Headsets, have you owned both?

I have narrowed down the search to two different brands, Eartech and Sena. I'd love to hear from someone that has had both and switched. Most people are pro one brand or the other because that's what they purchased. Eartech seems to have a larger following and I have read some aftermarket/quality issues with Sena but like some of their tech. I'd love to hear about your experience.

Passagemaker just sent an email out linking a "review" article comparing the two. I have not tried the new generation Ear-Techs, only an old one which we were very unhappy with, but that's irrelevant because they have since changed the technology. I have tried a friend's Senas and they are very good. Also much harder to inadvertantly float test.

https://www.passagemaker.com/techni...ZTHb&utm_content=87734909&utm_source=hs_email

Just pushed 'buy' on the Eartech Ultralites. Read tons of personal comments on both. It's truly a matter of preference. The four big differences I picked up were
- 1) Headset style - two ear behind the neck (Sena) vice one ear over the top of head (Eartech - though you can get two ear cups also).
-2) Connection frequency. Bluetooth (Sena, so you can connect to other bluetooth devices) verses 'cordless phone' frequency connection (Eartech).
-3) Batteries. Removable batteries (Eartech, so you can always keep some fresh ones in the charger to swap out on long use days) verses non-removable (Sena).
-4) Ease in pairing. Eartech set after first use. Sena, needs pairing each use.

We went with Eartech so we could have a ear 'open' to talk with dock hands/general situational awareness, seems the quality of the 'cordless' frequency is quieter, and I really like the idea of swapping batteries since I've found the rechargeable battery to be the first thing to go on most of my modern electronics.

We really like our EarTech. Not perfect but far superior to having nothing.

Our boat came with a set of headphones (Tech Link brand). Over the head style with fixed microphone. They run on 9V batteries and are definitely better than yelling, or trying to make up hand signals, or just not knowing. However, we found that they often buzz, sometimes quite loudly, and they pickup wind noise in addition.
This year we bought a set of Eartec (one ear) headset with a spare battery, but due to Covid have only tested them at home. I like the idea of user replaceable batteries, to me that is a biggie.
Our good friends have Eartec (belt pack style) and other than the belt pack, they really like them. Neither them nor us have used Sena.

PJHoffnet said:

2)
-4) Ease in pairing. Eartech set after first use. Sena, needs pairing each use.

Click to expand...

Clarification, once Sena headsets are paired - you don't need to repair each time you turn them on. We have 4 units but mostly use 2 since it's mostly my wife and I but nice to have extra when the kids come along.

I do not recommend SENA. We have them and find the pairing each time to be a pain and often takes a bit to get them to pair.

Eartech also has the capability to swing up the boom to mute which is nice if mate is talking to someone on the dock vs. trying to say something to me.

We have Eartech and like them. Purchased spare batteries. NOTE: the one ear-cup units can slip off your head! Fortunately we identified this potential before experiencing the unplanned removal and we fashioned and wear lanyards. I bit more hassle, but the sound quality and lack of any background noise is worth the little extra hassle of the lanyard and the cost of a pair of spare batteries.

I bought Eartechs about 10 years, an earlier version. They were touted as 'duplex', talk and listen at the same time, and they did that. We just never used them much, and they're still sitting in the boat. The problem was that the volume was weak, and couldn't compete with engine and wind noise. Now we use sign language (not kidding) and speak louder, probably linked to getting older.

We've only had Sena. I like the behind the head style which keeps them on your head while looking down (handy when docking and locking). Once they are paired the fist time, they pair each time quickly. Range is good (bow to stern on a 54).

The one thing I wish they borrowed from EarTech is a mute feature. It can get confusing in the locks when you're talking to someone else and your mates think you're talking to them.

w8n4sun said:

Clarification, once Sena headsets are paired - you don't need to repair each time you turn them on. .

Click to expand...

Thanks! You beat me to it!

We had Sena, and sent them back. They were touted as good for listening to music, taking calls, and good for 1/4 mile reception for duplex speech.

We found they had scratchy reception, and reception was poor when I was on the flybridge and the wife was 30' away on the dock.

We now have Eartecs and love them.

Sena SP10's pair automatically once set up. They work great for us but: non replaceable battery -just replaced one of mine after 2 1/2 years. (We actually replaced the other 2 years ago - but only because it couldn't swim)

As Beaverlake (Gordon) said, a lanyard is a must have. Easy to make your own.
Unless of course you find using one "too confining" and have lots of money

Airstream345 said:

We've only had Sena. I like the behind the head style which keeps them on your head while looking down (handy when docking and locking). ......The one thing I wish they borrowed from EarTech is a mute feature. It can get confusing in the locks when you're talking to someone else and your mates think you're talking to them.

Click to expand...

I have never tried the "EarTech") and like the on top of the head design. (I find the behind your neck to be uncomfortable) The tying & untying of lines, however, sold me on the Sena as they don't fall off your head when bending over & looking down as Airstream noted above.

We call each other, wearing an Air pod ear bud. Assuming you have a good cell reception.

When our old Eartec Simultalks became unreliable after many years of excellent service we figured we'd try something different with newer tech and purchased the Senas. They were not right for us for a couple of reasons (we document why here and Sena is the unnamed brand of bluetooth headset we refer to). We moved on to the Eartec UltraLITEs and have had only a positive experience in the nearly two years they have been in service.

One thing you probably already own that will work great. Blutooth earbuds/headsets on your phones. Leave phones in the cabin and call each other. Then just talk using your handsfree earbuds. Works very well.

Thanks

I have both the Sena and the over the head, earcup Eartech. Being a techy guy, I don't mind the pairing process for the Sena, but it is very inconvenient to have to do that every time, and reverse engineer things when it goes wrong. Not what you want to spend time doing when you're getting ready to depart/arrive.

The Eartech is just a more easily usable product in my opinion. Turn it on, a few seconds later, you're ready to go. Flip up the boom if you're talking to someone on the dock, and you're muted so you don't blast the captain's ears. Simple buttons for volume control, and clear blue lights on the side that let you know you're paired and working. I've never had to re-pair or mess with that on my Eartechs, although sometimes I have had to restart them because one didn't pair - usually because the master one wasn't on first.

The Sena product is a bit more work to get working, but it is a heck of a lot lighter and less intrusive. It's nice to be able to use them with Bluetooth devices as well, if you need to make a phone call, but I have a Plantronics headset for that which works better. I've also found the audio quality both from the Bluetooth connection and the lack of the earcup less on the Senas than the Eartech.

A few more notes on Eartech.

Some folks have had issues with batteries discharging when not using the headsets. Fair observation but many potential root causes.

1. Forget to turn off one or both headsets. Easy to do since the usual situation is to take them off, put them down, and then go about adjusting dock lines. The master has an on off switch and the slave has a push button. The LED indicators are blue behind a frosty silicon button. Really easy to forget. Hey Eartech - make the LED bright red!
2. Faulty batteries. It can happen. More on that later.
3. Not keeping the batteries fully charged. We put the batteries in the charger after each use. Usually. Right after we turn off both headsets. Usually.

Customer service
I’ve seen a few complaints about support/service. Maybe folks call and yell or send emails in all caps. Dunno - I learned a long time ago to sell my suppliers. Besides most companies that have been in business a while don’t go out of their way to alienate their customers (yes, it can happen, but not by design. Usually.). We had battery issues after our warranty expired. I emailed and got a response a couple days later. We had a phone call. Support guy gave me a process to check the batteries. One had failed. Out of warranty. They sent us a new pair of batteries for the shipping cost (actual, not “as seen on tv”). They were prepared to replace a faulty headset - out of warranty no less.

Other than the need to fashion lanyards out of some nylon “hammock line” I couldn’t be more satisfied. The voice quality is excellent. No shouting. The admiral has hearing aids (sadly) and uses these headsets with no problem. Perhaps the dual earcup version would be less likely to slip off, but a) the cost; and, b) potential loss of ambient sounds like a dock hand asking for information.

So we now have four batteries. I keep one set in the units with the battery compartment unlatched and one pair in the charger. We use the headsets when docking, adjusting lines, launching the dinghy, when fishing (one person in the cockpit, the other driving - hey, it’s a pilothouse), etc. Battery life is excellent.

I’m clearly a raving fan and no, I’m not affiliated with Eartech. Two last things - they are comfortable to wear and easy to put on and take off (lanyard excepted).

Oh I should have mentioned one particular things with the Eartec's I do not like - the fiddly battery doors. We take our batteries out every time because we don't want to mess with the power buttons, and drop them in the charger. But those battery doors! Not a very easy system, and seems like it could break after long term use.

Another Eartec customer. I would just agree with most of what has been posted.

I don't use a lanyard, but you need to add a lanyard for the deck person. They should just offer one. (Are you listening Eartec?)

We take the batteries out and put them in the charger between uses. It just takes a few seconds.

My strongest advice would be to get something. They are called marriage savers for a reason: No more yelling even when you are 50' apart and the wind is blowing.

It just works so much better to speak calmly and clearly and know you are being heard. Although we don't need to, we often keep them on for a few minutes after docking if we are leaving the boat and exchange housekeeping updates as we are getting ready to leave. (I got the garbage from the heads; Should I fill the water tank, etc.) We also use them for anchoring so I can give her the depth when I pick the spot and she can call out the chain mark and I know what is in/out.

I can't comment on the Eartec ones, but we got the Sena SPH 10's to replace some other cheaper brand which had a limited range and poor wind protection, and found them to be excellent. More difficult to get paired initially, and maybe a bit fussy getting connected on startup, but reliably connected in all sorts of weather once done. We liked the behind the head setup better too.

Unfortunately, they were destroyed (submerged for 3 months) with the rest of CareFree in hurricane Dorian on Abaco.

We had a pair of Sena which we've just thrown in the bin. Why? Not because they needed pairing every time they were turned on (a pain, but do-able), BUT because the battery life reduced to 10 minutes within a year and Sena refused to supply new batteries. Total waste of money.

This year we will be buying Eartec not the least that you can change the batteries.

I was just on the Eartec website and they now offer a lanyard for $9.95. Guess they were listening!

tlaw7

greatpapabear said:

We had a pair of Sena which we've just thrown in the bin. Why? Not because they needed pairing every time they were turned on (a pain, but do-able), BUT because the battery life reduced to 10 minutes within a year and Sena refused to supply new batteries. Total waste of money.

This year we will be buying Eartec not the least that you can change the batteries.

Click to expand...

It's not to hard to pull the battery and order a new one from China. The battery only has a one year warranty. The Lithium Polymer battery is tricky. You can't put away under charged. I have replaced my batteries. They failed because we didn't routinely charge them. Sometimes you can bring the Lithium Polymer batt back by charging it several times with rest in between.

fryedaze said:

It's not to hard to pull the battery and order a new one from China. The battery only has a one year warranty. The Lithium Polymer battery is tricky. You can't put away under charged. I have replaced my batteries. They failed because we didn't routinely charge them. Sometimes you can bring the Lithium Polymer batt back by charging it several times with rest in between.

Click to expand...

I tried and tried to find the battery supplier but to no avail. Do you have a contact?

greatpapabear said:

I tried and tried to find the battery supplier but to no avail. Do you have a contact?

Click to expand...

Search AliExpress
550 mah 403040 3.7 polymer lithium ion battery.

fryedaze said:

Search AliExpress
550 mah 403040 3.7 polymer lithium ion battery.

Click to expand...

Managed to retrieved the sets from the rubbish bin - just in time! Now to open one of them to check the battery details and see if I can order some. Thanks so much for the help. It's really appreciated.

+1 on the Eartec.

I’ve had both generations of the Eartec. The current version (I have the one earcup) is heads and shoulders better and more reliable than the original version.

TAKE ADVICE ON THE USE OF A LANYARD FOR THE CREW. Otherwise, you’ll be a little sad when that that headset manages to slip off your head as you’re leaning over the side of the deck — it’s bound to happen. For the same reason, we’ve learned that the captain should use the Master unit — we have two Remotes and figure that the one that goes overboard (yikes!) should be one of the Remotes being used by the crew rather than the Master.