I was trying to get as close to factory appearance as I could in my e39, and the bezel I made follows the lines as you can see. In my e53 the HU is in more of an "open" position and attention would be called to anything less then stock IMO this is why I won't be doing anything to the mid of mine unless of course putting in the factory nav. I have toyed with the notion of using a factory monitor and installing something touch screen inside the unit itself to retain factory appearance, but then it would require gutting the entire system again which I wanted to avoid in the X.

Actually I find it quite the opposite...the steeper angle prevents the screen from being subjected to the glare you would experience on a screen mounted in a more horizontal manner on bright days. Moreover, because of how it's situated, it's almost 2" closer than the factory nav position---so it's actually an easier glance than you would have from mounting an aftermarket head unit with a standard DIN kit. The face of the screen also sits at the same angle as the hvac controls; IMO it feels much of a natural/intuitive position.

Hey man, how did your install go? Have any pics?

It's in, and it sounds MUCH better than the factory system. The JL amp is mounted in the driver's side rear panel and looks good. I was surprised how small it is, given how much power it provides. It's probably too much for the puny factory subs, so a JL Stealthbox will be going in on the other side at some point.

They had to modify the Metra kit to get it to fit, so there's a sort of gap at the bottom. They did a decent job filling it in, but it still doesn't look very good. I ordered this kit, which looks like the Janus one:

BMW 5S E39 Double DIN 2 DIN D DIN DDIN Bezel Kit | eBay

I also ordered some matte graphite vinyl. If it matches the factory trim well enough, then I might wrap the whole thing or maybe just the top part of the bezel. Not sure how good it would look butting up right next to the dark poplar trim on either side. I think the contrast looks good on the doors, but there is some black buffer in between in those areas.

The only issue is I've noticed some very light intermittent noise/static in the system. I'm going to take it back up there and have them fix that issue once I get the new kit. That way they can swap them out at the same time. I'll post some pictures when that's done.

X5SND, this is lovely, I wish you could make such a bezel for me too.

We have our E53 for about three weeks now, and it came with this head unit.

3G Multimedia BMW X5 E39 E53 M5 GPS Navigation Sat Nav Car DVD Player Stereo TV | eBay

It has everything I wanted, but missing some connectors at the back so I can't connect my iPhone as a music source. Not a big issue.

The worst problem is that with the unit installed in its default position, it's impossible to see what the screen shows for the biggest part of the day. Living in sunny Greece doesn't help things either.

Nice installation Sir, congrats!

Please post some pics of the amp install! Did you use the 700/5? I have one on the way for my install (though I am keeping the stock head unit). Did you run through the stock wiring harness to the rear connector? If so, did you just cut and splice or is there a connector available?

As for the noise, check your ground wires. Make sure you cleaned the paint off the ground lugs. Ground the amp very close to the amp.

:iagree: Buddy you did a helluva job with that install, congrats!:thumbup:

Did any of you guys that went aftermarket have DSP?

Ditto!! :iagree:

Thanks guys! Not bad for a first attempt if I do say so myself! :)