I know that you did say "excluding speakers," but if it was a "rock & roll system" I wanted to put together I think what I would do is try out some of the speakers that the rockers consider to be "rock & roll speakers" (I am not really a rocker, but I was thinking of what I have read about some of the JBLs that are on the market) and then find a tube amp that could drive them hard. I have never had any experience with Mac gear at all, but I have read that the Mac tube amps are known for a "fat warm sound" which might be what you are looking for. And I believe that Mac makes some amps with plenty of wpc. As far as the CDP, I think that is slightly putting the cart before the hores, as I'd think finding a warm and richly colored preamp would be the priority. I would agree with those that have stated that the CDP should be good enough to accurately reproduce the rock & roll you want to hear on the disc itself, however there are CDPs available with selectable filters, so that might be something to consider.
But with all that above typed, I think that a reasonably good system ought to be able to deliver the punch of rock & roll or the intricacies and intimacies of chamber music, and most all of the music in between. But with that last sentence typed, although I think that my system can rock out on the rare occasions that I ask it to, what I consider rocking out might not be warm enough for you to enjoy.