After (apparently, it's tough to find for sale these days) discontinuing the SQR 46 DAB, it looks like Blaupunkt is continuing the trend and coming out with a couple other new retro head units. I know some folks here will be into this as many of us remain disappointed with the silly looking modern head units and how out-of-place they seem in older cars. It's a shame the brand got sold off to China some years ago and the units aren't the same quality as the old ones, but at least they look the part:
https://blaupunkt.com/automotive/incar-entertainment/autoradio/
Hamburg SQM 23 DAB
Frankfurt RCM 82 DAB
Also of interest is their London 500 which looks to be a single DIN CarPlay unit.
pointofdeparture said:
Also of interest is their London 500 which looks to be a single DIN CarPlay unit.
you have my attention. Curious how this will work.
Is there a US distributor? I love the idea of a non-flashy but modern single DIN head unit. This just shows me European locations:
https://www.bpautomotive.com/store-locator-en
In reply to Flynlow :
Crutchfield carried the recently discontinued Bremen SQR 46 DAB and it was also available on Amazon.
The Blaupunkt US website lists the Frankfurt but not the Hamburg. It still shows the Bremen. From what I understand DAB+ is not available in the US? Also, it doesn't mention AM band.
Curiously, the listing for the Frankfurt says it's 12" x 12" x 6", and weighs 10 pounds. 
Also, the website lists regional reps in the US https://bpcarusa.com
In reply to stuart in mn :
My experience trying to buy a Bremen for my 968 in the US last month was that it is impossible to actually purchase one anymore unless you get it from a fly-by-night third party distributor of questionable legitimacy. So I got a subtle Sony 100W deck instead.
DAB+ isn't used here but the rest of the unit is still fully functional, as far as I know. Can't comment on AM but per Crutchfield the Bremen had it. Probably an increasingly niche feature.
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-uCvc8LbSKPo/p_423BREMENS/Blaupunkt-Bremen-SQR-46-DAB.html
Mr_Asa
MegaDork
7/15/24 11:42 a.m.
Am I looking at stuff on Amazon correctly, are these ~$500?
In reply to Mr_Asa :
Yep. They know they have a lock on the market and price the units accordingly. The only sort-of competitor is Retrosound, who unfortunately seems to use dorky 80's Delco head units as their reference point.
I ended up going with the Sony DSX-GS80 at half the price which while not "retro" is at least subtle, and the built-in 100W amp is an excellent feature (though requires a sufficient power supply).
All that said, the Blaupunkts have found their buyers even at their steep price, so I can only hope the other manufacturers see the enthusiasm and respond accordingly.
Rodan
UltraDork
7/15/24 12:33 p.m.
In reply to Mr_Asa :
That's what I'm seeing... Considering most of their other single DIN units are under $100, that's quite a premium for 'retro'...
I want a reissue of the classic Alpine head unit myself. You know, the big square green buttons.
There are a bunch of variations.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I really don't know why nobody else is going after this market. Basically every car audio brand still in business could do one throwback unit based on something they made back in the day and it would probably sell like hotcakes.
I really like some of the older Pioneers, personally.
Alpine did a 30th anniversary reissue of their 7909 head unit about a decade ago. They're crazy expensive if you can find one because it's not just a pretty face, it's intended to be high end audio. Lots of shops restoring and fixing the originals as well.
Heck, even if Alpine did a retro-looking modern unit that could do BT streaming we'd be good. No Car Play/Android Auto because the screen would spoil everything.
Hmm, what about a generic head unit with a screen that could run Winamp skins?
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Honestly, that seems like the kind of thing that would take off if someone with the technical know-how was able to get together with someone that had business acumen (always a difficult combination, seems like an amazing product will often get drawn up and briefly sold before the brains behind the operation gets fed up with running a business and disappears after selling 26 of them).
Imagine Megasquirt, but a single DIN head unit. Just open-source the whole thing, hardware and software. Come up with a broadly retro button layout with a knob and a 1" by 4" screen in the middle of it all. Post the firmware on GitHub and let people go nuts with their own forks to make the display look however you want it to.
PILOT-drive is along those lines.
The empeg car stereo was a bit, it got sold to Rio almost immediately. I think there are people writing new software for the 25 year old hardware now.
Fascinating stuff. It's funny, because I recently decided I was going to go off into the weeds with the audio on the Power Wagon. The previous stereo location will host a switch panel/usb power source, and I will install a marine digital receiver in the right side of the dash panel. The footprint will be about the size of a 3x5 card- Kicker Audio
j_tso
Dork
7/15/24 1:51 p.m.
Keith Tanner said:
I want a reissue of the classic Alpine head unit myself. You know, the big square green buttons.
There are a bunch of variations.
What year was that?
I always think of big blue buttons when it comes to Alpine.
In reply to j_tso :
That's a 7400, I don't know the year but those two flanking knobs definitely say 70s or early 80s. The green buttons were used in the CD era as well.
I would not expect units like this to be inexpensive simply due to the limited number of them sold compared to modern units.
I still have all of my cassettes from the 80s and 90s, so that might be fun. None have been touched in ages. However, I still use CDs in my cars.
If you just need BT connectivity, there are hidden units out there. My TR8 has one, although I haven't figured out how to actually use it since in the piles of paperwork included with the car, there is zilch about the stereo system nor are any of the buttons and switches added have labels. I'll probably end up ripping it all out and starting over. I've already ripped out the under-seat sub woofers he installed... that raised the already too high seats even higher.
My ex- was all about trying to keep the stereo in her 1800ES looking period-correct, but I don't really care that much.
I use hidden BT units in two cars. All that's visible is a knob. If I picked up one of those old Alpine units, I'd find a way to integrate it. I know a guy who can integrate BT into a 1990 Miata head unit as well.
I've always felt that the head unit design plays a big part in dating a car interior. If you've got one of those early 2000s monstrosities with dancing dolphins or something on the faceplate, it'll always look like an early 2000s modification. Having a head unit that is of the correct era for the car goes a long way towards setting the right vibe.
In reply to Flynlow :
The couple people I know that have bought those VDO/Continental units have commented that the sound quality is unfortunately pretty crappy, and they don't have RCA connections for an external amp like almost every other head unit. And yeah, the lack of adjustable backlight is a buzzkill too.
I had one of those Continental units. The sound quality was so disappointing that it was only in the car for maybe a month before I replaced it with a Clarion M508. Been really happy with the Clarion aside from the obnoxiously bright backlight. At least you can turn the display off.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I had a bunch of those Alpines. But before them, this was the way to go
