BIAS has announced that Peak LE 6 - the 'light' edition of Peak Pro, the audio editing, processing and mastering application for Mac - is now shipping. Last month, BIAS released version 6 of Peak Pro and Peak Pro XT, the professional edition and an Extended Technology edition that includes Peak Pro and 8 plug-ins for mastering, restoration and sound design. Today's announcement of the availability of Peak LE brings the entire line of Peak editions to version 6.
"Peak LE has always been a favorite choice among consumers, hobbyists and entry-level users looking for affordable, easy-to-use, yet professional-quality audio editing on the Mac," said Christine Berkley, VP and CMO of BIAS, Inc. "The new features and interface enhancements in version 6 are welcome additions for existing users, and offer new users even more reasons to make Peak LE their editor-or-choice for any project that requires audio on the Mac."
Podcasting, DSP, and Playlist Features
A number of new features and enhancements are included in Peak LE 6. Peak LE now offers the ability to author and upload audio podcasts directly - without requiring an additional application. Additionally, a new DSP feature, Voiceover Ducking, automatically lowers the music during a voiceover. Other new DSP features include Change Duration Options for optimization for vocal and musical content, and Mono-to-Stereo/Stereo-to-Mono conversion. The Peak LE Playlist has been improved in version 6 with the inclusion of an advanced PQ sheet/text export feature, which creates custom Playlist reports that include durations, index points, CD-TEXT info, and notes. The reports can be printed, saved to PDF or exported as a tab delimited file.
iTunes Integration, Plug-ins, Recording, and File Format Support
With Peak LE 6, users can quickly export audio documents or entire playlists into iTunes. Version 6 now supports three simultaneous AU/VST plug-ins (version 5 was limited to one at a time). Also included is a Record Timer that automatically automates record stop time and a Record Notepad for entering marker cues during recording. MP2 and FLAC support have been added. Finally, read/write metadata for most major file types - including Broadcast WAVE - has been added.
User Interface Improvements
Peak LE 6 sports a sleek, new user interface with magnetic windows that snap together for screen management. Additionally, high-resolution, logarithmic-scale meters with the ability to meter signals before or after the master output slider have been added.
Peak LE Production Pack DVD
Included with Peak LE and select upgrades is the Peak LE Production Pack DVD - a powerful collection of audio plug-ins, utilities, audio content and more valued at over $100. Highlights from the Peak LE Production Pack include: SFX Machine LT - 21 real-time special effects for creative sound design; Ambrosia's WireTap Pro - records system and internet audio streams directly with no loss of quality; a content limited edition of AMG's "ONE" sample loop player; 6 month membership for Broadjam.com (online music promotional tools); 1 GB of audio samples, loops, special effects and production elements from Sound Ideas, PowerFX, Hollywood Edge, Frank Serafine, and ShortWave Recording SFX, plus additional audio utilities.
Pricing and Availability
Peak LE 6 is available now though the authorized network of BIAS dealers and distributors. New retail copies have a suggested retail price of USD $129.00 and upgrades from previous versions of Peak LE, and crossgrades from other editions of Peak are also available. BIAS is also offering special crossgrades from previous versions of Peak LE, DV and Express to Peak Pro 6 and Peak Pro XT 6.
For upgrade/crossgrade pricing, additional information and free downloadable trial versions, visit the BIAS Website.
