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On my second day of a week-long vacation trip to the Dragon my 4yr old 5 channel MTX amp blew out.
That was a month ago, and about 2,000mi of no music at ALL.
Well, that's not ENTIRELY true. I bought a little "case" that holds and iPod. You put two AAA batteries in it, and it has some speakers moulded into the cover of the case. It fit in my center console:
It was WORTHLESS with the top down above 40MPH, and not much more helpful any other time since it sounded tinny. I was desperate for ANTYHING, and it was something. However, I am glad I don't need it anymore.
I couldn't take it anymore, and decided not to wait for the deal I was waiting on for a couple of JL amps (300/4 and 500/1.) I just couldn't wait any more, the lack of music was driving me NUTS!
I ended up jumping on a Memphis Power Reference PR4.50 4 Channel amp which puts out a rated 50WRMS per channel. That might not sound like much, but this amp is definitely under rated and the sound it puts out is CLEAN!
I also decided to kick things up a notch with a Memphis Power Reference PR1.500 to drive my sub.
Unfortunately there isn't enough room to run BOTH amps in the spare tire area. We tried, but just couldn't get them to fit right. So the shop traced out the tool well cover board onto some 3/4" MDF and covered it in matching carpet. The sub amp is mounted to that and it sits in the middle of the trunk. The location is not "ideal" but it works, and I like it.
If I were to redo the cover (and I'm not) what I would do is make the cover BIGGER than the stock cover. The wooden one sits a little higher because of the thickness and doesn't have a lot of lateral support. We were able to build a work-around to hold the cover in place and keep it from sliding side to side, but a bigger piece in the first place would have made that unnecessary.
The shop that I bought the amps from was kind enough to squeeze me in and install in a rush as I was on my way to an S2000 BBQ. Yeah, I could have installed all this myself, but I was in a hurry. They took the time to really tune the car and all I can say is WOW! The mids have totally come alive now, I couldn't believe just how amazing the car sounds now. I liked it a LOT before, but now it is a COMPLETELY different system. Rock, hard rock, heavy metal all sounds good at highway speeds, cranked up to 11, but now I can also listen to a live recording of Johnny Cash from 1965 when it was just him, a bass player and one other guitar player and hear ALL the nuance, all the subtlety of that recording at 70MPH with the top down.
I am sure a big part was that the amps put out more power than my old amp. I am sure a big part is that these amps are cleaner power than my old amp. And I can't say enough about the great job of tuning they did to maximize the experience in the car.
Here is a REALLLY crappy pic to try to show the pretty blue lights on the amps.
I have Boston speakers in the doors and in S-Pods. The amp in the spare tire area drives those (the 4.50) and the sub is driven by the one in the tool well (1.500)
I finally replaced my amp
They took the time to really tune the car and all I can say is WOW! 
The mids have totally come alive now, I couldn't believe just how amazing the car sounds now. I liked it a LOT before, but now it is a COMPLETELY different system. Rock, hard rock, heavy metal all sounds good at highway speeds, cranked up to 11, but now I can also listen to a live recording of Johnny Cash from 1965 when it was just him, a bass player and one other guitar player and hear ALL the nuance, all the subtlety of that recording at 70MPH with the top down.
