Propellerhead has released Reason 10.3, an update to their virtual studio and DAW.

Reason 10.3 is described as a “performance update”, and optimizes how it works with VST plugins.

There’s now a setting in Reason’s audio preference to “Render audio using audio card buffer size setting” that is on by default. This lets your computer handle more VST plugins before experiencing issues (like clicking and popping) on buffer sizes higher than 64 samples.

Depending on the plugins used, the improvements you’ll see can vary a lot. Propellerhead says that they’ve seen we’ve seen improvements from 10% to over 200%, when using a buffer size of 512 samples.

Users should also see performance improvements when using Rack Extensions and internal devices.

Note: Some things might sound different with these rendering changes. When automating or CV controlling parameters in a VST, it will use the same resolution as the buffer size. This is also true for any feedback connection, for example sending a signal out of a device and then back in to the same device.

In Reason 10.2 and earlier, the buffer size was fixed at 64 samples and thus had almost no noticeable delay. Now, with larger buffer sizes you might hear a difference when controlling a VST parameter or hear a delay when creating a feedback loop.

For full compatibility with older songs, you can either bring the buffer size down to 64 samples or untick the new option in the preferences.

The update is a free download. See the Propellerhead site for details.