Stereo Tool

New version coming up. I've added a filter like the bass distortion filter, but now to protect lows against highs (basically it's the same problem).

It's not perfect, but it's definitely better.

Here's how it works:
I 'estimate' how much effect the highs have on the output level of the rest of the audio.
Then I lower the highs clipping level accordingly.

By default, highs are clipped at 100% (higher is useless).
Say I now see that I loose 20% in the lows, I lower the clipping level to 100/1.20 = 83%.

There are 3 new sliders:
- The first controls how much 'volume loss' can be ignored (set it to 0.10 to ignore the first 10%; this reduces the effect of this new filter).
- The 2nd controls how strong the clipping level is dropped. 1 = as in example above, higher is stronger.
- The 3rd slider controls the minimum clipping level. If it would get below this value, it is is kept here.

So in the example above, with 1st slider set to 0.10, 2nd to 1.0:
100 / (1.20 - 0.10) = 100 / 1.10 = 91%.

Version with dynamic S-clipping level, MUCH better 'S' sounds:
Winamp DSP plugin: http://www.stereotool.com/download/dsp_ ... 20-022.exe
Stand alone version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 20-022.exe

I'll post a new version in a moment with a display so you can see when the clipping level is lowered.


Edit: Build started.

BETA620-023:
Better loud 'S' protection. See previous post.

Winamp DSP plugin: http://www.stereotool.com/download/dsp_ ... 20-023.exe
Stand alone version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 20-023.exe
VST version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 20-023.dll
VST version (No SSE2): http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 20-023.dll
Command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 20-023.exe
Linux command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... ETA620-023 NOT AVAILABLE
Linux GUI version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... ETA620-023 NOT AVAILABLE

I'm getting very good results with the following settings:
- First slider: Around 0.05 (below 0.10)
- Second slider: Around 150-200 %
- Third slider: Keep default.

I've moved the original de-esser to the maximum level... Basically turning it (almost) off.

Also found a bug: Declipping filter isn't working anymore. Will fix that ASAP.


CPU load is still a bit higher than before - I'll try to fix that later. Or at least make it possible to turn this new filter off. (For web radio it's less useful anyway).

Site was down whole day, till last half hour. Checking beta ...

BETA620-024:
Declipping (broken in previous version) restored.

Winamp DSP plugin: http://www.stereotool.com/download/dsp_ ... 20-024.exe
Stand alone version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 20-024.exe
VST version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 20-024.dll
VST version (No SSE2): http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 20-024.dll
Command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 20-024.exe
Linux command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... ETA620-024 NOT AVAILABLE
Linux GUI version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... ETA620-024 NOT AVAILABLE

Overigens: De output bar geeft aan hoeveel het clipping-level voor de highs is verlaagd.

Edit: Oops, was chatting with someone in Dutch
Translation: "The output bar shows how much the clipping level for the highs is lowered".

I did some testing with latest beta. S sound is better now. Could you also make this records sound alright from this site
http://ff123.net/samples.html
And then especially the following:
ItCouldBeSweet.flac http://ff123.net/samples/ItCouldBeSweet.flac
TheSource.flac http://ff123.net/samples/TheSource.flac
LisztBMinor.flac http://ff123.net/samples/LisztBMinor.flac
Hongroise.flac http://ff123.net/samples/Hongroise.flac
wait.flac http://ff123.net/samples/wait.flac
drone_short.flac http://ff123.net/samples/drone_short.flac
Enchantment.flac http://ff123.net/samples/Enchantment.flac
Blackwater.flac http://ff123.net/samples/Blackwater.flac
Debussy.flac http://ff123.net/samples/Debussy.flac

And also a great track for testing is this MOSAR - 216 Indian Lake

This song is getting me the most problem with highs: Mario Mathy - Don't Do It

I'm building a new version that gives NEARLY (give or take 0.5 dB) the same protection of lows against loud highs, with far less effect on the clarity of 'S' sounds.

BETA620-025:

The previous version did improve the 'S' sound issue, but in some cases 'S' sounds sounded a bit muffled. (Still, that's far less annoying than having a volume drop of the other frequencies).

Anyway, I've added a new feature to the filter which lets the clipping level be temporarily increased if it has no effect on the output level. This slightly lowers the effectiveness of the filter - because of that I've made the maximum increasing level configurable.

See the new slider 'Vib: Between spike boost' slider.

At 0, the behavior is equal to BETA024.
At its default level (0.5), the clipping level is raised upto 50% (so basically, if the clipping level is determined to be 16384, it can be raised upto 24768).

Hint: It's probably a good idea to set 'S protection - subtract' to 0 now.

Winamp DSP plugin: http://www.stereotool.com/download/dsp_ ... 20-025.exe
Stand alone version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 20-025.exe
VST version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 20-025.dll
VST version (No SSE2): http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 20-025.dll
Command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 20-025.exe
Linux command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... ETA620-025 NOT AVAILABLE
Linux GUI version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... ETA620-025 NOT AVAILABLE