My factory amp died around July 4. I've been running a quality Bluetooth speaker since then and it is actually fine. I already mostly listened to podcasts and pandora. I do plan on getting the amp repaired at some point. But $400 isn't really a value. Fwiw my factory amp gave no warning it was going out, it just stopped working.Sorry to go a little off topic and don't want to mess up your thread. This is a bit outside my wheel house. My factory amp died. As much as I'd love to change out my whole system my discretionary funds are tied up in other more pressing projects. The factory amp replacement is way more expensive than I'd like to pay. Would it be easy to just change out the factory amp to an aftermarket more economical one without too much trouble?
Sadly the aftermarket front ends all use the factory amp.
To replace you need one that can speak can-bus. It isn't a common thing in the aftermarket