Rowland versus ARC

Aeris direct to amp pretty stunning. I don't want to start an ARC flame but I've been to JRDG's place of business and strongly believe that he puts vastly more of everything into his products than ARC. His build quality is second to none with pride of ownership very high. 
That said I am very familiar with his gear and the Corus was not as transparent or exciting as the Aeris direct. What pre would work I can not say. I do think you'd have to try ARC. i'm sure it sounds very good.
My beef was that the Ref 3 that I once owned was basically an empty box. Regardless of sound quality the product was built to a price point without unique craftmanship. i think it not unreasonable to expect superb aesthetics given the price of high end gear. The argument that the box is pedestrian in order to enhance the insides is total BS. Audiophiles deserve both. However just an opinion from a very long term high end guy.

ricred1, My friend owns the Audio Research L28 line stage preamp and likes it very much.   Please see:

http://www.audioresearch.com/en-us/products/preamplifiers/ls28

I have no experience with Jeff Rowland or Audio Research.  If possible, I suggest you demo the ARC L28 preamp in your system and see how it sounds compared to the Rowland.    Based on what I have read, I probably would stay with the Jeff Rowland equipment but you need to make this decision based on what you hear.

4425,
I tried the Aeris direct and preferred the sound with the Corus. I sold my Aeris DAC to replace it with the Chord Dave DAC. My plans are to go from the Dave direct into my Rowland 625 S2 amplifier. Just in case I don't like it direct, I'm looking for options to replace my Rowland Corus preamp. 

i just preferred what i perceived as more transparency/clarity going direct. however the chorus is a very sweet machine and i could easily see someone preferring it. also i don't like not having the famous rowland volume knob and balance control. FWIW

@roxy1927 

 +1 for ARC LS28. It's a phenomenal pre and punches way beyond its asking price. 

And if money is no object, I would suggest auditioning the ARC Ref6 as well.