Vintage Radio discussion questions

[mosearch]

If this has already been covered in the bluetooth era; please forgive me for starting a brand new thread...
But I have a couple of questions for e3/e9 owners...

1. What is the best sounding true vintage 2-knob, semi-period correct radio we can find?
2. If one went with a true vintage Blaupunkt or Becker, is there an external add-on bluetooth device recommended?
3. Are any of the modern resto-mod radios (with the added bluetooth functionality) so great acoustically, that they are worth installing?
4. Anyone tried a Chrome London Blaupunkt/Becker conversion? Or similar BT conversion to a real vintage radio?
5. Has anyone just gone full modern with a single or double DIN install?

I'm already assuming a nice remote amplifier, 6.5" triaxial speaker pair in the rear deck, and an underseat self-powered sub-woofer...but most concerned by getting a good signal out of a good looking dash unit.

Bonus question...has anyone come up with a replacement for the weird dash mount 2x6 speaker just over the cocklpit? Mine is absolute toast...might have to replace with a pair of tweeters...(?).

 

[bmw2800cs]

This is a cool solution:

Alpine LCD behind Speaker Grille

e9coupe.com

 

[HB Chris]

At Andrew’s recommendation I just installed this Out Of Sight two channel Bluetooth amp driving two 6x9 3 way speakers on the rear shelf. I was amazed at the quality of the sound as well as the volume! I tested the BT but have not yet hooked up my Blaupunkt Frankfurt Stereo radio just yet.

 

[dbower]

Ingo Prangenberg at vintageblau.com is an expert on these.

 

[calspyderman]

If this has already been covered in the bluetooth era; please forgive me for starting a brand new thread...
But I have a couple of questions for e3/e9 owners...

1. What is the best sounding true vintage 2-knob, semi-period correct radio we can find?
2. If one went with a true vintage Blaupunkt or Becker, is there an external add-on bluetooth device recommended?
3. Are any of the modern resto-mod radios (with the added bluetooth functionality) so great acoustically, that they are worth installing?
4. Anyone tried a Chrome London Blaupunkt/Becker conversion? Or similar BT conversion to a real vintage radio?
5. Has anyone just gone full modern with a single or double DIN install?

I'm already assuming a nice remote amplifier, 6.5" triaxial speaker pair in the rear deck, and an underseat self-powered sub-woofer...but most concerned by getting a good signal out of a good looking dash unit.

Bonus question...has anyone come up with a replacement for the weird dash mount 2x6 speaker just over the cocklpit? Mine is absolute toast...might have to replace with a pair of tweeters...(?).

Blaupunkt has relaunched "modern" versions of the single DIN Bremen and Frankfurt head units called "Retro Classic". MSRP is up around $650 - but Amazon sells them for around $500. They look stunning and sound very nice - and the original cassette tape slot now cleverly houses ports for USB, SD and AUX. However, unlike a Chrome London conversion (which is more expensive, but quite good) where they start with a vintage, 1970s or 1980s "Made in Germany" chassis - the chief complaint of the Retro Classics is that they are now made in China, and the buttons and dials feel "cheap" compared to refurbished versions of the originals. The Chrome London is a refurbished analog radio with Bluetooth and Telephony added - so as a stereo head unit... it doesn't sound any better than it did back in the 1970s or 1980s except for the digital sources being cleaner than the hiss-filled sound of an analog cassette. Moreover, if you go to the Chrome London website, you will see many of the period-correct radios for an e9 (early 1970s) were not even stereo units (they were mono-radios). Also, there are multiple eras of the Blaupunkt Frankfurt, Bremen, and many other models. The period correct Frankfurt is going to be more simple and crude looking than a 1980s Frankfurt... and the current Retro Classic Frankfurt is patterned after the 1990s version of the Frankfurt; and the early versions of these radios put out a whopping 5, 7, maybe 9 watts per channel. Bluetooth and Telephony equipped period correct radios from Chrome London will start around 600 to 700 euros - before shipping; and they charge a lot for shipping.

By contrast, the Retro Classic Blaupunkt is just the opposite of the above - a newer, modern amplifier putting out 50 watts per channel; optimized for digital sources with a retro interface- so as a stereo unit, it sounds better because it is a modern stereo with built-in bluetooth and telephony styled after the old unit that's made in China for $500 from Amazon. So which is more important to you - pure audio performance or the retro look and feel of old world Made in Germany ergonomics... at a higher price point?

 

[tferrer]

At Andrew’s recommendation I just installed this Out Of Sight two channel Bluetooth amp driving two 6x9 3 way speakers on the rear shelf. I was amazed at the quality of the sound as well as the volume! I tested the BT but have not yet hooked up my Blaupunkt Frankfurt Stereo radio just yet.
View attachment 163743

I don't know about you, but it's a comfort to me to know that @hbchris keeps a sizable hammer at the ready to install a car stereo. I thought I was the only one that kept one handy for delicate jobs gone awry....

 

[HB Chris]

I don't know about you, but it's a comfort to me to know that @hbchris keeps a sizable hammer at the ready to install a car stereo. I thought I was the only one that kept one handy for delicate jobs gone awry....

Haha! That hammer has been used quite a bit lately.

 

[rsporsche]

love the BFH too. mine has grown legs and walked away ... been rearranging my garage storage + thought i would find it. NOPE. i have been thinking of finding an alternative approach to the coupe music. i think the Blaupunkt unit is cool for an e12 / e21 / e24 / e28 ... just don't love it for the coupe. the chrome london is interesting, but ungodly expensive.

so here is the question on Out of Sight Audio - there are 4 versions, only the mk 4 has bluetooth telephone. i see you bought the Mk 1. i read that you control the radio with your smart phone ... but curious how you answer your phone / change stations / change volume when in many states you aren't allowed to use your phone while driving. i see in one of the pics, the unit can be connected to your radio ... if so, i presume that you could use the volume control on the radio

next question, in order to use sirius / xm or pandora ... i presume you have to use cellular data?

 

[coupedegrace]

I don't know about you, but it's a comfort to me to know that @hbchris keeps a sizable hammer at the ready to install a car stereo. I thought I was the only one that kept one handy for delicate jobs gone awry....

I like the fact that it's mounted where the D-Jet ECU goes. Perhaps one could be hooked up to the fuel injectors? Maybe use custom EQ settings for different "tunes?"

 

[HB Chris]

love the BFH too. mine has grown legs and walked away ... been rearranging my garage storage + thought i would find it. NOPE. i have been thinking of finding an alternative approach to the coupe music. i think the Blaupunkt unit is cool for an e12 / e21 / e24 / e28 ... just don't love it for the coupe. the chrome london is interesting, but ungodly expensive.

so here is the question on Out of Sight Audio - there are 4 versions, only the mk 4 has bluetooth telephone. i see you bought the Mk 1. i read that you control the radio with your smart phone ... but curious how you answer your phone / change stations / change volume when in many states you aren't allowed to use your phone while driving. i see in one of the pics, the unit can be connected to your radio ... if so, i presume that you could use the volume control on the radio

next question, in order to use sirius / xm or pandora ... i presume you have to use cellular data?

Scott, I bought the Mark 1 as I only wanted two channels and phone was not important. When hooked to radio output it operates as an amp with radio on. When paired with your phone it bypasses radio and you can stream Spotify which I do or play music saved on your phone. Radio does not need to be on as it is powered by a switched power source, fuse 10 in my case. And it does not need ungodly large power wire, I just used 12g but it says 14g is OK. Phone does not control radio, volume is controlled by your phone. Cellular used for all streaming services obviously. I love it so far but I haven’t driven the coupe yet as it had no seats.

 

[rsporsche]

thanks Chris ... this is helpful. i am planning to go back with an original Blaupunkt in an uncut a/c panel (it used to work - no idea if it still does). i don't really care about regular radio, i primarily listen to sirius or something on my itunes.

i will probably do something to recharge my iphone - maybe find a way to do concealed charging without plugging in. i had wondered if i could mount my iphone behind the speaker grill.

i have front + rear speakers - not planning on a sub (let the coupe have the bass line).

 

[Stevehose]

love the BFH too. mine has grown legs and walked away ... been rearranging my garage storage + thought i would find it. NOPE. i have been thinking of finding an alternative approach to the coupe music. i think the Blaupunkt unit is cool for an e12 / e21 / e24 / e28 ... just don't love it for the coupe. the chrome london is interesting, but ungodly expensive.

so here is the question on Out of Sight Audio - there are 4 versions, only the mk 4 has bluetooth telephone. i see you bought the Mk 1. i read that you control the radio with your smart phone ... but curious how you answer your phone / change stations / change volume when in many states you aren't allowed to use your phone while driving. i see in one of the pics, the unit can be connected to your radio ... if so, i presume that you could use the volume control on the radio

next question, in order to use sirius / xm or pandora ... i presume you have to use cellular data?

I couldn't see that any of these have a subwoofer out?

 

[HB Chris]

thanks Chris ... this is helpful. i am planning to go back with an original Blaupunkt in an uncut a/c panel (it used to work - no idea if it still does). i don't really care about regular radio, i primarily listen to sirius or something on my itunes.

i will probably do something to recharge my iphone - maybe find a way to do concealed charging without plugging in. i had wondered if i could mount my iphone behind the speaker grill.

i have front + rear speakers - not planning on a sub (let the coupe have the bass line).

I hid a USB charger in the glove box mounted to console side of inner box, wired to switched fuse 9, if pig-tailed in to radio power you may get feedback.

 

[otter74]

I was a little hesitant to start a new thread for a question I had, since it’s more E12 than E9; I was searching the archives here for info and thought I’d piggyback on this one.

I have a mono Euro-model Frankfurt from about 76-78 for my E12. Bought it from the guy I bought the car from, who had taken it out of another E12 he briefly had. My car currently has an ugly modern head unit that doesn’t even fit in the dash because it’s a CD deck. Works well enough, looks terrible. I want something that looks good, sounds good enough, and can support playing music from my phone and hands-free calling. I got the Frankfurt with the car, and I picked up a Bluetooth adapter for it that plugs into the 6-pin DIN plug on the back. I figured all I needed to do was install it. Yesterday I took the modern deck out and started looking at the wiring and where I needed to cut it, and I seem to be stuck.

Head unit is mono. I didn’t know what speaker impedance it was designed for, or what the internal amp is rated at, so I started looking into that yesterday. I eventually got a hold of Ingo Prangenberg (vintageblau.com) who told me it’s designed for 4 ohm speakers and has a 4W internal amp. If I just look at the math (P=V^2/R), I could in principle wire a pair of speakers in series, ditto the other pair, then run each of those sets in parallel and I’d get 4 ohm total impedance. Seems like that should be OK? But he also told me straight up that a mono radio is not going to run four speakers - It’s too much of a wattage draw, and I’ll quickly ruin the amp. The guy knows these radios so that’s worth...a lot.

Options seem to be:
-trade for the same radio in stereo
-only run the front two speakers (little things in the kick panels, look original)
-put something else in this car, like a Continental, put this one in my Fiat (only two speakers) or maybe the 911 or something
-add an external amp that takes speaker-level inputs, wire appropriately. This seems like it will add a lot of extra wiring work, though, unless I can fit it behind the dash somewhere.

Thoughts? Have any of you successfully wired a mono radio to four speakers without eventually killing it? I really want to put this radio in this car but if it’s going to be a lot of extra money or work then I’ll look for something else.

 

[adawil2002]

For the record, I have had 2 different Bluetooth radio systems over the years.

First was the 7 pin wire in the rear of the Blaupunkt Frankfurt accessory plug connected to an iLive Bluetooth receiver. This is powered to the keyed Purple wire to an accessory plug Velcroed it up & out of the way. Both the radio & accessory plug have inline fuses as redundancies, located near the fuse box for easier access.

When a resistor or diode failed inside that first US AM-FM Blaupunkt Frankfurt. I bought a proper European LMKUU Blaupunkt Frankfurt.
I explored several options from a Crutchfield Mini Amp & generic customizable wiring harness to having a local Auto Stereo place install something.

Chris Langsten at VSR sent me a link to Out of Sight Audio & bought the Mark 2 for stereo front & rear speakers. It's mounted to the back of the shifter console behind the accessory gauge panel & radio. The best feature about the Out of Sight Audio modules is one does not even need a radio as the units simply need power, ground & speakers to work.

 

[otter74]

Andrew,

If the only thing I wanted to do was listen to streamed music and otherwise use my phone, I'd probably do that. But I do listen to the radio (NPR) and want to be able to continue to do so. So a radio has to stay.

I still don't see how sending the speaker output to an external amp that boosts and splits the signal to four speakers is going to overpower the amp in the radio.

 

[adawil2002]

NPR does have a post-live-broadcast streaming service.

 

[Stevehose]

I would think the solution is to run the mono output to a 2 channel 4ohm impedance splitter, then run that to the high level inputs of a power amp which could drive 4 speakers of your choosing, including a subwoofer.

 

[otter74]

Can you link to an example of an appropriate splitter? car audio is totally new to me. Hell, I don't even know how to spec an amp.

 

[tdgray]

Lot of work but kudos if this is what you want and can accomplish.

I just use my Klipsch Groove XL and my phone…. But it’s for multiple cars. Just toss it in one and go.