AudioControl does not recommend bypassing the factory amp when using any of our factory integration products, such as our line converters and DSP processors. If your vehicle was made within the last 10 years, (especially the last 5 years) the head unit and the factory amp are designed to work in conjunction with each other. Typically the head unit sends the audio signal to the factory amp, and the amp does all the processing and volume control.
So, if you were to tap before the factory amp to connect to one of our line converters, say the LC7i, it may work, but the signal would not be near a level where the LC7i is expecting it. Thus, you would have to bring the gain up on the converter more, thus increasing the odds the signal will be less than clean and ultimately, you probably still wouldn’t have the volume where you want it.
If you decided to bypass the amp and say use one of our line drivers, such as the Matrix Plus to bring the level up more, that may work, but you would still be running in to the issue of losing factory control, most importantly volume control.