Blaupunkt Debuts High Performance Car Audio Receiver With SD/MMC, USB, FM/AM, And AUX, But No CD Player

Blaupunkt has introduced the Brisbane SD48, a new car radio that replaces the traditional CD drive mechanism with a full array of up-to-date digital music technologies. For personal music playback, the radio accommodates a wide range of contemporary digital audio storage media, including SD/MMC cards, portable MP3 players and cellphones, thumb-drives, and external hard drives. It also features a Blaupunkt's exclusive Variocolour display with 4,096 colors that can be adjusted to match the lighting of nearly any car interior.

Blaupunkt Brisbane SD48

"For many of today's digital-savvy consumers, compact discs are considered obsolete," comments Blaupunkt USA General Manager, Andy Oswick. "Their music comes straight from the internet, downloaded it to their local hard-drive. Their music travels with them on the cell phone and portable MP3 player, and the Brisbane brings their car radio into the digital loop, and makes it even easier to have instant access to their entire music library no matter where they are. The future is here."

The Brisbane SD48 is Blaupunkt's second-generation entry into the new 'mech-less' head unit category, so-named for its lack of any traditional mechanical source components such as a CD or tape player. In their place, the radio adds digital music allowances such as a front panel SD/MMC card-slot, headphone-jack input for portable MP3 player, and a USB input that allows the addition of storage devices such as a portable hard-drive or thumb-drive loaded with digital music files.

The Brisbane SD48 radio supports both MP3 and WMA audio files at bitrates of 8 to 320 kilobits. The front panel display accommodates up to 127 music directories, and displays ID3 tag information up to 30 characters in length. The 3.5 mm front-panel auxiliary input is compatible with the headphone or aux outputs of nearly any portable device, and an optional interface can be added to enable control of an iPod from the radio front panel.

The Brisbane SD48 retains all the amplification, processing and connectivity features of a traditional high-end car radio, including multiple options for expansion and integration into sophisticated car audio systems. It delivers four channels of clean, high-current power, and includes four channel pre-outs to accommodate external power amplifiers. There is a TEL/NAVI input for wired integration of cell phone and navigation systems, and an optional Bluetooth module communicates seamlessly with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones for the simplest in hands-free communication over the car stereo.

The Brisbane includes adjustable bass, treble, and X-Bass EQ functions that let listeners dial-in sound for ideal performance. Additionally, there are selectable EQ presets designed to optimize playback of different program types, such as rock, pop, or classical music.

The Blaupunkt Brisbane SD48 will be available in April at a suggested retail price of $159.95.