Ive had a couple sony's in both my old firebird and my GS. never really liked them too well and as you said they kinda just wore out quick (6-10 months in most cases). currently im running a Eclipse CD5425 head unti. has some good features like mp3 out and sirus ready. ive been running it through polk/momo speakers for the past 6 months..never skipped or had any problems with..plus the sound quality is friggin way better then the sony's. might be a good idea for you.

99 GS...n/t..for now