Blaupunkt - a name to get your teeth round !! I bought this about 2 years ago as I knew the Company produced superb ICE units. I wanted DAB and the ability to play MP3 tracks - this unit gave me all this and a lot more besides.
Appearance - pleanty of bright lights and a permanently moving graphic equaliser on the display sit between the two main control clusters. The graphic EQ can be turned off in Menu options and the whole display has different brightness levels so you will always find one to suit. The top of the display gives information about the audio source. For radio broadcasts, that means radio channel for FM/MW/LM (yes...all three wavebands) or the DAB channel name and the scrolling information feed if you are using the DAB channel. If using CD then the track number is displyed together with a time counter, and for MP3 you get the track name, time elapsed and directory option display (this is choosable from the menu options).
On the left is the audio source and volume control, and on the right are the menu ,audio and clock display controls. Beneath the display are the standard pre-set radio station or music track shuffle / repeat / pause buttons as found on just about all modern ICE head units.
DAB reception is dependant on the antenna choice - some obviously better than others. I am using the internal stick on, and although it could be better, the reception is pretty good. My reception suffers on the edge of transmission range or if in built up areas. With digital, it doesnt fade - its either 100% on or is has all but gone. This is a fault of my antenna set up - the unit performs excellently.- even with the inferior signal.
My main wish was for MP3 playback and this is achieved in 3 ways. You can put an MP3 encoded disc into the CD player. this gives you around 150 tracks to choose from per disc. The player recognises directories so whole albums can be separated and will play sequentially. Alternatively you can record onto an SD card and there is a slot behind the drop down display which allows this to be read and played. Lastly you can hook up an auxilliary device and play back from this.I use an Boot-mounted MStation hard drive player, with 100GB capaity and at present over 14,000tracks. The Woodstack handles this with no trouble, reading titles and directories with ease.
Playback quality of these audio sources is excellent and with the on board Graphic equaliser you have great contol to cater for personal taste. Just occasionally the unit has trouble with MP3's on the CD. It skips or 'jumps'. I think this is because it is sensitive to CD disc quality. If you try budget or 'car boot' CDs the unit may occasionally fall over.
Security is the standard front off. Its a standard ISO slot dashboard fit so no problems there and has the speaker bunch block connectors for audio. You will probably need an adaptor if your car has steering wheel controls - this is the case with most ICE these days.
In summary, I have been more han pleased with the unit. Retailing originally at over £350, I think I paid about £120 off EBay, though I did get a good bargain at the time! Now superceded by the DAB 54 model, this unit offers great features and value for money if you can find one. Apart from the CD jmping now and then in MP3 mode there is really nothing to fault with the unit.
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Car Radio - Panel Release, Panel/Quick Release - with CD Player, With CD-Player - without CD-Changer, With changer control - with MP3 Playback, With MP3 Player - 208 Watt
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