Coda CP pre-amp vs Rogue Athena Magnum vs ARC LS-12 .Need information

Tim,  Well, I am surely not going to buy a CJ ET2  and have it upgraded  However, there is a few ET2 at r $2000  or under. on AG. I would prefer to stay far under that figure, that is why the Rogue Metis Magnum, and the ARC LS-17 (at $1195) are under consideration

However, as you mentioned The  CJ Premier LS-18 is a serious contender if I can negotiate down the price to $1000---$1100  The model was issue in 2001.  I reread Larry Greenhill from 2002, and in his conclusion he notes a few a caveats about the pre-amp.... He states...... "because the CJ pre-amp are single ended designs, you can't use them to drive amplifiers with balanced inputs, or use balanced interconnects to minimize  hum and noise pickup.....etc."  

I need to call CJ to confirm that, but I am not sure he is right. As mentioned before, I use the pre outs of the Rogue Sphinx integrated, and have a XLR to RCA cable from Signal Audio Cables,  and it all work fine. However, I am not sure how the Rogue hybrid integrated design is "classified".   Single ended??  Also, input impedance and output impedance  seemed to play a major in the sound quality

It seems choosing a different brand (and used)  pre-amp becomes a crap shoot in terms of the final sonic results   The ARC LS-17 was issued about the same time as the CJ,  which really means nothing except that they are older designs in the those companies lineup of pre-amp over the last 15 years.  I think the only reviews I found on the ARC was on the "Audioreview" blog  on which it scored very high  with owners.

Nevertheless, I will carry on with a song in my heart. 

 Tim, 

Yes, it is a tough call, and you offer good common sense advice. I may put this all on the back burner for a bit, because I am taking a short vacation at the end of September, and  would resume the quest when I return

The Muse pre-amp has become a distant possibility for a few reasons which I need not go into.  The low profile of both Muse and Coda concerns me less than not knowing what to expect. The key trigger for me is that what ever I choose advances the sound quality similar to the BAT-VK-200 amp which really opened my eyes about aspects of high end audio I either did not understand or appreciate.

Let me note, that the BAT pre-amps are a given as far as a possible choice. However,   I was hoping to get something lighter in weight and smaller in size, and not dressed in "graveyard black".  I did not talk to CJ today to clarify about the compatibility of their LS-18 pre-amp and the BAT  amp.

One  last point, I was thinking of launching a new thread about asking whether the electronic "design" of a component is still viable after say 15 years, that is, do newer designs necessarily provide better sound quality. I realize and know from experience that speaker design may be hardest to pin down, whereas electronics, and to a lesser degree cables over time "usually" ( I say usually) get better in sound quality incrementally.   I know that the idea of buying some companies "newest" amp, pre-amp, CD player, etc. does not guarantee improved sound quality compared  to either its previous models, or models of  other manufacturer with similar dates of issue.  That is an interesting question!!

Cheers!!