Phono Stage, How much do I need to spend, New or used.

No, it's true. That is why I have to sit in the middle of the room. With CD the music fills the whole room, you can even see it going out the door into the rest of the house. Records however barely fill the sweet spot. As best I can tell there is no sound anywhere else. One of the most closely guarded secrets of analog, but now the cat is out of the bag. 

The musical fidelity lx-lps is a terrific mm/mc phono preamp. Comes with both loading and capacitance plugs. Excellent specs as well. I think it is still avail at $499. Still have mine, even though I moved up to a tavish design tubed phono preamp. 

I want to thank everyone for their opinions and recommendations. This thread has been very helpful. Again, Thanks so much.