In the evolution of my home audio equipment, the amplifiers are all Class-D IC's that are easier to replace at a board level.
Prophylactically replacing things that might be broken can lead to worse problems, especially since a lot of older consumer electronics had relatively delicate single sided circuit boards that were easily damaged by desoldering.
sometimes watching youtubers like bigclivedotcom cover failures of cheap electronics can show spectacular exceptions though. for some more realistic failures of common consumer hardware like laptops and cellphones (and general rework wizardry) Electronicsrepairschool is pretty hard to beat
For older components, beyond switches/pots the only other things I've ever had to replace are electrolytic capacitors.
If you get a crackling noise that changes when you change the volume, the volume potentiometer either needs to be cleaned or replaced. Similarly if the volume knob has ranges where the sound drops out entirely.
If one channel doesn't work at all, you trace the signal path starting at the source.
If nothing works, look for a fuse (and look for something that might have caused a short).
Also a spray can of freeze (e.g. CRC Freeze Spray) is useful, and a jeweller's loupe (x20 magnification or so). If your phone takes good macro video, that can be really useful to look at several times (in the absence of a stereoscopic microscope).
Contacts are the first thing to suspect with any fault. Check inside the plugs on the cables.
For intermitttently disappearing and reappearing bass, though: probably the contacts are OK. Inspect (and if possible, re-make) solder joints in this part of the circuit - you may have a hidden dry joint somewhere. Then old electrolytic capacitors, especially tantalum ones, are sources of trouble.
Of course if the amp has been in a house that's been hit by lightning, or where an arc welder has been used regularly, then the possibilities widen.
What I mean is something that would help me to take a problem like "the bass keeps popping out and back in again in the left channel" and make a logical decision about whether to look first at the output transistors, amplifier bias current, some capacitors somewhere, the volume pot, quality of contacts for the input or output connection, or something else entirely.
I'm not able to watch a video right now - does the "What Goes Wrong?" part of this go there? Is there a transcript or a source article?