Alpine UTE-72BT Single DIN FM/USB/iPod/Bluetooth Mechless Head Unit

Product Details
Manufacturer:  Alpine
Website: link
Typical Suggested Selling price: £99.99
In A Nutshell
A digital wunderkind that for a low price combines a serious handsfree installation with a digital hub capability to play many sorts of sources and files from USB, iPod, Bluetooth streaming from Android and Apple devices and simple analogue connection. All connected by two sockets on the front, it is a solid answer and is great value for money
Overall  8.8
Sound Quality 9
Appearance/Display 8
Ease Of Use/HMI 7
Features 10
Value For Money 10


What It Is
The Alpine UTE-72BT is a single DIN face-off device. I can no longer call it a deck, nor a machine, darn it! But unlike the higher priced and fuller fat connectivity Asteroid from Parrot, (which has SD, and an extra USB as well as a GPS antenna) it occupies a full size single DIN chassis, whereas the Asteroid is stumpy. So, it isn’t an answer for super shallow dashboards like the Asteroid. (And also the brand new FLAC head unit I have here from Kenwood, which is also a sawn-off looking thing.) It has a quartet of chassis-mounted RCAs to the rear, that has one set labelled ‘SUB’ meaning it has a level control (0 to 15) from the headunit. I tested this by connecting the output to a set of B&W monitor speakers.
The front has the same controls as a regular FM car radio with six preset buttons as well as a central knobber. This has a push as well as twist function and is used to get you about the media once you have stabbed the SOURCE button – most obvious single control apart from the knob – and got into anything other than radio. There is a 3.5mm jack socket and a USB socket on the front with a cover for when it is not being used. Mine was lit red.
Editor Review : Alpine UTE-72BT Single DIN FM/USB/iPod/Bluetooth Mechless Head Unit
This device is so new and shiny that at time of writing it isn’t even described on the Alpine website&;
Way back when, there was an event called ‘LIVE’ in London’s Earls Court of a Summer, named for the year of its happening. I was asked to do a ‘Prediction Of Future Technology’ talk for Fast Forward/Car Stereo & Security magazine at our booth at Live ’96. I happily stated that one day all disc media would be seen as ‘quaint’ and that we would all be using touch screens almost exclusively and that they would be sized to best fit our hands. As I write the HMV chain has gone into administration and the latest crop of touch screen tablets and phone combos are so big there is even a horrible 2013 term for them – ‘Phablet’ – for a bloody great seven incher ‘telephone’ with big screen of great resolution. And while the Alpine UTE-72BT is no touchscreen beauty – as that bit is still not a cheapo item, it IS a product that eschews use of disc media.
Now, the first Alpine mech-free unit was the RDA-X001 back in 2007, (OK, I checked, I didn’t just remember and the Alpine tech dept are long served and brilliant for reminding me) so this is a long way down the line, development-wise. However, what has happened since that talk in 1996 is a commoditisation of mechless at the posh end. For UTE-72BT isn’t just any old mechless.
It’s Alpine mechless now read on&;
How Well Does It Work?
At first, I admit I was a little underwhelmed but by the time I had tried all possible positions and options to run sounds through the two kinds of socket available, I realised that UTE-72BT was a bit of a digital hub and a happy, open-minded Karma Sutra of a headunit, happy to couple with almost anything in almost any way you can think up. I kid you not it has smarts.
I have an 8GB Sandisk USB ‘bean’ with a tiny bit of plastic holding the memory. It has a slew of files, some of which will not read on the Asteroid nor on other head units I have tried. It did show some ‘Unsupported’ messages here and there but played music from this bean via the USB with great clarity from the storage ‘stick’. I then tried a Sony Walkman MP3 player that ironically, you fill with tunes and charge with electricity to the battery via a USB on one end but only plays via a 3.5mm analogue socket out the other – and found that clean, bright and very listenable, as well. I then removed the bean and plugged in my iPod with the USB to iPloppery wire it came with and the UTE-72BT recognised it as an iPod instead of a USB and off it went, with only slightly confusing use of the twist and shove knob to get a grip. It is relatively moron-proof.
Then as I was getting more impressed by the sound, I thought ill of the USB socket making for sticky-out things when on iPod and tried wirelessly streaming the music instead by Bluetooth, which sounded bloody amazingly clean. Again, I had track control from the knob. Inspired, I then paired my Blackberry 9300 in an instant (all pairing is brainlessly easy and very swift – at least as quick as Parrot’s and is called SSP or Simple Secure Pairing) and called Ian Iceman Pinder up before going off to the Ace Café. It read my phonebook with massive speed.
Oddly, when I tried to stream Bluetooth tunes from the Blackberry, it paired and started the track immediately but no actual audio streamed, just the control data. Fact is, all Bluetooth devices have limits to their breadth of compatibilities. The Zik speakers from Parrot would not stream music from the Blackberry either, even though the Asteroid does. Point is, try an Alpine UTE-72BT in a demo rig and test the pairing with your phone, or check first with Alpine tech, if BT streaming looks fun. I can tell you that the sound is NOT degraded on streaming versus direct connection, which is a remarkable and cool little Alpiney wrinkle!
Why Buy It?
It’s mechless for a one-er (almost certainly at least a tenner less on the web) and it’s an Alpine, which is pretty much all most Alpine fanboys will care about. I could have gone off into one about fidelity and the processing, EQ and more on board and raved about the high and low pass filters and most of all the Alpine MediaXpander that gives these MP3 and AAC files that better richness and dynamism but the simple truth is, it sounds great, works rapidly doing everything for just about everyone and looks the business too.
Connectivity is simple and while the unit is deeply affordable, it does offer you the chance to upgrade with an amplifier or two to plug in the back. It’s certainly good enough to use on a major system.
Full Features & Specifications
General
FM Presets: 18.  MW: 6, LW: 6
RDS tuner with auto-memory, TA, AF, EON, Radio Text
Integrated Bluetooth module with Microphone included
Works with Nokia (requires KCU-230NK)
Made for iPhone and iPod (KCU-445i required – same as standard iPod USB lead)
Front USB port with 1A charging power
Features App Direct Mode for control using the portable device
AUX input on the front panel (3.5mm jack)
Detachable Control Panel with Case
Button Illumination: red
Menu language can be changed in 7 languages
Suitable for steering wheel control
Remote Control RUE-4202 available as an accessory
Bluetooth Features
Streaming audio with A2DP with AVRCP control (BT V3.0)
Simple Secure Pairing (no code required)
Up to five phones can be coupled (1,000 numbers per phone)
Six individually adjustable speed dial numbers
Indication of the GSM signal strength and battery level
Icon in SMS inbox
Call Waiting
Ringer, microphone and volume control
Alphabetical name search (Search ABC)
Maximum power output 4 x 50W
2 pre-outs (2 Volts)
Bass Engine Pro
3-band parametric EQ (+/-7dB)
MediaXpander
Volume control of each source (+ /-14dB)
10 pre-installed sound settings
High Pass Filter (Front/Rear) and low-pass filter (subwoofer)
Subwoofer level (0-15dB) and phasing (0/180°)
White LCD display in dot matrix design
Dimmer function