Blaupunkt USA GM Lutz Marschall said "For more and more people, compact discs have become obsolete." For those of you who think "CD" stands for civil defense or Christian Dior, Blaupunkt has your stereo. The Melbourne SD27 dispenses with the digital disc, replacing it with an SD card slot and a glut of options for hooking up other digital musical delights.
In addition to the prehistoric AM/FM tuner with 25 presets, the SD27 comes with a 3.5-mm AUX input and hooks up to optional USB, Bluetooth, and iPod adapters. The display can handle 127 music directories and displays 30 characters of an ID3 tag. But wait, there's more: a TEL/NAVI input for cell phone integration and navigation systems. If it runs on 1's and 0's, but isn't a compact disc, there's a place for it on the Melbourne.
Power is 4 x 45 watts, with obligatory 4-channel pre-outs for the amps you know you can't live without. All yours for the low, low price of $160.
[Source: Engadget]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
whofan @ Sep 24th 2007 8:18PM
The Germans make Blaupunkt (blue point) brand stereos and Grundig brand televisions.
At least they didn`t throw away all their industry.
I hope we can save our auto industry.
Das Boese @ Sep 25th 2007 2:04PM
These companies already "died" in the 70s and 80s when cheaper, better japanese products took over the electronics market and have been plagued by bankruptcy, buyouts and layoffs ever since.
Even recently this trend continues with the death of BenQ-Siemens, the former cellphone division of Siemens which they sold off to BenQ who crushed it a year later.
Believe me, Germany's no better in that aspect than the US.
Todd @ Sep 24th 2007 8:26PM
I noticed this SD head unit about six months ago on Crutchfield's website.
I don't know if I can do without the CD player. There's some joy to be had to buying a CD on a whim and listening to it on the way home.
SPG @ Sep 24th 2007 10:16PM
I love buying CD's tapes and records.
I don't listen to them much but having the cover art, the product in your hand.
Somthing to have, to hold, and to appreciate.
Alex @ Sep 25th 2007 11:11AM
do you honestly know of any places that sell tapes? even my local underground music store doesn't have tapes, not even blanks. my old XJR has a tape deck up front and i just run my ipod through that, but the heads needs cleaning. took me forever to find a tape deck cleaner.
Patrik K @ Sep 24th 2007 8:27PM
Why don't they put a USB slot right in the front in the first place? Who the heck uses SD cards? And why do I need to buy an axcessory to connect my iPod? 95% of young car buyers own an iPod.
Hello, Blaupunkt, wake uh-up!
geo.stewart @ Sep 25th 2007 7:32AM
there is an aux port right on the face of the unit, below the SD slot. the whole world can hook up their MP3 player.
TopJimmy @ Sep 25th 2007 8:40AM
Why keep feeding the proprietary, monopolistic iTunes/iPod monster? You're dead on regarding USB but forcing everyone to pay for a proprietary iPod interface is just contributing to the problem.
icetraxx @ Sep 24th 2007 8:27PM
Is this a viral advertisement? How is this news? Other headunits have this feature, it is not a new concept, even the Honda Civic OE headunit has this option...
joecool @ Sep 24th 2007 8:50PM
I've own a JVC CD/SD headunit since 2 years ago! This idea isn't that new.
Preston M @ Sep 24th 2007 9:09PM
They make garbage equipment anyway, SD slot or not.
HSM @ Sep 24th 2007 10:05PM
Too bad all the car makers are including proprietary radios that are not easily replaced by standard head units like this. Business model by Apple I guess.
Preston M @ Sep 24th 2007 10:17PM
The car audio after market has embraced that as well with factory headunit integration units like the JL audio cleansweep. I believe Alpine and Rockford also have similar solutions on the market, but i have no experience with them.
I personally would go that route versus an after market HU unless i didn't mind an awkward looking adapter plate, or needed advanced EQ features, didn't like the SQ of the stock unit, etc.
SPG @ Sep 24th 2007 10:16PM
I won't stop buying CD's, tapes, and records.
But I want one of these things.
Travis Rassat @ Sep 25th 2007 7:15AM
I'm like SPG - I like having the CD. Some artists still put a lot of work and thought into their cover/liner art, and I always enjoy that aspect of it.
Nonetheless, I recently ripped my entire CD collection to MP3s and now use a portable MP3 player for listening purposes. That way, I can pack all my CDs away, and I have a good chunk of them at my fingertips at any given time. It takes some adjusting, but I'm learning to like it. My wife's car has an MP3 player jack and also plays MP3s burned to CDs, but my car is older and isn't so well equipped. A head unit like this would be pretty cool for me, although my car isn't worth $160... lol!
kenneth @ Sep 25th 2007 11:44AM
For that same reason, I never keep my originals in my car. I love my CDs too much to risk them getting stolen.
daxx @ Sep 24th 2007 10:32PM
"If it runs on 1's and 0's, but isn't a compact disc, there's a place for it on the Melbourne."
Almost... the Melbourne will connect to a CD changer, so you can have MP3's up front and a stack of "old fashioned" silver discs in the trunk. :)
Jaymez @ Sep 24th 2007 11:08PM
Keep your SD slots, USB ports, and your CD players. I'm perfectly happy with my Sirius PnP units.
If I didn't have Sirius, I'd prefer USB. Portable Hard Drives are far cheaper than iPods.
ckm @ Sep 24th 2007 11:27PM
This is so old news, I looked at this receiver in January. I just got a new deck and it connects to media players over Bluetooth. I bought an 8GB Insignia media player. No cables!!!
Michael B. @ Sep 25th 2007 12:50AM
This is the same story that was posted on AOL this evening. It is part of the corporate - linked to AOL - news story that we can come to expect from Autoblog. This is really just advertisement disguised as news. Thanks AOL! : P