In this paper, we prove new results on the validity of the limiting ampitude principle (LAP) for the wave equation with nonconstant coefficients, not necessarily in divergence form. Under suitable assumptions on the coefficients and on the source term, we establish the LAP for space dimensions 2 and 3. This result is extended to one space dimension with an appropriate modification. We also quantify the LAP and thus provide estimates for the convergence of the time-domain solution to the frequency-domain solution. Our proofs are based on time-decay results of solutions of some auxiliary problems.