Jules:
If I get a chance later today I will conduct further tests. However I did try using a simple non-convolution reverb (using far less processor power) in the VE orchestral template with similar results. I never attempted to use Ozone 3 instantiated in VE. The fact remains that, when I use Logic as the host rather than VE loaded - - with exactly the same matrices as had been loaded into VE - - + Altiverb + Ozone 3, and I play the same dense score with Finale as the MIDI source I consistently get no artifacts (clicks and pops) during playback, but I get frequent artifacts when I use VE as the source (with only Altiverb instantiated). Logic shows consistently less processor usage even with multiple plugins than VE with only one plugin.
One observation:
Memory management appears to be significantly superior in OS 10.5.1. As I've noted in other postings, the current OSX version of VE has a bug that causes it to launch whenever Finale 2008 is launched. To avoid a crash that sometimes happens if the license checking process occurs during an attempt to launch Finale, I open the VE standalone first. Then launch Finale which as I've said, launches the VE plugin. I then close the VE plugin (which Finale cannot see or use). If I'm running this under OS 10.4.11, it then takes 4-5 minutes before Finale opens (under OS 10.5.1 there is only a short delay). Then I load the orchestral template. When this is done from a cold start or after a restart, the template is shown to occupy 2.2 GB of RAM, but also shows that there are only 1.7 GB of free RAM. The missing free RAM (my G5 is equipped with 7GB) is listed as "inactive." When I do the same thing running under OS 10.5.1, Activity Monitor shows exactly the same orchestral template occupying 1.9 GB of RAM with 3.2 GB of free RAM.
Another issue is the fact that Finale is a processor hog - - using about 80% of one processor (no version of Finale so far is multi-processor aware) during playback of a fairly dense score. The same file (transferred via a MIDI file) to Logic uses approximately 50% less processing power - - even though Logic is running the virtual instruments and managing various sound-processing plugins at the same time, whereas Finale is doing no sound processing, just creating a stream of MIDI playback data. In other words, if Finale were written to be processor efficient and if it were multi-processor aware, the processor overload problems I've described would be less likely. However technically impaired it may be, Finale remains my preferred medium for composing in notation - - perhaps because I've been using it since V.1.5 and am not inclined to spend a lot of time becoming similarly adept with another notation program.
Unfortunately I do not see any reason (I hope I'm wrong!!!) to anticipate that Finale will be re-written any time soon to be more processor efficient or to gain the ability to use multiple processor cores. In other words, the most viable solution under these circumstances would likely be to move to an 8 processor Penryn machine (when they become available) so that Finale can get most of one processor all to itself while the other processors are engaged in other activities. Another solution would be to run Finale on a different machine - - leaving the sound producing machine to do its tasks without the burdens Finale imposes.