I was driving home tonight and noticed that when the volume of the stereo was high that there was a bit of a rattle and buzz coming from the speakers. It sounded almost like the music was distorted. I know the typical symptom of the blown amp is the loud beeping or chirping accompanied by no music. I just wanted to ask if anyone knows if this buzz/distortion/rattle is a good sign that the amp is about to go.

 

try fading and going left to right and see if all the speakers are doing it
hopefully it's just a speaker going...

 

when I hear it it seems to come from all of the speakers. It does it more after listening to music for a few minutes. Today it wasnt bad at all. When I came home I opened the trunk to see where it was mounted. I saw that it was essentially enclosed in its own hot box. Probably not the best design for amp placement. I ended up taking the first aid kit in the trunk and propping open the panel that covers the amp. I am hoping this will keep the amp a tiny bit cooler. I have to say I could not believe how hot the amp was when I got home. I could barely keep my finger on it for a second. It amazed me that any piece of electronics could operate in this type of heat. Insane!!!

 

haha... yeah you should feel some of my components...

 

I still remember in college I had a 900 watt amp in my prelude and it straight up caught fire while I was driving around westwood. Luckily I had my ex girlfriends jacket to put the flames out.LOL