Help: DSOTM Sounds better on CD than LP


I was listening to Dark Side of the Moon the other day on CD thoroughly enjoying myself when I remembered that I had the LP of this album. I dug through my collection with great anticipation of the joy that I would soon know. I put on the LP and something horrible happened. Gasp…..The soundstage collapsed in on itself and the magic or the album was lost. As you all know CD should never sound better than analog so I am now faced with the dilemma of how to bring balance back to the universe.

I would like to upgrade both my cartridge and phono amp. I am willing to spend up to about $3k for the pair but am willing to move up or down a bit from there based on significant improvements in sound or a lack thereof. The cartridge will be new and the phono will be used. I have thoroughly searched the forum and have a few carts in mind but would like to get some informed opinions from you all on what combination would best suit me.

My current setup is as follows,
Speaker: Thiel 3.6
Amp: Parasound HCA-3500
Pre: Classe Cp-50
Digital: Esoteric X-03
Table: Spacedeck
Arm: Space Arm (The carbon fiber one)
Cartridge: Nottingham Tracer 1
Phono: Grado PH-1
System

Let me try to give a little description about what performance aspects I am looking for. I have had both tubes and solid state in my system before and I am open to either. I have found that I prefer my music to be coming from a dark abyss rather than from a live silence. My current setup has great tonality and is very listenable but lacks in absolute resolution, detail and staging. I would like more of each of these. It also works great for singe instruments and solos but when the whole band comes in it seems to get confused about where to place the instruments and how to distinguish between them.

Thanks in advance for helping guys.
cadence151
Could be the LP as suggested. I would also check your setup. Double check that the platter is level, check your tracking force, If you have an alignment gauge make sure the stylus is sitting in the center of the groove. Then I would adjust your VTA. If set too high the bass is too boomy and the soundstage collapses. If too low, the bass is off and highs are accentuated. Soundstage is again off. So obviously setup and alignment are crucial. Also the table needs to be on something really solidly isolated from the room.

A cartridge has to be "warmed up" before it sounds its best. In my experience, a full record front and back needs to be played before you really hear what the cartridge is capable of.

Your equipment is just fine. That table, arm, cartridge and phono stage should be able to make mince meat out of any digital playback system regardless of price. I highly suspect you have setup/alignment issues or as headsnappin suggested just a bad LP.

I would be in no big hurry to get rid of everything and start spending dough until you have tweaked, isolated, listened and tried different records.