Long version: After numerous problems with my car audio setup, I thought I was doing well. I had a decent headunit (Alpine 9830), decent Sub (Alpine Type-R), a seemingly nice amp (SoundStream 800.5), and a single Infinity Kappa 62.5i (One was broken). The Kappa was obviously the weak point, and I was extremely close to getting enough money to buy replacements; components to be precise.
But then, disaster. The amp, for unknown reasons, stopped working. One day on the way home, I started to hear crackling, then the volume got feinter and feinter, until there was no sound at all, all in the span of a few seconds. The headunit was still going as if nothing had happened, but there was no sound. After reaching home I got to check out the car, and couldn't find anything wrong with the amp, or the connections. I could smell a burnt smell, and the rail(+) and power lights were barely lit, but that was it.
I didn't really know what to do, so I kind of ignored it. I guess it didn't like being ignored, because the amp then decided to drain the battery of my car, so I had to disconnect it. Since then (begining of April) I have been musicless. I was pretty depressed after spending $300 on the amp and another $50 in misc expenses in addition to what I have already put into it just to have it blow.
As for what caused this, I have no clue. I have narrowed it down to a few things:
1. Installation: I paid AmericanTV to install everything, and when I checked it myself, everything seemed nicely done.
2. There was slight dimming of the headlights and the inside lights when bass hit, but I didn't know how to fix it, so I left it. I figured I was only running 600W (at first), and had read that most alternators can handle 800wish without issue. What's funny is that when it blew, I was only using 500W at peak. When I first set it up, I was using all 5 channels, then decided to remove the rear speakers. Then a little while later, one of my fronts decided to die, leaving the sub and a single speaker as the only draw of power.
3. Possibly related to #2: The amp got *hot*. It would burn you if you touched it after extended use. I even recall it shutting off automatically once after having it on for an hour or so during a long drive.
As for warranty on the amp...I bought it from Ebay
The person I bought it from gave it a 30 day warranty, and that was it. It was sold as new, but I remember hearing SoundStream is extremely picky or flat out refuses to service stuff that wasn't bought from an authorized dealer. I've more or less given up on repairing it, and I now have a very expensive paper weight.So here I am now. I have managed to save up $300 that's available to spend on car audio...if I want to. Right now my main concern is preventing another amp death, I can't afford to piss away another $300.
So now, the questions:
1. What was the likely cause of my amps death? After reading a bit more about Soundstream, I have heard complaints about faulty power supplies; could that have been it?
2. Are there any decent 2ch amps for about $150 that can push 200w? What about decent components for $150 that can handle 100w? Before my amp died, I was considering Oz Vectors. (No more ebay for me unless theres a warranty backed by a reputable person\company)
I have one of them hooked up in a 3 ohm bridged mode running m boston comps 
damn power hogs!! hehe