Building a system from scratch (other than speakers)

OP-

you are off to a nice start. Seek out ML dealers/retailers to determine the kind of gear that sounds appropriate w/ those speakers.

Do not forget the most important aspect, cables/power cords!
Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

The gear available now is quite different than even five years ago. There are a lot more "integrated" options, such as integrated preamp with DAC, DAC with preamp (there is a difference), even some integrated CD players with preamp function. 

Servers are a serious option and should not be overlooked. OTOH, you can use a computer such as a Mac Mini, as I do, and use a form of integrated to achieve your goal. 

Lot's of options. Do not buy hastily.  :)

Martin Logan electrostats have a pretty wicked impedance curve, so weather you chose tubes of SS get adequate power around 100 watts. I have Martin Logan Summits and have used both tubes and SS and they both sounded great just different.

Thank you all for the advice so far. To clarify a little bit:

simao - I live in central Mississippi, so high-end audio stores and in-home demos don't really exist here. The company that sold me the Martin Logans went out of business. I do have an audio consultant that helped me with home theater but he only deals in Mcintosh and Rotel and has no inventory/sound room.

adg101 - I was trying to be all-in around $5K but can stretch that some I need to. 

mesch - honestly, I don't know what the partition will be. I have a fair amount of vinyl and far more cd's. I'm sure I will lean more towards one than the other after I build the system and have some time with it. I mostly listen to classic rock (think grateful dead to led zeppelin), some newer rock/alternative leaning towards more acoustic (think nirvana unplugged to dave matthews/tim reynolds), and some classical, jazz, and blues. Sorry I'm not more help on the partition, that's why I was leaning towards the relatively cheaper turntable. 

jafant - thank you! yes, will have to start a new thread for cable/cord recommendations when I get components figured out.

douglas_schroeder - yes, trying not to be hasty and finding that very difficult! I had an Emotiva xsp1 & xpa2 in my amazon cart the other day just because I was being impatient and wanted to get going - decided to try to be strong and seek professional help i.e. this forum. When you say server/mac mini, are you meaning storing some form of uncompressed audio there to play through the system?

 

yes, trying not to be hasty and finding that very difficult! I had an Emotiva xsp1 & xpa2 in my amazon cart the other day just because I was being impatient and wanted to get going - decided to try to be strong and seek professional help i.e. this forum. 

You will find that patience is a virtue, both as a buyer, and as a seller.
Those in a hurry rarely get a good deal, unless they know the market very well.