NAMM 2006 Winter Show: Ableton announced the imminent release of Live 5.2 and the release of Live 6 in Q3. Both releases leverage new processor technologies to provide Live users with significant gains in audio performance (such as the capacity to simultaneously run more tracks, virtual instruments, and effects).

Live 5.2 brings native support for Apple’s new Intel-Macs. Live 5.2 will be in beta as soon as the new Intel Core Duo-equipped MacBook Pro is available and is expected to be released in February. Early MacBook Pro buyers will be able to run Live immediately and enjoy substantially higher audio performance than on today’s fastest Mac notebook.

Live 6, scheduled for release in Q3, will bring—among other features yet to be disclosed—support for multicore/multiprocessor architectures, to the benefit of both Windows and Mac OS users. This feature will bring users of Intel Core Duo-equipped Macs another large increase in audio performance, and Windows users will be able to fully exploit the speedup potential of the various available multicore/multiprocessor hardware solutions the market offers.

Ableton CEO Gerhard Behles says: “One of our development goals for 2006 is to make Live faster. On the Mac side, this effort coincides nicely with the availability of the new Intel-based Macs. We welcome Apple’s announcement with the imminent release of a Live version that supports the new machines. Ableton Live was the first professional audio application to run on OS X and we are happy to be in the vanguard once again.”

Pricing and availability

Live 5.2 is expected to be available, as a download, in February 2006.

Non Intel-Mac users: In addition to the new Intel-Mac support, Live 5.2 will also be released as a free bug-fix update for users running Live 5 on non-Intel Macs or Windows computers.

Intel-Mac users: In light of development costs associated with porting Live to the Intel-Mac platform, users wishing to take advantage of the new Intel-Mac support can purchase a new serial number for 49 USD/39 EUR. This additional fee will be fully refunded to those customers who buy the Live 6 upgrade, which is scheduled for release in Q3. Complete information on Live 6’s specs, availability, and pricing will be made available this summer.

Accommodation for recent buyers of Live 5: Users that purchased Live after Steve Jobs announced the release of the new Intel-Macs (January 10, 2006) will receive the Intel-Mac support at no additional charge.

More information is available at the Ableton site.