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(Although I think this unit is a 1988-ish unit?). SQ is fun, but it's also less money than the replacement cassette players.
Yes, I was thinking late 80s most likely too.
I don't know though. Did the Blaupunkt's sound so bad? I have a Köln RCM 40 in my GT and a Bremen SQR 49 in my 900. I don't remember them sounding worse than the Alpine in my 528e back then. (I have had the decks for a while.) I really love the shortwave on the Blaunpunkt decks, but I have to admit that with budget cuts the amount of interesting shortwave has really decreased in the last 5 years...
Factory HU are typically EQed in a non hifi direction, more midfi with no bass or high end. I think the idea is that making them all mid range it shows fewer flaws and so few warranty claims, and or encourages upgrades to non factory sound options which means zero warranty claims and potential added profits.
Today....Straight out of the box, with no sound adjustments yet, this Alpine CDE-HD148BT stunned me as soon as it started playing the Steely Dan Greatest Hits CD. I bought it partially because it has a 9-band EQ....which I haven't touched yet. I had just reinstalled the restored and DeoxIt-ed CE panel, and just wanted to make the harness connections and power it up and make sure it was working. I was not expecting such a great improvement in sound quality (compared to the Sony it replaced) straight out of the box. Very happy.
It seems a perfect match for the now-oldschool MB Quart PSD 316 component 3-way speaker system with external crossovers (not my choice, but they were in the car when I bought it). Tweeter and mid in the doors, and the woofers in the rear stock holes next to the rear seats. The Kenwood KAC-X501F amp sounds great...and this is likely due to a better signal from the Alpine.
I'm looking at a 149BT for my 944. My research shows that Alpine has created car specific equalizer tunes that are designed specifically for each car and can be applied to the headunit through a smart phone using their Tune it app. Just a heads up. Hope they made tunes for the 928 and 944. At minimum if they did, they can be used as a starting point to fine tune to each individual's preference.
I'm looking at a 149BT for my 944. My research shows that Alpine has created car specific equalizer tunes that are designed specifically for each car and can be applied to the headunit through a smart phone using their Tune it app. Just a heads up. Hope they made tunes for the 928 and 944. At minimum if they did, they can be used as a starting point to fine tune to each individual's preference.
The TuneIt app parametric equalizer works well. It does allow tune settings to be saved (I've saved 3 so far) in my account space (account is free). However, Alpine did not include any tune settings in their library beyond a few of the more recent Porsches. They are encouraging (relying on) owners to build the library.
In fact, when setting up the account profile (necessary to save tune settings), the 928, 944, etc. are not in their list. There was no "other" option. I picked 911, but when I saved my tune settings I included 928 S4 in the title of the tune. So it will be hard for other 928 owners to find these shared tune settings. I haven't shared any of them yet, but will share the setting I prefer the most after a few months of experimenting and listening.
The app does not live up to its description for us 928 owners...and I say who cares. Unless everyone listens to the same type of music, with the same audio components, any shared tune settings will not be much better than starting from scratch. What is great about the app is how easily the touch screen (on your phone) works and being able to save a lot of tune settings (endless?) for varying situations (road noise, wind noise, windows down, up, etc.) or music types or even a particular song. Searching or scrolling saved tune settings on a smartphone is as easy as searching music on it.
BUT...creating tune settings requires being connected to the USB cable built in to the HU (on the back, plus a longer extension cable is included). I assume toggling through saved tune settings also requires being connected to the USB cable - but I will try using Bluetooth.
Blaupunkt Toronto 420 BT : I know it's not the original 928 Blaupunkt auto-radio, however it's a simple, affordable auto-radio with full modern functions (Bluetooth, SD card, ...) and I think the design fits well with the 928 interior.
lol, actually yes I do. I also have a turntable at my office so I can spin vinyl at work. I just need to find my Columbia House order form so I can get a bunch more cassettes for 19¢ 🤘
It looks too modern, but the plusses outweighed the minuses. Has Bluetooth streaming (waze & Pandora from my Android), USB input, auxiliary cable input (accessible in glovebox), and I have it wired so that when I shift into reverse, the integrated screen is linked to my infrared back up camera license plate frame, but most importantly, it fit without me having to cut the impossible to replace console trim bezel. It's driving a 1,000 watt marine amp that I installed in a rear console from an A/C car - Focal 3-ways in the front doors, Focal 2-ways in the rear seats & a Sharkwoofer Sub in the trunk - no trouble hearing tunes even with the top down at 85 MPH.
I wondered about having to cut the trim bezel, and it turns out that I didn't have to with my old school Alpine. It fits perfectly flush, in fact.
Install going very slowly and carefully, with a small "gotcha" even step of the way it seems. Door speakers are in and mounted well with the crossovers in the pockets (easy to change the settings if needed), and the head unit is in and secure. Last thing is the subwoofer and closing up the dash sides and bolting back the passenger seat.
A phone-recorded video didn't do it justice, but I was so pleased with the results I gave it a shot. It plays loud, clear, and full...but lacks deep base without a sub (working on that). My wife walked in and walked over to the stereo in the garage to turn it down...then realized it was the car! So this isn't great, but documents progress. Sounds better with headphones.
12-08-2016, 07:10 PM
