Okay so....after many years of owning my 2006 Sports Edition the stock 8 inch sub finally blew. So I set out to replace it and also upgrade my stereo HU and make it all work with my JBL Synthesis Amp and speakers.

Everything for the most part went smoothly, here's a breakdown of my equipment first of all:

1x - JL Audio XD300/1v2 amp, puts out 200 watts RMS at 4ohms
1x - CDT Audio 8 inch sub, 200 watts RMS/400 watts max - DVC 2ohm, wired for a 4 ohm load from the JL audio amp
1x - JVC KW-855BW headunit with wireless android auto and 5v pre outs
1x - Maestro RR (so I can get some nice info on my car + use the JBL factory amp and steering wheel controls)
1x - Maestro RR T01 wiring harness
1x - KnuKonceptz 4gauge wiring kit with 8 gauge speaker wire


Okay a few things I'm having challenges with:
- the speakers sound thin. I came across a comment in some forum regarding our 4th gen 4runner and if you plan to replace the factory unit, you have to set all levels back to 0 on the EQ and also turn volume up on the unit passed 55 before replacing the factory unit with an aftermarket HU. Apparently the JBL amp is set digitally by the factory unit and setting are retained if you don't adjust them before replacing the factory unit. IS THIS TRUE? Do I need to reinstall my factory HU and flatten out all settings before putting in my aftermarket HU? Seems....dumb...but is it true?

- The Maestro RR device doesn't seem to be giving me any climate information, is this normal for the 4th gen? Is this not a feature the Maestro RR can display?

- I cannot get my Pixel 2 XL to connect wirelessly to the HU for Android Auto. It constantly tells me that the password to connect to the wireless on the JVC HU is incorrect....but it's 12345678....hard to mess that up. Any ideas or anyone with experience with wireless android auto and JVC have any thoughts?

- I found a gain setting in the menus of my JVC HU - the Maestro RR allows me to adjust the gain of the Factory JBL Amp. I have it set to 90 right now...max is 100, but originally it was at 70 and the volume was at near max just to get some good sound. Am I doing it right? I have no idea how to set gain for my factory JBL amp and speakers. It goes in steps of 10....so far at 90...it seems to be working okay...no distortion.