Best head unit on E36?

[Hankdoll]

There's now another retro option from Blaupunkt, the Frankfurt RCM 82 DAB:



With its dot matrix display and rectangular buttons, this new Frankfurt is a better style match for the E36 than is the Bremen.

Not cheap... https://www.amazon.com/BLAUPUNKT-Fra...7-eb60747b8daf

Also see this video comparison, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ruSmsq3sX8

Neil

I swapped out my BMW Traffic Pro with the Frankfurt. I had installed a cheap bluetooth adpater on the Traffic Pro so the Frankfurt is a huge upgrade. Sounds much better. Love it.

[jvit27]

There's now another retro option from Blaupunkt, the Frankfurt RCM 82 DAB:

With its dot matrix display and rectangular buttons, this new Frankfurt is a better style match for the E36 than is the Bremen.

I got one. Very solid match for the interior. At least as close as anything else aftermarket has gotten.. i'd argue it's overpriced though. Button action feels a little cheap for >$500.

That looks like a great match with the digital climate control. Not sure it matches the older analog climate control aesthetic better than the Bremen, though.

I've been really happy with the Bremen model - put it in July '22. My only beef is the clock doesn't keep accurate time, which is boggling. It's runs frustratingly slow, and even the original OBC clock is more accurate. So I just turned it off on the display.

Agreed, but I think the Bremen predates the manual HVAC. It suits the the 80's BMW's interiors best. But early 90's overlaps so you could go with either. The Frankfurt is a must with the 96-99 digital HVAC though.

**I have a question for you and Hankdoll** (see below)

I swapped out my BMW Traffic Pro with the Frankfurt. I had installed a cheap bluetooth adpater on the Traffic Pro so the Frankfurt is a huge upgrade. Sounds much better. Love it.

I went BMW TP4771 > VDO/Continental TR7412UB > Frankfurt. The adapter on the TP was fussy and I wanted to preserve the headunit. CD43's got too expensive so ended up getting the Continental to modify to match the interior with amber illumination. Decent for the money but huge improvement in SQ & features switching the Blaupunkt...

**Have you or mck noticed how dim the display is? I have mine maxxed to DAY_16 and it's barely legible during the day. Dim enough that I think mine may be faulty but was hoping someone else could chime in. Pic attached for reference.

[mck325is]

Mine is definitely not dim during the day, I have no problems seeing the display.

I either have a wiring/connector issue in the car (probably the most likely) or I didn't get the radio settings correct - it doesn't dim when I turn on the headlamps. But - 3 out of 4 times, if I then give a quick adjustment to the car's instrument dimmer dial, the radio suddenly reacts and dims.