Seeking more 3d imaging, deeper/wider soundstage

All my brain tissue and nerve endings tell me that when I am at a live music venue that I don't see and hear the depth of field that sometimes is played back in my home. With all my latest devices and resonance grounding methods I see and hear a giant sound stage in fact sometimes I am inside the shroud of music. I can see the other side and sometimes I hear a layer of depth but I cannot remember hearing depth at any live event unless I was walking thru an access tunnel or in a seat that I wish I wasn't. Tom

Before you go out and spend $$ on replacing equipment, give some consideration to room treatment. I was going to replace my beloved B&W N804s because they were sounding harsh in my new, but small listening room. It was extremely frustrating since they sounded great in my old, larger room. As a last ditch effort, I figured it coukd be the room itself. So, I called GIK Acoustics and sent them pictures of my room. As it turns out, room reflections were the source of the problem. For a little over $1K, I was able to get great sound and not spend a sh*tload of $$ on new equipment. Treating your room is AS important as the components you use. Trust me on this one.

Room treatment is so hard to get right, and most of the time they are really ugly. But, I think I will try the GIK Acoustics suggestion just to hear what they have to say. Good idea.

enjoy

To everyone: thanks for the posts. And I'd like to note what I've taken from this thread:
room treatments and speaker positioning were mentioned up front, the positioning is something I've toyed with and will continue to toy with, and the room treatments aren't up yet but I'll report back when they are.
Don't discount the equipment suggestions, I've written that I want to try tubes and I cannot do that without some brand knowledge, I am well-researched in the world of solid state, but not tubes. I need manufacturer suggestions that have a record of great 3d sound and reliability.
All of the room treatments and speaker positioning will only get me so far, I know this, and I was able to fix some things with speaker adjustments of scant inches, which surprised me. But I still won't get to audio Nirvana with the Rotel, and maybe not the Halo P3 either. I've had the power amp for 4-5 years and I'm itching for an upgrade. I want to purchase something that will take the sound in the correct direction.
Sheesh this post is getting longer than I thought it would be.
Thanks to Atma Sphere for the phasing thing, I had the system hooked up wrong previously and now I know what was going on.
I'm STILL going to upgrade the amp or the pre or both! Maybe not soon, but it will happen...Thanks again everyone.

Minorl: I think I understand the context of your request for titles of 'reference' recordings but I'd like to offer a slightly different perspective, FWIW. After years in what I would call an 'audiophile bubble,' listening to records that sounded good on my system, I decided to spend time and money on the best pressings of music i liked and wanted to listen to, rather than stuff that 'played the system best.' Granted, not all of these are sonic spectaculars, but, once your system is sorted, room, power, etc. (and it appears you have a pretty good system), so much comes down to the source material. In some cases, it is remasters, but in many, many cases, I'm listening to old records, particularly those made in the 60's and 70's. And, while the results are uneven, because not all of the music I like was well recorded in the first place, I'm really enjoying music, rather than focusing on how the system sounds. I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't include a couple of things (having no idea how the digital releases of these compare), but on vinyl:
Shelby Lynne -Just a Little Lovin' -Chad's re-do, not the standard issue. A sonic confection, thank Phil Ramone.
Janis Ian- Between the Lines- standard issue Columbia from the mid-70's; don't bother with the 180gram reissue- it doesn't sound as good as the record you can find in a bin for 5 bucks;
Hoodoo Man Blues- Chad's 45 cut, particularly "In the Wee Hours." You'll probably smell the cigarette smoke from the club like setting of this classic blues record.
Little Feat, Waiting for Columbus- just find a TML pressing and listen to the side with Dixie Chicken.
I could go on, but you get the idea. None of these are obscure, or particularly expensive on vinyl.