The ESP Guitar Company

OK, here's the deal. I have two guitars - one is a thousand dollar Strat, the other is a less than $300 M-100 FM. Now, I've been playing for about 24 years, so I am well aware of the differences between single coils and HBs, necks, etc. I have owned more guitars than I can remember, some good and some junk. So here's what I can't figure out - my $279 ESP plays easier and better than my Strat! What gives??? I have had this guitar less than 48 hours and I already know the Strat would go before the LTD. This is hard for me, quite hard, as I am a dedicated and dyed-in-the-wool Fender man. My next question is this: are the higher priced ESPs actually that much better than mine? Do they get better than what I have? This is almost too hard for me to come to grips with.