Seems there hasn't been much talk around here about this plugin lately, so I thought I'd mention that Arousor has been officially released (as of last month) and is or soon will be available from resellers like JRRshop and PluginDiscounts. JRR has it for $299 but their usual coupons aren't working yet, so it may pay to wait until more shops are stocking it to get the best deal.
If you've already bought or demoed it, you are probably aware that it's Empirical Labs' (of Distressor and Fatso fame) first plugin, and it does not disappoint. In my view, it's something of a breakthrough in compression and saturation -- the ease with which it firmly controls even the most difficult signals is unmatched IME. That elusive in-your-face sound is right there. And the saturation circuit also delivers a sound that is difficult at best to replicate with other tools. Snares pop like a gunshot, bass is solid and tight, and vocals are radio-ready. All with a minimum of fuss, and surprisingly low CPU hit. A winner all around!
Yes, it's expensive, but it will likely replace most of what already resides in your compression plugin folder. A must-try, and tremendous achievement for Dave Derr and his team.
Cheers,
Eddie