Something's not right. I had both of those speakers and if the bass is better on the B&W's, you probably have an issue somewhere in the system. Since there can be any number of reasons for the poor performance, here's 3 links to the best Vandersteen setup instructions available. To go back and forth trying to diagnose your system may take a considerable amount time. If you go through this info and still have a problem, it will be much easier to help you because you'll have already eliminated many potential problems.
http://vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ_2_rl.pdf
http://vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ_8r.pdf
http://vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ13_Proof.pdf