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In case anyone missed the announcement last year, Blaupunkt is developing a new version of the Bremen head unit it originally supplied during the 80s & 90s. It will be a single din unit with the retro looks of the original unit but with more up to date features and performance and with a price expected to be about half of the Porsche Classic unit. More info and spec here at Ferdinand Magazine. It was due to be released late last year but now it is available for preorder in Europe for delivery later this year. Thoughts?
In case you missed it there are 3 links in my post, the last one linked to a supplier in Germany who is taking pre-orders.
Like I said it’s still under development and not officially for sale yet and only available for pre-order in Europe at this time. Release date seems to be April 2019, hopefully a major US supplier like Crutchfield will retail it then.
I hope the LED and lighting can be altered; wrong colour lighting at least for my 88 (my original Charleston has the same yellow / orange display & button lighting as the clock and matches incandescent lighting on dash, switches, etc)
I'd be interested if the lighting matched, but not at $500.
For authenticity and to relive your 80s dream, you can put your cassettes inside the center armrest where they belong and leave them there, lol.
Changing the lighting color is a regular feature on most modern audio stuff, so I'd be surprised if that wasn't on this unit. I thought $500 would be a reasonable price for this though I haven't bought any car audio gear in ages so I'm not up on the pricing. I also think Blaupunkt is a respected premium German manufacturer that's been around a while, and unlike some of the cheaper manufacturers which I assume are made in China. Blaupunkt seems to have a good resale value also.
Blaupunkt is a respected premium German manufacturer that's been around a while, and unlike some of the cheaper manufacturers which I assume are made in China. Blaupunkt seems to have a good resale value also.
I'm a closet audiophile: I maintain and enjoy a 1950s tube amp, listen to vinyl, and go crazy over an opportunity to try a new volume pot in my preamp. In University days, I spent more time buying/trading/auditioning audio gear than reading books. I can say with some authority that Blaupunkt audio gear generally sounds quite bad. In comparison, as a rule (though there are many exceptions) for car audio the Japanese are far superior: smooth, sweet, much less listener fatigue.
If it's "quality" (the best test is how often you crave to listen or are playing your material) you're after and a bit of a stock factory theme, the VW radios of the 90s produced by Panasonic are arguably some of the best. You can probably source one out of a 1994-98 Jetta or Golf. Put one in and you'll be wondering why you're constantly having the urge to find and play all your old tapes, listen to jazz, keep turning it up not down, etc
But, nothing beats the aesthetics of a pure-stock unit and that's why some people, myself included, keep the original Blaupunkt. We put up with their lousy sound because 1. they look cool / retro and 2. they are in fact "quality" as in build and reliability.
$500 for aesthetics, originality (one day these re-released units will be seen as cool parts of the stock family) and quality construction is a good price. I am sure the dealer optional units with CD and amps etc. were pricey in themselves. That blue dot does have value!
What most of us need to do is source brand-new paper-cone foam-surround speakers to replace our torn or worn out ones; now that's hard core original
I also think Blaupunkt is a respected premium German manufacturer that's been around a while, and unlike some of the cheaper manufacturers which I assume are made in China. Blaupunkt seems to have a good resale value also.
Well, then, you've been duped. Blaupunkt is little more than a brand licensing company since they went bankrupt. Car audio is made by Shaghal Ltd. That doesn't sound like a German name.
List of the brand partners responsible for the product information on this web site.
These brand partners are legally independent companies.Brand Partner
Audio North AmericaWorldWide Accessories, Inc PO Box 194 244 Madison Ave New York, NY 10016 techsupport@worldwideacc.com 1-800-751-3247 Mobile Phone AccessoriesWorldWide Accessories, Inc PO Box 194 244 Madison Ave New York, NY 10016 techsupport@worldwideacc.com 1-800-751-3247 In vehicle entertainment
Shagal
Well, then, you've been duped. Blaupunkt is little more than a brand licensing company since they went bankrupt. Car audio is made by Shaghal Ltd. That doesn't sound like a German name.
List of the brand partners responsible for the product information on this web site.
These brand partners are legally independent companies.Brand Partner
Audio North AmericaWorldWide Accessories, Inc PO Box 194 244 Madison Ave New York, NY 10016 techsupport@worldwideacc.com 1-800-751-3247 Mobile Phone AccessoriesWorldWide Accessories, Inc PO Box 194 244 Madison Ave New York, NY 10016 techsupport@worldwideacc.com 1-800-751-3247 In vehicle entertainment
Shagal
This is similar to famous American audio manufactures that got sold overseas. For example, Fisher used to be high-end and very desirable; later on, you could buy little plastic Fisher ghetto-blasters at Sears. They even kept the same bird-with-music-note logo. Shame, but happens.
This makes the original Blaupunkts even more valuable and unfortunately, these re-released pretty low on the value pole (even if they are decent).
I'm a closet audiophile...If it's "quality" (the best test is how often you crave to listen or are playing your material) you're after and a bit of a stock factory theme, the VW radios of the 90s produced by Panasonic are arguably some of the best. You can probably source one out of a 1994-98 Jetta or Golf...
Originally Posted by Kurt R
Well, then, you've been duped...
Well it would seem so, though I now see that was quite recent (2011) in the company’s nearly 100 year history. I guess that’s why their old gear still fetches good money.
@Dan Martinic Apart from the late 90’s VW gear, is there anything else that would “fit” into the 80’s styling of a 944 and still sound good?
Well it would seem so, though I now see that was quite recent (2011) in the company’s nearly 100 year history. I guess that’s why their old gear still fetches good money.
@Dan Martinic Apart from the late 90’s VW gear, is there anything else that would “fit” into the 80’s styling of a 944 and still sound good?
Don't know; I can only speak to car audio that I have experience with, and that's not much of a list. I would say anything made by big name Japanese in the 80s would be worth a try; late-80s and 90s were sort of golden years for Japanese audio in general as they perfected the solid state, paying big attention to the sound of passive inner parts and such. They were trying to make an impact and with the decline of USA mass-market electronics, the timing was perfect. At this time, Panasonic gear always sounded smooth to me and there were a few others with a good rep (Luxman / Alpine, etc).
Perhaps some Japanese market 80s radios might have the look and sound combo.
I don't have enough experience with European car audio to recommend anything specific there. I rather enjoyed the original (restored) Blaupunkt 1960 tube radio in my Bug, but that's from a golden era of another time. However, if the period Blaupunkts I am famliar with are any indication, I think it would be difficult to find real nice sounding Euro car audio from that era.
And definitely impossible in the USA stuff. I think we can thank AC Delco for the rise of the aftermarket, which ironically brought in all kinds of horrible "solutions" in of itself. But that's another story
Are there any other options that are currently available that look period correct but are modern?
Well it seems since this new retro Blaupunkt is likely not going to produce a decent sound and they are all now made in China anyway, I’m quite disappointed with what else is out there. On a search I see some folk mentioning the Continental TR7412UB-OR, it certainly has the retro look but I haven’t heard any feedback on the unit regarding sound and quality, price is right though (no affiliation). Maybe someone who has one will chirp in and let us know.
Well it seems since this new retro Blaupunkt is likely not going to produce a decent sound and they are all now made in China anyway, I’m quite disappointed with what else is out there. On a search I see some folk mentioning the Continental TR7412UB-OR, it certainly has the retro look but I haven’t heard any feedback on the unit regarding sound and quality, price is right though (no affiliation). Maybe someone who has one will chirp in and let us know.
Looks like a good option. My car has an aftermarket radio in it right now but it is dated. The original radio came with the car and I want to put it back in so I can connect aux to the tape deck and be original. I have no clue if the original works and if I also have to put in the balancer?(thing underneath the radio) and will have to lose the cubby. A new backdated look seems like a great option
02-05-2019, 12:48 PM
Updated Blaupunkt Bremen SQR46 in Development
