Ben,

Did you ever get an answer to this?

Frankly, it’s been months since I paid any attention to Garritan. I suspect the same is true for MakeMusic, unfortunately.

The only replies I've had are boilerplate "we remain committed to the platform"...

But inaction speaks louder than words. 

It would be nice if they just fixed the version disparity between Windows and Macs for ARIA Player, as it makes sharing Playback templates in Dorico awkward. As well as the lack of multi-output VST3 plug-ins on Windows. 

I still enjoy Garritan libraries for a number of reasons.

If they'd at least fix the VST3 version of Aria for Windows, the libraries would remain viable for many years to come.

Checking product release dates, I am confused about Garritan CFX Apple Silicon compatibility. I am aware that the CFX app is still Rosetta 2, but I read somewhere that Aria was Apple Silicon native - yet the newest date on the player is 10/28/2019, a few weeks before the first M1 Mac was released. Is there a newer Aria version that I am missing?

The ARIA Player (standalone app, VSTs, Audio Units, AAX plug-ins) has been upgraded to run natively on Apple Silicon, but the CFX app (and the CFX Lite app) have not been. 

You can download the Apple Silicon version of ARIA Player from this site (version 2.026); or it comes with the last version of Finale.

In the event that Apple removes Rosetta from the OS, then you can still load the CFX instruments into the ARIA application and use it in exactly the same way as the CFX app. 

What Ben says about 2.026. Someone sent me a Finale 25 choral score with a CFX piano last week. Though I had to change fonts to read it in 27, the piano played perfectly.

I don’t use my Garritan libraries much anymore but it’s important that I have them for such uses as this.

Thank you Ben and Mike. I'll look for ARIA v2.026 on the site. The official download page still shows an older version but I recall seeing the latest one on a support page. Also, I DL'd but discarded an updated CFX installer that I think is a set of sample updates?

Just to make sure, my goal is to be run CFX (via ARIA) in Pro Tools AAX on a Studio M2 Max natively. ARIA does not offer all the CFX app features but I'm not aware of anything important missing. 

The 2.026 download is here:

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/12106402523287-ARIA-Player-v2-026-Installer-Apple-Silicon-Native

This includes the native AAX plug-in. I'm fairly sure all the controls are available, no matter what you use.

Got it, thank you Ben.

To install Garritan CFX Grand on my Studio M2 Max, can someone please advise the best procedure? After I install Aria Player v2.026, must I re-install the CFX library from my product USB drive then move it, or is it possible to manually copy from my previous installation onto a dedicated sample library SSD, then point to it from Aria player?

I assume that CFX still requires Aria for native operation (versus running the app directly via Rosetta). Thanks again.

If you don't already have CFX installed on your Mac, then yes, you'll need to install it! ;-) If it's already there, then installing a new version of ARIA Player won't (shouldn't) break anything. 

The CFX app is Intel only, and I doubt at this stage we'll be getting a new build. Note that Apple is scheduled to remove Rosetta from the OS in Autumn 2026, in the OS after Tahoe.

You can use CFX from the standard ARIA Player, either app or as a VST/AU plug-in.

I would also recommend that everyone installs Plogue's Sforzando player, which updates the ARIA engine (used by ARIA Player) to 1.980. This fixes problems with version number madness, and is also the only update we're likely to see. If ARIA Player stops working for any reason, then Garritan libraries will still work in Sforzando.