to cut the dash for radio, or not?

[Gigem]

Thinking about an upgrade from the lame radio in my 1980... I am facing the same question I faced when I restored my 72 Chevelle SS convertible a few years ago - cut up the dash or find a stereo that fits the factory two-shaft holes...

The Chevelle was a no-brainer... It had an incredibly rare dashboard that I refused to cut up... That dash was specific to the 72 SS convertible, not repopped, and basically impossible to replace. So I bought a Custom Autosound stereo to fit in the factory holes. It was an expensive piece of crap! Replaced it with a shafted Kenwood unit from eBay worked better, but still cost way to much for it's antiquated features and performance.

All things considered, I would prefer to not cut up my dash. But this truck is not like the Chevelle. It's a driver, and a replacement dash is easy to find.

So does anyone make a "shafted" stereo that sounds good, has digital inputs and isn't super expensive? If not, I am cutting it up. I can always replace the dash with a new one if I want to...

Thoughts?