Lost

It's been a long while since I've posted anything here but my stereo in my '96 is on the fritz now and I'm not sure what I should replace. The stereo cuts in and out as if I were listening to a cd and the cd was skipping. The radio and cd player both do this. The unit will also illuminate brightly or flicker periodically. Typically when it's having a 'seizure' it'll flash the fade or balance settings even though I'm not adjusting them. During a melt down the radio will either go silent like it's skipping, or sometimes pop loudly - it's becoming more frequent and will now sometimes last for several minutes. Has anyone had any experience with this? Is it the head unit or the factory amp that's causing the problem?

If it is the head unit then does anyone have any recommendations for a double din unit - it will take a double din unit right? If I get the crutchfield wiring harness will I need to splice the blue amp-on wire into the harness? Do I need to buy some sort of plastic trim piece to go with it to make it look right?

Thanks for all your help.

edit: I'm guessing that if I replace any speaker I have to replace them all, right? Crutchfield has the infinity kappa 62.7i 6.5" on sale for $75 - I'm tempted. If I go that route then I suppose I'd also need a 4 channel amp to drive them - would I have to redo all the wiring or can I just circumvent the amp somehow?

I guess it is a 1.5 din but I found a custom mount that looks great - http://maptechenterprises.netfirms.c...439d73ba17d84b.

Thinking about a kenwood excelon KDC-X692 head unit.