MXL Microphones announced the M3 (standard) and M3-P (female voice) mics. They are featuring a 25 mm gold splattered capsule condenser and a unique FET design with transformer-coupled output (very british inspired…). The polar pattern is cardioid, the s/n ratio is of 76 dB, the dynamic range of 124 dBA SPL and the frequency range from 20 Hz to 23 KHz.

Available now, M3 $349.95, M3-P $369.95.

Today is a good day for all Reason users : Propellerhead announces that Reason is now available as version 3.0.5 Universal Binary for both Intel and PowerPC Macs. This new Intel Mac compatible version that also packs some serious ReWire performance gains for owners of older macs.

This free update is available in the MacMusic software section.

Joemeek opto compressor comes back in a half rack unit. There's balanced and unbalanced I/O, side chain, the usual suspects Input Gain (there's a peak led), Compress (threshold), Slope (ratio), Attack, Release and Make Up Gain. Two series of 8 and 9 LEDs provide gain reduction and level visual feedback. The special features are: Gain Reduction Hold parameter, to suppress noise hiss in quiet parts; Stereo Width, to move from mono to normal stereo.

Already shipping, $199 or £135 or €170.

At AES Paris, See'n'Sound will preview its new See'n'Sound LE application for Macintosh. See'n'Sound LE is a stand-alone version, still under development, based on OpenAL. The original idea here is "remixed" thinking at the way of mind of video games producer and sound designers. The approach to audio sources is not linear and a lot of interactive options are included to meet Augmented Reality application's needs.

Details on the See'n'Sound web site.

Apple today released Final Cut Express HD 3.5, a significant upgrade to its software solution for video enthusiasts, schools and small businesses that runs natively on both Intel-and PowerPC-based Macs. New in Final Cut Express HD 3.5 is Dynamic RT for real-time playback of multi-stream effects, Soundtrack 1.5 with a complete suite of audio production tools and LiveType 2.1 with even more exciting animated text and titles. New features in Soundtrack 1.5 include improved multitrack audio editing and recording tools with tracks, busses, outputs and real-time effects processing.

Final Cut Express HD 3.5 is available now for $299. Owners of previous versions of Final Cut Express can upgrade to Final Cut Express HD 3.5 for $99.