Anyone using McIntosh with Vandersteen Quatros

Ive never had your speakers but own a Mac amp.I borrowed some anti-cables once just out of curiousity ,IMO straight wire from Lowes worked out about the same.So I would suggest dumping those and going with a better quality cable for starters..As far as bass traps I made my own,lots of DIY info on the net and youll save big $$$ going that route/cash saved will pay for those better cables.

Although I've owned both brands I can't comment on this combo. But if you're looking for bass traps, FWIW, I've had good luck with these:

GIK Tri-traps

They're effective, relatively cheap, and don't look awful.

I had a hell of a time getting the Quatro's tilt right on my thick carpet. I should probably describe my current procedure using a laser level and a tape measure on my system page.

It usually takes me about 90 minutes to do the bass EQ for both speakers. The main difficulty is that the EQ bands interact.

I've found toe-in to be very important. Once tilt is correct, if the speakers sound too polite, try some toe-in. Too much and the lower midrange becomes too aggressive.

Fogwell123, I think you have excellent equipment that just needs a bity of tweaking within the room perhaps, and bass traps certainly made an improvement in my room. I would look to those things before having any concern between the amp and speakers - you have a very solid foundation for a great sounding system.

Macs tend to be on the warmer side of neutral as do the Vandersteens. That may make too much warmth for me.