I just updated Audacity 3.6.4 to 3.7.0 by downloading the 3.7.0 x64 Windows executable, run the Audacity x64 EXE and when Audacity started, the Effects plug-ins (Wave Sibilance De-Esser, BBE Sonic Maximzer plug-ins - Sonic Miaximizer and 3 others have their titles disabled and I could not launch these 3rd party VST3 plug-ins. I also installed “Exixite” new plug-in (similar in function to the Sonic Maximizer plug-in) and “Exixite” is also disabled. The last time I used Audacity, these plug-ins were usable and I can re-master my WAV files without problem. I already deleted these files: audacity.cfg, pluginregistry.cfg and pluginsettings.cfg as recommended by my Google search and when I restarted Audacity, I still have the same problem where the Effects plug-in names are displayed but disabled and cannot invoke to launch the plug-in pop-up window application. The 3.7.0 audacity also caused a NEW .NET Framework to be installed, so I Restored my Windows 10 Version 22H2 to a prior version (as of October 29, 2024 where audacity 3.6.4 was active) and still the BBE and Waves Plug-ins are listed but disabled. My Windows version is 22H2 (OS Build 19045.5011) with the latest and greatest updates.
Waves doesn’t officially support Audacity (very few commercial plug-ins do). 
I don’t know about BBE. It’s usually hit-or-miss and it may work with some versions of Audacity but not others.
Technically, compatibility it’s up to the plug-in developer.
But I was able to use the plug-ins (Waves and BBE) when 3.6.4 was installed but not in 3.7.0. Audacity scans the Windows C:\ drive where the plug-ins are located, 3.7.0 found it but the title for the BBE and Wave plug-ins are ALL disabled. I installed “Exixite” plug-in (NOT BBE and NOT Waves plug-in) and “Exixite” plug-in title is displayed but also disabled, this is not a vendor problem as even the non-BBE and non-Waves plug-ins are not being enabled to launch the plug-in app pop-up window. I have installed the BBE Sonic Maximizer plug-ins way back in February 16, 2024 and everything works. The Waves Sibilance was installed in July 17, 2024 and also works. These are the dates shown in the WIndows 10 Version 22H2 Control Panel, then when Audacity 3.7.0 was installed and updated 3.6.4, no “Effects” plug-in can be launched.
I was able to fix the problem. I uninstalled Audacity 3.7.0 in Windows 10 Version
22H2 (OS Build 19045.5011). The cause of the problem is that Audacity 3.7.0 is
causing the latest version of the Windows 10 component “Microsoft Visual C++ 2005
Redistributable” and therefore the prior version 8.0.56336 became re-activated. I
performed a complete shutdown of my Win 10 workstation and logged back-in again
and installed Audacity 3.6.1. I opened Audacity 3.6.1 and the Waves and BBE Sonic
Maximaizer VST3 plug-ins were detected.
The bug is caused by a change in the 3.7.0 Windows 10 version of Audacity which
caused the Audacity Installation EXE to have the latest version of the Microsoft
Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable package to be installed causing backward VST3 x64
incompatibility with the the BBE Sonic Sweet Bundle Plugin version 4.60 which are
only available as x64 VST3 plug-ins (There are NO more i586 32-bit versions of the
BBE plug-ins). The Waves De-Esser plug-in (now renamed as Waves Sibilance as the
most current version) is also a VST3 x64 plugin.
I am a retired IT Consultant and my hobby is digitizing my Vynil Record Collection
into 16-bit 44100 Hz CD format.
PLEASE CHECK your 3.7.0 SOURCE Code to see why a “Microsoft Visual C++ 2005
Redistributable” was installed by the Audacity EXE install module. There is NO
option in the 3.7.0 Installation EXE component such as a checkbox to select so that a
NO update of the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable can happen.
I was able to update Audacity 3.6.1 to version 3.7.0 which did not cause the
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable package to be installed. Audacity
3.7.0 x64 still works with the BBE and Waves VST3 x64 plugins.
Therefore, it is NOT Audacity that has the problem but the Microsoft Visual
C++ 2005 Redistributable package which is not backward compatible with the
the prior versions of the Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable package.
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