Have I got the wrong amp? or the wrong speakers?


Hi all, I'm new to the forum and a relative beginner at hifi, so please excuse the (potentially) dumb question.
In homage to my late father, and the basic, budget setup he had when I was a kid, I've recently acquired a vintage AKAI AA-1150 receiver (circa 1979 I think) and paired it with brand new Wharfedale EVO 4.2 large bookcase speakers.

Two problems - 
First, I think the speakers are waaay too sensitive for the amp - turn the volume up to 3 and the room is shaking. Taking the dial to 11 would definitely kill the Wharfedales.  My old speakers (Paradigm Atom) suffer too, but a little less.  Its definitely the amplifier!
Second, the sound is impossibly forward and bright.  Incredibly clear, with amazing detail (from both vinyl & DAC) but really hard on the ears.

Do I need to ditch the nostalgia and get a warmer, 21st Century integrated amplifier?  Or is there some setting I've missed somewhere?

All suggestions welcomed!
tavish
The last thing those wharfedales should be is harsh on the ears....they are wharfedales and are usually a warm speaker. I'd buy the Rogue Sphinx v3 for those.
A friend had the same problem with floor standing Wharfdales using a newer mid-fi Onkyo receiver. Better electronics helped a bit but not much.
From the OP's descrition of the sound he's getting from those speakers perhaps a tube integrated amp would be the way to go.
I agree with most, ditch the receiver get an integrated. Raven Audio, Rogue, Vincent, etc but like MC said anything you go with with will be a huge improvement over that old receiver.

I went with a budget setup myself for my man cave/garage and got the floor standing Wharfdale EVO 4.3 paired with an Arcam SA20.  Cables from Audio Envy.  Its been a great combo and all budget friendly.

Vintage staff is not easy to rely on. I picked up 80s Marantz receiver ones hoping to setup secondary system at my tool room and with a couple of days the rec killed my Yamaha speakers however all of specs was matching. The speakers was relatively cheap and I easily fix them myself (drivers replaced) but since then no vintage staff for me anymore.