
Intercom worked good on our ride to the Iowa Rally and back.
When I tried music last week on the two rides without ear plugs I only had the volume set at level 2 or 3. I think there's 5 levels.

dgamari · Aug 6, 2018

New C4/SC1 Advanced Owner.

Thank you for your review. Yesterday I had my first day out with the new helmet and comms system, and find the audio quality and phone connection to be excellent. I agree with you that the microusb is awkward to plug in, and in an inconvenient spot. Because of this I'm thinking of getting a battery charging block to eliminate the frequent plugging and upplugging of the cable. One battery for now, and I haven't run out of change on it yet in 7 hours. I also own a Schubert SR1 (no longer in production), and have the Sena 10R mounted on that. I think the SC1 Advanced is better, sound quality wise. We'll see on the intercom and range this week. I use a NAV VI, and found that I can get everyting to play nicely together with the SC1, something I've never been able to do in the past. I also have the handlebar remote which I think is a must have, if you're going to have a SC1 comms.

eitan.zadok said:
Hello guys ( especially for the ones considering buying Schuberth C4 with SC1 communication system), this is my review of both:
The SC1 (2/5 stars)
Schuberth C4 (5/5)
Both as a package 2/5
I loved the idea of the integrated system within the new helmet and I couldn’t wait to test it this weekend. Here is my experience and impression of the new SC1 after 640 miles:
Let’s start with the charging port on the unit (Micro USB)- it is very difficult to hold the helmet in one hand and with other hand insert the male port while trying to have the port cover open. You need to have the helmet upside down on a surface and careful not to scratch the helmet. But that is not the only design issue. The biggest issue is that you will not be able to leave the helmet seating on a surface to charge as the design and location of the port might cause the port to damage or disconnect as it pushes against the surface. Wrong place for the port!
Now let’s move to actual usability:
At first, all was great (beside my wrong configuration of need to speak load to open intercom connections- my throat hurt after today ride. I connected my SC1 with my wife SRC on Schuberth C3 Pro and my NAV V. Nice at the beginning, no issues. Then the problems start: if my lid was open, I could not initiate connection with voice command because of the microphone location, so lid must be close all the time.
Most of the time, my wife could not understand what I say and I had to repeat over and over, loader and loader (we use her helmet with my Arai XD4 with Sena SMH10 and no issues at all). From time to time she told me I sound like inside a jar or muffled.
In many occasions, I saw message on my NAV V: Bluetooth disconnected (and I still could hear instructions from the navigation).
In some other instances the navigation voice commands cut off or sound not clear at all (like you hear when you have bad wireless connection on your phone).
Now, let’s talk on buttons functions: very hard to use it with gloves on, almost not possible at all!
Charging indicator: light is not easily visible if you look at the helmet from the side. You need to always lift the helmet and look at the inside of the helmet and look for the color.
Frankly, I am very disappointed, I chose the helmet because of the SC1 system (as I was looking at different helmet for a while).
I hope Sena going to improve it soon and come with SW version updates that will improve connectivity, sound quality and sensitivity.
Now as for the Schuberth C4 as helmet only:
Great helmet all around! Great ventilation (only light comment is on the new mechanism of the spring to open the chin vent - it is to soft and open /close with any light touch. Also it is increasing significantly the noise level inside the helmet, when it closed the helmet is very quite.
Very quiet inside and make the ride more enjoyable.
The top ventilation is very good and actually doing very good work.
I choose size L (usually I buy size M) and it is perfect!
I wish it will work better with the SC1.

dgamari · Aug 6, 2018

No problems pairing my SC1 (advanced) with anything.

I own 3 helmets all with their own comms. The old C3 (>5 years, not used anymore really, a spare), has a SMH10, My SR1 has the 10R, and of course the C4 has the new SC1(advanced). I've always had problems getting all the systems to play together on the SMH10, and 10R, but with multiple tries and persistence they work. The audio quality was poor on the SMH10 as was the range, but the 10R is an improvement with both. The SC1 (advanced) is yet another level of improvement. I ride a K16GTL with a NAV VI, and everything works. Took 2 tries when configuring but once I got the right sequence of pairing and correct pairing selections it works like a champ. My phone is connected to the NAV VI, The NAV is connected to the SC1 via media selective pairing, the Alpine unit is connected to the SC1 with phone pairing and the SU1 is connected to the NAV with Phone Selective Pairing. In this configuration I can initiate a phone call from the phone book on the NAV, listen to tunes off of the phone using the media app, and hear the crappy Sirius radio (I'm not going to renew this year, because it sucks so bad). I also can connect listen to an old iPhone in the starboard side phone bay (now just used as an MP3 player) though I seldom do anymore because all of my music (and streaming music) is on the iPhone X, on the handlebar. The first thing I did was upgrade to the latest firmware (2 weeks ago). Perhaps that's why everything works. I also use a handlebar remote to control everything. The tiny buttons on the helmet are useless, except for turning on and off the unit.

dirtyjimmy said:
Your dealer is wrong. I've communicated with Schuberth direct and they tell me it is based on the 10U, not the 20S. Other online sources have also confirmed this. I own both the Sena SMH10 and the 20S and have had numerous pairing problems with both. If you are only pairing to one source (RT) it should work fine, but if you try to add your phone and your Nav, forget it. Sena tech support has told me only two items can be paired, not three and I can confirm that. I finally gave up trying to pair the bike (2013 RT and 2015 K1600), because I prefer to have access to my phone and Nav. I use the phone for music. Add intercom into the mix and it gets even more messy.
I'm happy to hear of your positive experience and I hope it continues. I use my Sena all the time, but it has given me huge amounts of frustration and continues to do so. My hope is that the 30K will be a good step forward, but must admit, I am skeptical. I've thought about switching to the Cardo product but have so much time and money invested in the Sena, as do my riding buddies, so no one wants to change, at this time.

tvguylv · Jan 23, 2019

SC1 still a POS

After more than a year of use and many many miles, the C4 is an outstanding helmet. So much better than the C3.
BUT the SC1 is still a pile of crap. Every issue as stated in other posts is still true. Send the C4 & SC1 (advanced) back to Schuberth and they repaired the two units stating there was a bad contact point where the SC1 plugs into the helmet. They test drove it and sent it back.

The radio and the GPS audio is ok, but the phone is still very bad. If I am going over 50mph its just muffled noise.
SENA is completely HANDS OFF... They made the units to Schuberth spec and it is out of their hands.
I spoke with SENA head tech guys a few time and just said sorry.

gtrider · Jan 23, 2019

tvguylv said:
The radio and the GPS audio is ok, but the phone is still very bad. If I am going over 50mph its just muffled noise.
SENA is completely HANDS OFF... They made the units to Schuberth spec and it is out of their hands.
I spoke with SENA head tech guys a few time and just said sorry.

That right there is the crux of the problem, and the reason why I went with the E1 instead of the C4. Plus, both the C3 and C4 had less chin room than the E1, which is odd since the E1 is based upon the C3. At any rate, I moved my 20S over from my C2 and have been quite happy with the setup.

Getting Schuberth to fix the SC1 would require re-opening their contract or cutting a new one and there’s probably slim odds of that.

Best,
DG

Schuberth C4 and Sena SC1

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