2004 Levinson
Last couple of drives, I've been getting crazy loud popping noises from the speakers (sounds like it's in the ceiling), then after a while, the audio just shuts down completely. Seller told me he replaced/fixed the amp or took care of whatever the known amp issue is. I also have the VAIS SL3b-L for BT. I don't suspect it because the stereo loses sound on every input selected from the head unit. Is my amp going out?

 

Sounds like so. I had a bad amp a few years ago and it made the same noise.

 

That's the result of a failing power supply circuit. It happens commonly among those old Levinson's amplifiers. There are some companies that fix those problems. A skilled guy would fix those just replacing failing parts such as electrolytic capacitors used at the voltage boosting circuit in the power supply.

 

Am I understanding correctly that 86280-0W041 is the replacement for the faulty ones and is not prone to failure? So, safe to replace with a used one?