Tomcho

First post on this board, and hopefully soon a member of the official club. The wife and I have been looking at mid size SUVs to replace her 2003 Land Rover which is literally on it's last leg(never again).

Anyhow we've narrowed it down to a low mileage 2009 RX350 and a 2008 MDX. The only thing leaning her toward the MDX is the DVD player for the little one. Finding RXs with DVD players is like finding a needle in a haystack even in a large market like Chicago. This lead me to research aftermarket solutions and I came across this nice unit from Alpine.

http://www.crutchfield.com/s_500PKGR...SE2.html?tp=77

Does anyone have experience installing this model or any overhead mount aftermarket players in an RX? I see there are also head rest models as well. These seem to be only screens for the factory match models, or the ones with built in players seem to be lower quality and definitely not a factory match.

On a related note does $33,000 sound like a good deal on a 2009 CPO with 20,000 miles, premium package and NAV?

MMS4MSU

Welcome to the forum! Definitely go with a Lexus.
The head rest units will allow for two different dvds or games and in my opinion are a lot easier to install. I also don't like blocking my review with an overhead. I have two 8" touch screen dvd headrests, all in chain with a Alpine dvd head unit so video can play on all from any one or all can play independently; even from an ipod.

Tomcho

Thanks for the reply. I really have no desire to change the head unit. In high school I had a trunk full of amps and subs, with this truck the factory head unit needs to remain. This leads me to self contained systems, either an overhead unit or the head set screens with a built in DVD player. I probably need to wait until I get the truck and do some measurements and see if I can install the overhead player in a completely reversible manner.

RuninRoach

These are cool...cheap as chips... AMAZON_LINK

veleno

iTrader: (3)

I'd go with the independent headrest monitors that taps into the factory wiring if you wanted to listen to the dvd on your speakers (it also does headphones). A friend of mine just replaced his 2 headrest with 2 leather wrapped headrest with dvd players in them (can be independently used or in unison) and only cost about $250 for everything (parts and labor). It doesn't look cheap at all. It has a zipper flap so when you're not using the player you can conceal it from thieves.

Haunches

I talked the dealer into installing Rosen AV-7500 DVD Dual Headrests before I drove the car off the lot. See what you can negotiate. Doesn't hurt to haggle.

With 2 (Boy and Girl) kids the Dual Headrest is a must. I also didn't want a drop down screen behind the moon roof.

Also, my set is not directly wired into the speakers. There is a built in FM transmitter in each headrest to be able to use car speakers for sound. Quality sounds like it is wired in.

Tomcho

Thanks for the replies guys, now I'm definitely leaning toward the head rest option. Much easier install, and also 100% reversible. I stumbled across this post and they look pretty nice.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...l-writeup.html

Vizualogic seems to be the standard here, they have a universal set and custom match touch screen setup. Doing a bit more research on them as I type this.

The wife is at carmax seeing what they'll buy the Land Rover for, if it's anywhere near what I'm expecting we could have the new Lexus tomorrow.