Conrad Johnson ET-3 line stage pre-amp or BAT VK31SE pre-amp??

I  currently have a Balanced Audio Technology VK-200 amp. The amp sounds very good hooked up to the pre-out of a Rogue hybrid integrated  Wanting to push the envelope a bit further, I am carefully looking for a pre-amp that is going to  have a synergy or compatibility  with  the BAT amp. 

There is a BAT VK31SE  for sale which was upgraded in 2003 from a BAT VK30.  I have also seen on AG a Conrad Johnson 18LS (solid state)  pre-amp line stage, It looks very clean and has a remote, but  has only  RCA inputs and outputs, but no XLR connections. (BTW, the BAT units is offered with remote control and a phono stage, and is fully balanced. I operate VK-200 amp using the pre-out of the Rogue integrated by using XLR (male) to RCA made by Signal Audio)

I  read a review in Hi-FI+  of the CJ- ET-3 which offered high praise for the pre-amp's sound quality across the board  The reviewer Alan Sircom's  reviews often seem (to me )overly  enthusiastic  Nevertheless, I called CJ and they still have parts of the ET3, and claimed that CJ considered it  one of their finest SS pre-amps.

Let me cut the issue, the BAT VK-31SE currently on sale has some front panel "glitches" which  makes it  operation almost totally  dependent on its remote.  This  may be consequence of two owners. I don't know. However, I don't want down the line  to ship the unit 3000 miles back to BAT for repair  

  Initially, It may seen like a "no brainer"  to  choose the BAT over the CJ because it is the same brand as the amp. However, the CJ is less money and probably  I could negotiate the price  $300 less. Obviously, I would need to buy a outboard phono stage equivalent to the  phono stage of the Rogue integrated amp.

Therefore, has anyone had experience with the CJ ET3 pre-amp??. If so, is it as good as claimed.  BTW, the CJ-ET-3 SE  is "supposedly" better sounding than original ET-3.   Jeff Dorgay reviewed it for Tone magazine. All comments welcomed.      Thank you