Do my ears deceive me??

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.   

once they're fixed... THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR SPEAKERS...!   

You have good gear that you love.  Keep it, cherish it, nurture it.

Be happy you have a sound that's great for your ears. 

I'm right with you: I recently did some auditioning and nothing sounded more appealing to me than what I already had!  Save the money.  Don't give in to upgrade-itis for no other reason than you have money in your pocket!  Be careful of watching reviews and even going on this forum... those are the seeds of discontent, and many on here just like to think spending more gets you more, and that's simply not the case, especially when you already have good stuff that you like.  Getting new stuff tends to lead to further discontent and then chasing other new stuff, forever and ever amen.  

Invest that $6000 into mutual funds, some no load total stock index fund , and let it ride and down the road you'll be glad you did.