Changelog

2.0.1

25 October 2026macOS only

A macOS fix release. The plugin now tells you when an update is out, and the licence key is easier to enter. Windows stays on 2.0.0.

New

  • An Update available button in the top bar whenever a newer version is out. One click brings you to the download.

Changed

  • The licence key is entered in four boxes. The dashes are added for you, and pasting a whole key fills every box.
  • The tonal balance Reset button now resets only the line selected in the legend, A or B, rather than both.

Fixed

  • Pro Tools could occasionally crash when closing a session.
  • The tonal balance curve for B could go flat, saying "Connected, but no audio detected", and stay that way through restarts.
  • Reconnecting audio is more reliable. It could wrongly report that the audio helper could not stop.

2.0.0

29 September 2026

More places to find a reference, more ways to hear it. Search Apple Music, YouTube and TIDAL as well as Spotify, save songs, loop a whole track, and preview your mix through streaming codecs.

New

  • Native AAX for Pro Tools on Windows, joining macOS. No wrapper and no separate iLok licence needed. Not yet tested in Pro Tools on Windows, though it should work fine; the macOS AAX is tested and confirmed.
  • Search Apple Music, YouTube and TIDAL from inside the plugin, as well as Spotify. Click the service logo to switch between the services you have enabled.
  • Saved songs. Heart a search result to keep it, then cue it again from the heart button - or press Save while a reference is playing.
  • Full-song loop, alongside the section loop. Right-click the section loop to type exact start and end times.
  • Streaming codec preview. The ear button plays your mix through a streaming-quality codec, chosen from a dropdown, so you can hear how it holds up after compression.
  • A loudness panel comparing A and B's loudness, peaks and range, with each side paused or reset on its own.
  • Guided tutorials: a short tour in the free version and a full one when licensed. Replay either from Settings.

Changed

  • Auto gain match is rebuilt, and far more reliable and accurate. It listens for as long as the level needs, and says so when it can only get close.
  • Resetting the tonal comparison now resets A and B together.
  • A new interface and design. A/B is now a single button that toggles, so you can switch faster without moving the mouse between two.
  • Your licence is checked quietly in the background and keeps working for up to 72 hours offline.
  • On macOS, activating a licence asks for audio access straight away, once, instead of repeatedly.

Fixed

  • Searching and picking a result now reliably starts that exact song, and the streaming app stays behind your DAW instead of jumping to the front.
  • Saved songs match correctly when a streaming service lists the artists differently.
  • Looping in a browser could resume a different app at the end of the song.

1.2.1

22 September 2026macOS only

Native Pro Tools support. The Mac installer now includes AAX alongside AU and VST3. Windows remains on v1.2.0 with VST3; native Windows AAX is not available yet.

New

  • Native AAX for Pro Tools on macOS, signed with PACE. No wrapper or separate Stream AB iLok licence is required; your existing Stream AB licence works as before.

Changed

  • The Mac installer includes AU, VST3 and AAX and is Apple-signed and notarized.
  • The version label in settings now reads v1.2.1.

1.2.0

24 August 2026

Measurement. Stream AB now shows how loud each side is, how they compare across the spectrum, and can level-match them for you.

New

  • Loudness metering on both sides, to the broadcast standard (ITU-R BS.1770). Your mix is measured before the gain trim, so the figure describes the mix itself.
  • The reference is measured for real: a small bundled helper listens to what your computer is playing and measures it with the same code as your mix.
  • Click the loudness readout to cycle it through momentary, short term and integrated.
  • A tonal comparison panel on each side - a fine curve or four broad bands, with the other side ghosted behind, so A and B sit on one plot.
  • Hover the curve to name the frequency under the cursor; a reset button restarts the average.
  • Auto gain match. One button listens to both sides and slides your gain to match - about eight seconds, ending on your mix.
  • A GUI scale picker in the settings sheet: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large.

Changed

  • Published by Matchbox Plugins. That is the manufacturer name your DAW now shows.
  • The free version now opens the paid panels behind a padlock instead of refusing, so you can see what is there.
  • The meters move like DAW meters instead of jumping between readings.
  • The A/B control is now a two-up switch, and the panel buttons have moved into the gutter beside the band letter.
  • Native tooltips removed - they drew in the wrong place and could not be styled.

Fixed

  • Track titles with accents or non-Latin characters now display correctly.
  • Resizing the plugin window no longer stutters the animation.
  • Windows: the gain slider landed in the wrong place at every size but Medium.
  • Windows: hairlines and rounded corners now scale with the interface instead of disappearing.
  • Windows: picking a search result navigated Spotify to the track but did not start it.

1.1.2

20 August 2026Windows only

One Windows fix: the plugin opening as a browser error page.

Fixed

  • Some Windows machines showed a browser error about “juce.backend” instead of the plugin: the browser view was silently falling back to the legacy Internet Explorer control. It now gets its own writable profile, the installer checks for WebView2, and a missing runtime gets a plain message instead of a browser error.

1.1.1

16 August 2026Windows only

A re-ship with no changes, to answer a Windows install report.

Changed

  • No functional change. The version number moved so the two builds could be told apart.

1.1.0

12 August 2026

The free version.

New

  • A free version that does not expire: A/B switching, play/pause and the gain trim - no account, no key.
  • Paid controls stay on screen and flash a padlock when clicked, so it is clear what is there.

Changed

  • An unlicensed plugin used to do nothing until a key was entered. Now it works out of the installer.

1.0.0

7 August 2026

First release.

New

  • A/B switching between your mix and whatever is playing on your computer, as a real plugin parameter.
  • A gain trim for level matching by hand.
  • Play, pause, skip and scrub the reference from inside the plugin.
  • Spotify search from inside the plugin, with a strip of recent references.
  • Title, artist and artwork for what is playing, and loop points on the scrub bar.