Well... install went easy, thanks to Crutchfield's pre-fabbed harnesses.
First impressions...
SQ: good -> excellent. 25 watts RMS pushed to factory trash speakers sounds 300% better than the POS factory HU. I can imagine what it'll sound like when I replace those.
Display: good -> excellent. The display has a 18 ( I think ) character display for song names, etc, which is GREAT for mp3s; less scrolling. The only bad part is no dimmer. This display is BRIGHT!! It's nice and easy to read during the day with the sunroof open and the sun shining directly on it, but at night, you can nearly read a book from the light. Two sound level meters (er.. one for left and right) with options to change their appearance.
Features: good -> excellent. Reads CDR and CDRWs. Plays mp3s AND WMA files. Supports ID3 tags version 1 and 2. 4V preamp outputs ( 2 channels, plus sub-outs {low-pass Xover@100Hz} ). Changer controls. Will continue playback upon powerup on Audio CDs ONLY; it will, however, keep your mp3 configuration ( Shuffle whole disc, shuffle folder, or playback sequentially ). Station and CD naming, as well as custom turn on and turn off messages...
Notes about mp3 playback: Blaupunkt recommends that mp3s be encoded at a bitrate of 128kbps. I have observed ( and others ) that lesser quality bitrates will produce 'squeaks' in the background during playback. Although, this has NOT been an issue with VBR mp3s when the bitrate drops below 128kbps.
Other notes/quirks: Loading mechanism sounds a little rough, but others I've talked to say that it's normal for Blaupunkts. {shrugs} Did I mention the BRIGHT display?? The remote is rather dull: volume control, source selection (cycles through each one: FM/CD/AUX ), and track control. FM reception is excellent.
Overall, I'm very happy with the unit. I think I'm going to get some window tinting and place over the display to tone down the brightness. I'm planning to replace the factory speakers shortly.
Hope this helps anyone looking at mp3 HUs.
--JamesT
