Building a system from scratch (other than speakers)

Arisingsound-

you do not want to make a buying mistake. Take your time and travel to listen to the gear. You are not far from New Orleans- seek out Wilson Audio owned by Doug Wilson. He is a plethora of knowledge and a visit will yield a step in the right direction.

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

Hello,

If you nee to purchase amp, preamp, digital source, and phono source, I agree with one of the posters above, I would look at a integrated amplifier for sure.  I would go heavier duty on the turntable/arm/cartridge than I would on amplification.  Usually the sources and the speakers are the most important.  I would also avoid the oppo CD player.

Not sure if this this enough power, but this integrated from Conrad Johnson ($1350) looks great:  https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-conrad-johnson-cav-50-tube-integrated-amplifier-2016-02-01-in...

This Krell sold state integrated is also worth considering, at the same price, it has significantly more power if your speakers need it.
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/solid-state-krell-kav-400xi-2016-01-25-integrateds-85701-tucson-az

Perhaps a little tube phono pre such as this one $700:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Pro-Ject-Tube-Box-DS?sc=2&category=36638

I would step it up a bit with the table and cartridge.  this $1000 table seems like a pretty solid deal.  Its a higher end table than the one you were looking at, and it even comes with a $450 cartridge, versus some $30 cheap starter.
link:  http://www.needledoctor.com/Pro-Ject-RPM-3-Carbon-Turntable?sc=2&category=352

This one on audiogon also looks interesting:
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/turntables-thorens-td-160-super-package-with-audioquest-pt-5-arm-a...

As for digital, personally, I would advise against a CD player.  The move to hard drive storage, digital player, and DAC is the way to go, and it is the way the industry is moving.  All you need to do is rip all of your CDs to a basic NAS hard drive with your computer.  Rip them in a lossless format such as WAV or AIF, and you will have fully uncompressed CD quality music, and you never have to worry about scratching another CD!  Cambridge makes a player called: Cambridge Audio Azur 851N that sells for about $1700; you may find it used for $1100?  Cambridge also makes a similar unit that is a step down the chain for about $1000. These are players that will access your networked hard drive, organize the music, and play it through its high quality DAC, and output to your amplifier.  For the price, these cambridge units (or similar ones from Marantz and Sony ES) is excellent.  They all have a smart phone / tablet app to control them, which is excellent, and also allow access to streaming services like Tidal.

NAS hard drive $160:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1007531-REG/wd_wdbctl0040hwt_nesn_4tb_my_cloud_drive.html

Amp 1350
Phono Pre $700
Table & Cartridge $1000
Digital $1000
NAS Drive $160
Cables $800

total $5000

Cables are a whole different topic of conversation.  You won't get the best available if you need speaker cables, and 2 pairs of interconnect for $800, but its a good starter budget.  definitely get used.  The cable company has a used section that is great, and of course Audiogon has a ton.  Hope this is helpful!

Good Luck,
Mark

jafant - Actually the day before you recommended him I was researching Rogue Audio products and came across Wilson Audio. I called and told him I would be down Saturday the 13th to check out some gear. Your recommendation cemented it. Down I went and came back with most everything. Blew my budget a bit but think it was well worth it. 

marktomaras - I didn't even think of getting used cables. By the time I read your post I had already purchased. There's always next time!

The verdict: 
I went with the Chronus Magnum II with phono bypass mod. The other amp/preamps I liked but were just stretching my budget too much (which I still busted) were the Rogue separates (new), and a pairing of an (used) Audio Research hybrid preamp (blanking on exact model at the moment) and a Rogue amp from the mid 90's.
For turntable, I went with the Project expression carbon classic DC in mahogany.
For cd, I went with the Cambridge Audio Azur 35IIC. With this I bought a used California Audio Labs Sigma II DAC.
For a line conditioner, I went with a Furman Elite 15 PFI.
For cables I went with Audio Research SGL for speakers. Audio Research LitzLink interconnect (for CD), Audiostream interconnect (for phono), and an Aperture digital cable.
The only thing I am not terribly happy with is the cd player. Sound quality-wise, it is outstanding. With the Cal Labs tube DAC, it sounds very nearly as good as a used Audio Research tube CD player ($7500) they had in the shop. However, and perhaps you can help me with this, it has an audible tick when playing cd's. When the music is up you can't hear it but if the volume is down or when music lulls I can hear it from about 9 feet away in my chair. It is only when the cd is spinning. Is this normal, or is this a defect?
It sounds amazing. Thank you all so much for the help and input. 
I'd love you hear your opinions, especially on cables - as that is the only thing I didn't extensively research. 

Nice job on the amp, that Rogue looks great!  I still say kill off the CD player.  Rip your CDs, play them through a player such as the Bluesound Node and feed that to your great DAC.  That will eliminate the CD tick.  You ought to be able to get a refund if there is a tick.  Not only that, but you will be able to stream Tidal, and even purchase high res music from places like HD Tracks.  I couldn't imagine using a CD player anymore.

You need to talk to your dealer re the tick. This should not occur. After all you seemed to have purchased an entire system from Wilson so should be accommodated. As one who has both computer based and disc based digital front ends, I understand the desire to sometimes just spin a disc.