Do my ears deceive me??

Yep.  I hear ya Tom on the 10%.  Gonna keep demoing and hopefully find something that blows me away.   I've saved a lot of money the last 3 years, partially thanks to covid, so maybe I just have to accept that a 10 to 20 percent improvement is good enough.  Obviously I keep my stuff for the long haul.   $5,000 to $7,000 over a 10 year span could warrant the purchase.  Plus the right brands and models can hold some or a lot of their value. 

            Years ago, I was semi tempted to move up to Focal Electras, and they were a lot cheaper 3 to 8 years ago than they are now.  WIth covid kind of ending, hopefully supply chains will get back to normal.   Had I bought those electras  back then, I could have broke even, or even maybe made a little money.  So I am not averse to going the used route too.   

see if you can find an owner or dealer of Vandersteen speakers

I would say ditch the old speakers and buy something way more expensive

You really shouldn’t need an equalizer, and the McIntosh is doing you no favors given your tastes. I’d first look for a new preamp, which I’d first recommend you look at Anthem.  If you’re using EQ something is likely wrong elsewhere.  That said, I’d say stay with Focal or take a look at Revel.  But, if you change the preamp first I think you’ll be much happier.  The McIntosh is working against you given your tastes and you’re fighting to correct for that mismatch.  That’s not fun and I’d say stop beating your head against the wall.  If you need an AVP I’d highly recommend you look at Anthem, but if you just need a stereo pre Bryston should be high on your list.  Best of luck.

    Heard Vandersteens at Audio Perfection about 20 years ago.   They were good, but didn't really seem to bump on rock and roll.  Maybe they're much better now.   Will check them out.   When I bought my Mcintosh MX 134 in 2003, it was only like $3,300.   Prior to that it was Denon or Yamaha receivers, so to me the Mcintosh was a big step up, and I've loved it ever since.   I do have it setup for 5.1, but my rears are just outdoor Klipsch speakers from a previous house.  I kind of like movies, but not to the degree I did 10 to 20 years ago.   I'm fairly content with just listening to movies in 2 channel, cuz it sounds pretty good.   I have also looked at a new processor and/or receiver with Atmos.  But I doubt I'm gonna do 7 or more channels, as the system is in a bedroom. 

 I'm semi tempted to try an Arcam AVR-20, as they are discounted, and most people say they sound a quite a bit better than Denon/marantz/anthem for music.   But there is also a lot of complaints about buggyness and reliability with them.    A used Mcintosh MX 122 or 123 also piques my interest.  I'm pretty sure I could be happy enough with a receiver/processor if the stereo sound is about equal to my 134.   I most likely will buy either speakers this year, and a receiver/processor next year.   Or vice versa.