Rogue?

The Athena is a fantastic preamp and is probably close to 95%of the Hera .Rogue took their time and I feel it is as good or better than any 10k preamp out there.I had Asthetix Calysto, a CJ premiere 17, Audiovalve ,modwright and the Athena has a rightness to it that being it uses 4 of the 6h30 supertube it is far more linear to start with then any 6922 or any other small signal tube Elna stepped attenuator with the clutch type control is excellent it also has a 5way control to fine tune the gain with 120 variables ,and the Capacitors are my favorites
The Mundorf Supreme from Germany and the seperate power supply it is so dead quiet.Instruments sound like instruments without any bloat and it is very fast
the Bass extention on par with my old Cat signature pre which was excellent probably the best decision I have made in a top end product and U.S made at 50+ lbs.

The Hera is the most current Rogue preamp and as such maybe not too many people own it.At the moment I use the Magnum 99 with great results and planning to upgrade to the Hera when the funds are available.
George

A dealer is going to tell you how great they are. If I were you I would Google it and read as much as I can from users and professional reviewers alike the form my own conclusions. Then again, if they are the latest and greatest,chances are there's not too many out there and not everyone read this forums. Try auditioning with the option to buy if you like the preamp if you don't like it you can return it and all your are losing is the shipping charges.