Blaupunkt Toronto RDM126

Price Paid:  $249.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2000

Summary:
Great deal if purchased for $250 or less.

Strengths:
Great design, match any German made vehicle
Fair cd sound
Security Keycard
"Vario Colour" (3 different colors, green, amber & red)
Excellent materials quality

Weaknesses:
Poor FM-AM reception
Complex installation
Will not turn on when cd is inserted
Manual could be more precise
Week pre-out signal
Needs accessories for AUX device

Similar Products Used:
none

Year / Model Reviewed:
 1999 Blaupunkt Toronto

Summary:
Excellent option. Great power and sound, good price, and is very easy to use.

The only thing i would like is more accuracy in the AM/FM reception.

Strengths:
Excellent CD Sound
Full of features/Easy to use
Key Card, VarioColour features are excellent

Weaknesses:
AM/FM Reception is average

Summary:
I just got this deck on sale from Crutchfield for $300 (plus a free $70 remote), and I love it! Finally a deck that matches my dash both day and night, and one that you can read with direct sunlight on it!! The Variocolor feature is amazing, with sixteen colors from bright green to yellow to orange to bright red. And the color change applies to both the display and the buttons, not one or the other only as on some other decks. The controls are laid out extremely well, ergonomics are the best I've ever used. Radio is not the most sensitive, but with good signals it sounds as good as the best I've heard. I was expecting a slight downgrade in sound quality from my previous Kenwood Excelon KDCX811, but it sounds as good or better! In fact, it seems to be a little cleaner at the higher volume settings than the Kenwood was. I also like the fast disc loading and eject as compared to the Kenwood (or most any flip down face deck). The Thummer remote which fits on the steering wheel is much more useful than the wireless remote most come with, and I already find myself using it more than the controls on the deck. I can't find a thing wrong with this deck! At least not after you get over the possibly confusing wiring harnesses. But that's a one time thing, and the installation manuals are very thorough and well written. Way to go Blaupunkt!

Strengths:
Excellent Ergonomics, very easy to read in any lighting and will match any car,
great sound, great price, cool remote.

Weaknesses:
wiring harness is quite a bit more
complex than most, but installation
manuals are thorough.

Summary:
I recently bought the Toronto, and I must say that it is a great deal for the price. I purchased mine for just under 300 dollars, and it came with a free thummer remote (cool!!), free preamp output cables, and 2 keycards to activate it. This is an extremely handy security feature, and the included security decals seem to be doing their job. Another cool feature is the ability to add in an auxilliary input--very handy for portable audio devices/MP3 players (they're coming...). Varied color on the LCD, tons of SIMPLE controls--I can't say enough good things about this receiver... Great clarity, although a bit more power would have been nice (stock peaks at 35W X 4). Great deck for little money.