Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
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gwb72tii
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Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by gwb72tii »

Anyone using the new Blaupunkt Bremen receiver? It looks period correct, just wondering if you have used one and what you think of it?

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_423BREMEN ... ml?tp=5684
stuartinmn
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by stuartinmn »

There was an older discussion about the Bremen. It first started several years ago but at the end there are some relatively recent posts. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=152048&hilit=bremen
MyE24
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by MyE24 »

I recently installed one. After going back and forth many times as to whether I should.
The pros in my mind were that it does look cool (period correct) with modern features that I’d use (mainly Bluetooth).
Cons were that I realize it’s not really a “Blaupunkt,” but is really just a relatively inexpensively made Chinese unit with a Blaupunkt label on it (paid by a licensing agreement). Without the Blaupunkt label it would likely sell for $150, not $500.
But I really wanted a period correct OE looking radio with modern features, so it was the one that most closely fit the bill.
First I ordered one from a German company off eBay (Audio24 or something like that). The price was great, it was under $400US shipped to my door.
I installed it, and was frustrated when I couldn’t figure out how to make it work (the interface isn’t super intuitive). Couldn’t get BT to pair, couldn’t find certain menus, etc.
After a bit of fiddling, I realized it was defective. The on/off control knob, which controls a bunch of things (it’s like the “enter” button) was wonky.
I sent it back to Germany, which was a bit of a nightmare. It got held up at a distribution hub here in the US because of paperwork issues. When it finally got there, the seller wasn’t great about the refund. They delayed, claimed it was being “sent back to the mfr for testing,” etc. I felt like I was reasonably patient, but they didn’t refund me until I said I was going to file a chargeback with my CC company.
I ended up getting another one from Crutchfield, which has a no hassle return policy.
Plugged it in, and it worked fine.
Here’s my thoughts:
As stated above, it’s not a particularly “high end” unit. But it’s fine.
It is underpowered.
But, it has a lot of very cool features, and with a good amount of tinkering I’ve gotten what I feel is excellent sound.
First I hooked up an Alpine KTP445U amp. This is a nice unit that is very small, fits in the back of the glovebox and doesn’t take much room.
I also have a small powered subwoofer. And some decent component speakers.
A nice thing about the Bremen is it has RCA outputs for the amp and the powered subwoofer. Nice.
At first I was disappointed with the sound. It didn’t beat the old Nakamichi that it replaced.
But I found that the Bremen has a TON of audio adjustments available.
Also, the Alpine amp has some adjustments that need to be optimized.
After spending a few hours tinkering with all the settings, I was very very happy with the sound.
Other good things: The lighting color is highly adjustable and can match the “BMW Orange” very closely. The light strength can also be adjusted to match the dash lighting, and it can be set to dim like the OE unit when the lights are turned on (I love that detail!). The initial startup volume can be set, so it’s always at a preset level when you start the car (love that too). So if you were blasting the music when you got home at night, it doesn’t blast you when you start up the car in the morning.
Phone quality is great if you hook up the tiny external mic (not so great without it).
The biggest downside is the price. But if you can get over that, and are willing to use a small amp, it’s a nice unit.
Kovic
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Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by Kovic »

Very recently I had the same dilemma. The Bremen here is 400 euro. I waited for a Black Friday sale on the radio but that never came.
Put off by the 400 euro price tag I ordered the Blaupunkt Skagen for 165 euro. Absolutely not as nice looking as the Bremen but also from the retro line.
RCA out 2x just as the Bremen, no included DAB+ antenna. Bremen has the option to get the color exactly as you want it. Skagen has 7 or 8 pre set colors and the red comes really close to the e28 instrument cluster.
I connected it to a Magnat amp and the sound is pretty good for my ears. BT works flawlessy, remembers where spotify stopped and automatically continues where spotify left off. One bad thing that my old radio did have: it does not retract the hirschmann radio antenna when you select something other than the radio. I usually listen to spotify but antenna stays out. My old unit instantly retracted antenna when selecting other SRC than radio.
And another bad thing: it just does not look nearly as good as the Bremen... I'll probably end up getting the Bremen at some point next year... :laugh:

Image
MyE24
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by MyE24 »

“ One bad thing that my old radio did have: it does not retract the hirschmann radio antenna when you select something other than the radio. I usually listen to spotify but antenna stays out. My old unit instantly retracted antenna when selecting other SRC than radio.”

Yeah, the Bremen is the same, which is a bit of a bummer. It’s the one missing feature I wish it had.
My old 90s Nakamichi only powered the antenna when the radio was selected, which was nice.
I did a workaround with the Bremen by putting a hidden on/off switch in the antenna trigger line.
It works for me because I never listen to the radio (I listen to BT streaming 100% of the time).
But I like to be able to raise the antenna in the off chance that I did want to turn on the radio.
Kovic
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Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by Kovic »

MyE24 wrote: Dec 05, 2022 12:30 AM “ One bad thing that my old radio did have: it does not retract the hirschmann radio antenna when you select something other than the radio. I usually listen to spotify but antenna stays out. My old unit instantly retracted antenna when selecting other SRC than radio.”

Yeah, the Bremen is the same, which is a bit of a bummer. It’s the one missing feature I wish it had.
My old 90s Nakamichi only powered the antenna when the radio was selected, which was nice.
I did a workaround with the Bremen by putting a hidden on/off switch in the antenna trigger line.
It works for me because I never listen to the radio (I listen to BT streaming 100% of the time).
But I like to be able to raise the antenna in the off chance that I did want to turn on the radio.
That is disappointing for a 400 euro unit... I am curious as to how much the Skagen en the Bremen differ internally. But in the end... looks do matter too. For me at least. My buddy has an e31 with the Bremen unit. There it fits perfectly with the color of the whole dash which is greyish like the Bremen. The e28 has a more black dash and the skagen is more black too. But then again, the bremen looks way beter than the skagen. :laugh: The Dutch say something like "you can't argue about personal taste".
szacsi72
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Location: Hungary

Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by szacsi72 »

Following. I also want to get a Bremen, but honestly, all I need is a radio that looks OE and has bluetooth. I don't anything other than that, I'm not *that* into stereo. So for that reason, I can't justify the price. I do like the other options Blaupunkt has to offer, however I couldn't find many pics online to see if I can get one with a good amber colour. I like the blaupunkt stockholm 400 a lot. Anyone has one of these or any other options you guys are running?

Buying a CD43 and getting >that< guy a try who does the bluetooth options a try is also an option, but that'll also set me back quite a lot.
cek
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by cek »

I need a new head unit for my 911. I have grown to dislike the Bremen I put in Minerva. It just is lame in so many ways (no pre-amp out, shitty Bluetooth, poor build quality, etc...). Looks great.

DIdn't know about the Skagen until this thread. Gonna get one to try. Thanks!

https://blaupunkt.com/product/skagen-400-dab/
vinceg101
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by vinceg101 »

Interesting how similar the Skagen looks to the Continental units; perhaps they are designed/made by the same company?
jc72
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by jc72 »

cek wrote: Dec 07, 2022 3:28 PM I need a new head unit for my 911. I have grown to dislike the Bremen I put in Minerva. It just is lame in so many ways (no pre-amp out, shitty Bluetooth, poor build quality, etc...). Looks great.

DIdn't know about the Skagen until this thread. Gonna get one to try. Thanks!

https://blaupunkt.com/product/skagen-400-dab/
Blaupunkts website says they both have 4 channel preamp outputs?

I’m thinking of buying one but not sure which one.
cek
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by cek »

jc72 wrote: Dec 07, 2022 10:39 PM
cek wrote: Dec 07, 2022 3:28 PM I need a new head unit for my 911. I have grown to dislike the Bremen I put in Minerva. It just is lame in so many ways (no pre-amp out, shitty Bluetooth, poor build quality, etc...). Looks great.

DIdn't know about the Skagen until this thread. Gonna get one to try. Thanks!

https://blaupunkt.com/product/skagen-400-dab/
Blaupunkts website says they both have 4 channel preamp outputs?

I’m thinking of buying one but not sure which one.
I must be mis-remembering on the Bremen - I swear it didn't have pre-amps and I had to use speaker level to my processor in Minerva. Don't trust me.

The Skagen shows this in the manual. Which is awesome.

Image
Image

See #3.

I'd love to know what these 7 colors are:
Image

Because the ones shown in the manual are ugh.
Image
Nanajoth
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by Nanajoth »

If it were $150 cheaper I wouldn't have an issue with how wrong the lighting looks compared to something period correct.
gwb72tii
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by gwb72tii »

Crutchfield's description of the Bremen list 5 preouts:

Expandability:
inputs: front and rear USB ports, SD card input, front auxiliary input
outputs: 5-channel preamp outputs (4-volt front, rear, and sub)
MyE24
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Re: Blaupunkt Bremen, opinion?

Post by MyE24 »

Yes, the Bremen has 5 preamp outputs as listed above.
I definitely would not have bought it it didn’t have that. I use all 5.
Also, someone mentioned the lighting color not matching the BMW orange.
I think it just needs to be adjusted. It has RGB adjustments so you can fine tune a wide variety of colors and shades. I dialed mine in to where you can’t tell it isn’t original. It is spot on.
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