Blaupunkt Toronto 400BT & RC10 steering wheel remote control

[robrez]

I recently changed up the stereo in my sedan. I was using a Becker Traffic Pro 4773 I have nothing bad to say about, except that it doesn't have built-in bluetooth so I had to use a Parrot BT with it. I wanted something simpler to use.

One of the best things about the 4773, besides looking oem, is that the sub can be controlled from the HU. Here's a pic of the Traffic Pro, which I paired with a 5-channel Soundstream amp, an 8" Alpine Type R subwoofer in a Lukebox, and oem premium speakers front and rear.


I didn't think it would be easy to find something to replace the 4773 that would give me integrated BT, oem looks, and sub control. But it turned out, the Blaupunkt Toronto 400BT installed in my vert was all those things and more. Here are pics of the vert's system



But, when I had the Toronto in the vert, I was never impressed with its sound quality. Once I installed it in the sedan, however, I realized how much better it sounds with the better quality Soundstream amp and Alpine subwoofer/Lukebox, as well as the sedan's better acoustics. First off, I didn't realize the Toronto had a separate subwoofer pre-amp because I was using the wrong power harness. This is the one I needed


The sub gain settings range from 0 to 4, which is enough to dial in the bass for my music tastes. I'm not that particular though, sometimes I even use the preset Pop and Rock EQ settings when I want to change things up.

Now I have plenty of music at my fingertips - 15 FM preset stations, BT streaming from Pandora, and I use the rear Aux with an old school Ice-Link interface which plays and charges my old ipod mini, which i keep in the glovebox.

A couple small complaints - the FM reception isn't as good as it was with the 4773, but it's not bad (I use a Z3 antenna). And the front USB outlet uses a since deprecated micro USB cable, and it doesn't charge or read music from my iphone 5. The varioclour allows you to dial in the amber to match the e30's interior well, but it doesn't match the lighting style of the OBC. Here's a pic


and here's the soundstream 5-channel amp and hidden 8" Type R sub/Lukebox


Next up, I'll discuss the RC10 steering wheel remote control...

[rcsoundn1]

I have no leads but I have interest in the topic. More pics of your setups?

[robrez]

I use my sedan as a daily driver, so the only thing better than bluetooth is being able to control the radio without taking my hands off the wheel. Enter the Blaupunkt RC10 steering wheel remote.


It's an infrared remote, so it needs to be pointed at the Toronto BT400 to work. On a side note, the Toronto BT400 has the infrared receiver built in, but other radios that don't have built-in infrared will require the infrared receiver to be remotely mounted using a harness that plugs into the back of the radio. I mounted my remote on the right inner spoke of the steering wheel so it doesn't get in the way of steering. This location also allows it to point directly at the radio.

The remote allows me full access to all my music, and to control the volume, including mute. A couple small drawbacks - the infrared remote loses connection to the radio if you turn the wheel far enough, so you can't change channels while you're making a U-turn. My other complaint is a little bigger, there's no button on the remote for answering the phone, wth. Oh well, I guess ten years ago when the RC10 came out, it wasn't that big of a deal.



Nonetheless, I'm really happy with my system. It's nice to have a couple modern amenities. No, it's not cutting edge technology, but it all works well together and looks good. I'd recommend these products to anyone in market. But keep in mind the Toronto BT400 is NLA, it was superseded by the the BT410 and now the BT420. The RC10 is ten years old, but it's still available new. I got mine off Amazon. Just make sure it's compatible with your head-unit.

[StereoInstaller1]

Hey Rob, did you look at the Toronto BT420?

[robrez]

Hey Rob, did you look at the Toronto BT420?

Yeah, but Blaupunkt dropped the variocolour display when they updated to the 420

[StereoInstaller1]

Wait for the GAS deck?

[rcsoundn1]

How do you like the Blaupunkt Toronto 400BT? I am looking for a deck that has BT, and at least an aux in.

[robrez]

How do you like the Blaupunkt Toronto 400BT? I am looking for a deck that has BT, and at least an aux in.

I edited my first two posts in this thread to give a review of the Toronto BT400 and RC10 steering wheel remote control. Hope it helps.

[StereoInstaller1]

Rob, promise me you are going to buy one of the first round of modded stock decks.

The vert needs it more, but the coupe would take advantage of the sound quality better.

I don't know when , but you need to be ready.

[netcsk]

Rob, promise me you are going to buy one of the first round of modded stock decks.

The vert needs it more, but the coupe would take advantage of the sound quality better.

I don't know when , but you need to be ready.

Don't mean to take it off topic, but what are you planning, Luke? Modded decks with what functionality?

[StereoInstaller1]

Pulling out the whole tape mechanism and the on board amp, replacing the amp with an ultra high quality preamp and adding Bluetooth and Aux in its place.

We will have an outboard DAC at some point too, for those willing to plug in to get full 24/192 high resolution playback...

I'm pretty excited about it, we are hoping to do this to E46 and E39 as well as pretty much all BMW decks... Including at some point, the I drive stuff

[robrez]

Rob, promise me you are going to buy one of the first round of modded stock decks.

The vert needs it more, but the coupe would take advantage of the sound quality better.

I don't know when , but you need to be ready.

I'm starting getting too accustomed to the steering wheel remote control, but the GAS modded deck would be a good alternative to the Traffic Pro in my vert, especially if it has built in Bluetooth. Heck, I might have to upgrade to vert Lukebox to take advantage of the sound quality. Looking forward to updates.

[netcsk]

Pulling out the whole tape mechanism and the on board amp, replacing the amp with an ultra high quality preamp and adding Bluetooth and Aux in its place.

We will have an outboard DAC at some point too, for those willing to plug in to get full 24/192 high resolution playback...

I'm pretty excited about it, we are hoping to do this to E46 and E39 as well as pretty much all BMW decks... Including at some point, the I drive stuff

Sounds awesome, Luke. Definitely put me down.
Any idea on timeline and target price? Obviously just rough stuff.