Dead ASK amp - what's the easiest drop-in replacement?

I have a 987.1 Cayman with the 9-speaker Sound Package Plus (aka SPP or SP+) sound system (non- BOSE ). This system uses the infamous and failure-prone ASK amp in the frunk. As I understand it, the ASK amp receives a speaker level signal (i.e. an amplified signal) from the headunit, and in turn powers three speakers: the two door woofers and the center dash speaker. The remaining six speakers (2 dash, 2 rear, and 2 door mids) are powered directly by the headhunt. I just realized that the three ASK-amp powered speakers are producing no sound, either with an Android headhunt or the stock Porsche cdr24 CD player. I conclude that there is an issue with the ASK amp. So my questions are threefold: (1) Am I correct in concluding that the ASK amp is dead, or do I need to check for other potential issues like blown speakers or bad wires? If so, how? (2) Are there known faults on the ASK amp itself to check for and hopefully fix before throwing it out? If so, how? (3) Is there a consensus easiest drop-in replacement for the ASK amp? By easiest, I mean something that does not require too much rewiring and is easy to mount/attach in the frunk. I know that these issues have been covered many times before, but some of the threads are quite old and the proposed replacement amps and solutions are no longer available.

Update: Bergville F/X electronics have a neat ASK-amp "fault finding" article. Here are the links: Audio amplifiers - BERGVILL F/X Porsche 997/Boxster/Cayman ASK amplifier M490 repairs The Sound Package Plus amplifier (Option code M490) is known to fail, either by no power-on, or by a very loud hiss or rumbling in the ba www.bergvillfx.com In short, the article indicates how to remove the ask amp and make sure that it's receiving the required power supply: (1) +12V power supply on pins: 1 (Red/Brown, +12V) and 2 (Brown, GND) (2) +12V on Remote-On signal on pin 11, Black/Red wire. In my case, the ASK amp is receiving the required power and turn-on signal, so I conclude that the unit is likely faulty (though this does not exclude other faults like blown speakers).

I went through this last year. There are plenty of aftermarket units. Since I don’t know alot on the subject, I elected to just buy a used one on eBay…around $100 if I remember correctly. Been good so far and an easy plug and play solution.

To replace the ASK amp you'd need a 4 channel amp (they're available) at a minimum. I posted a diagram of how the speakers are powered on the 987.1 ASK setup just a few days ago in response to your other thread. One biggish issue - the wiring in parallel that Porsche used for the speakers used with the SSP/ASK setup results in a 1 Ohm resistance being presented to the amplifier. Many amplifiers are very unhappy with anything under 4 Ohms, and downright upset with anything under 2 Ohms. They may overheat (and eventually burn up), or go into some awful oscillations that will destroy the speakers. For that reason - I think the best path forward is to replace like with like. eBay, get yours repaired, local foreign car junkyard - wherever - the amps seem to go around $100 to buy used, and 100Euro to get repaired. Sometimes the simplest way is the best way..

I just dropped in a Pioneer 4 Channel Digital Amp to replace my ASK amp. I posted my method here: https://www.planet-9.com/threads/987-1-easy-and-cost-effective-ask-amp-replacement.256144/