Stereo Tool

I've added 3 new items to my todo list:

- Check loading and saving of int/float parameters in VST plugin hosts
- Check audio (bass processing) in lower latency modes
- Change 'Allow louder highs' name to avoid problems with older versions, add dB display, and save as real value.

It happens in all presets, even when i press reset.

Ah, I know what's wrong - easy to fix. Will try to fix it tonight.

Edit: Bug #1: De-esser is now always enabled, so also when Loudness is off...
Edit #2: Solved, solution will be available in next beta.

Edit #3:
- Fix De-esser in 512 samples mode ■ DONE
- Disable Very Strict button when Strict is disabled ■ DONE
- Change 'Allow louder highs' name to avoid problems with older versions, add dB display, and save as real value. ■ DONE
- Loading and saving new setting in STS file ■ DONE
- Check audio (bass processing) in lower latency modes
- Check which 'New Loudness bass processing' sliders must be kept, and place them at correct location. ■ DISABLED MOST UNNECESSARY SLIDERS, UPDATED DEFAULTS ACCORDING TO BOJCHA'S AND CHRIS'S FEEDBACK - WAITING FOR COMPLAINTS...

Phoenix, could you update on this? I've done some tests with some test VST hosts that I have installed on my system, but they SEEM to be a bit crappy - that is, I can update settings - also from the host (so even automation is supported) and I see that the host is informed of the changes, but when I reload the host no attempt seems to be made to restore the settings. (Which AFAIK is something that the host should do).

Now I don't know if my host is crappy (very well possible), or this is normal behavior (ie. other VST plugins in other hosts do the same), or there's a bug in Stereo Tool (possibly combined with a crappy VST plugin that doesn't even attempt to do anything).

Anyway, I have too little experience with VST plugins and hosts to know which of these applies. And - I'm just guessing here - I think you do.


Edit: Let me be clearer about my question. If you load Stereo Tool in a VST host, close and then re-open that VST host (such that it automatically reloads the settings from before it was closed, including Stereo Tool), do you get the settings that you had when closing it, or default settings (or something even different)?

Some minor changes (see 2 posts ago).
NO changes in audio processing, except for the 512 sample latency lowpass filter bug.

Sliders that should no longer be needed are disabled.

Winamp DSP plugin: http://www.stereotool.com/download/dsp_ ... 510-66.exe
Stand alone version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 510-66.exe
VST version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 510-66.dll
VST version (No SSE2): http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 510-66.dll
Command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 510-66.exe
Linux command line version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... BETA510-66 (not available)
Linux GUI version: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... BETA510-66 (not available)

Something's fishy here with the Winamp DSP version of beta66. All I get is just 'silence' as long as Flat Frequency Response is enabled in MB, even for inbuilt presets. Tested with 3 DSP hosts other than Winamp. Can someone please confirm the same. Use to work fine with DSP of beta 64...

Hans, I am testing the VST plugin of the new beta. Will reports you my findings no sooner than I am done.

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Negative.
I cannot confirm.
Here everthing is fine with Beta66 (and enabled FFR !).
Works with Winamp 5 and hosted with BA Live.
No problems here !
And it is definetly Beta66, because I patch every .dll's window title bar information (5.02 5.10b66).

But I cannot convince myself to test latest VST with the Acon chainer.
I hope it no longer crashes my whole chain (like all the other Betas do, I have testet).
So, I wait for your VST test Phoenix, before I do my own.
Yes, I am an abject coward !

Damn !
I have just tested Beta66 VST.
It still crashes the Acon chainer !
And in Wavelab 6 first it looks as if it works (not with the Acon chainer, there I host it directly with the internal Wavelab FX slots), but when I enable "Bypass all" inside the Stereo Tool GUI then I get something I would call a metallic sounding machine-gun-feedback-loop (independant of latency settings !).

Sorry, but VST is still buggy.
Maybe Hans should return to the VST code he has used in early Betas (and in 5.02).
Who was this person who asked for this change ?
I don't remember exactly, but the whole change was based on one special software where the old VST code not worked.
But it seems to me, that now it is even worse, because there are many more problems with all kind of other VST hosting audio editors, etc. (problems that did not exist with the old VST code !) !

Thats all right Michi. I don't mind being the guinea pig.

I re-downloaded the Winamp DSP version. It's working fine. Thats surprising actually. So please ignore the previous post.

I've good news for Michi and not so good news for Hans. I am taking the VST standard of Cubase as the reference standard as it's from the makers of VST. Adobe Audition implements the same interface. Things are slightly different for other hosts like Sound Forge, dbPoweramp etc.

Most Audio Editor based VST hosts, during a session store the previously worked with settings untill the application is closed. This holds true for most VST plugins(ones I use extensively are Wave and ozone iZotope, RX). Stereo Tool reverts to defaults each time it's closed and then invoked. Only VST host where ST actually recalls the last worked with settings is dBpoweramp. But thats because dBpoweramp stores all DSP settings used in its settings file and hence cannot be considered modeling the ideal VST interface. Hence, things are pretty much the same and this has been ever since most primitive versions of Stereo Tool VST and has nothing to do with the fact that VST versions post beta7 or 8 are not being hosted in some apps which previously used to.

Now, Michi something to cheer you up. Avoid using a VST->DX adaptor. One of Acon chainer is very buggy as it hosts VST plugins at its discretion. You have not made it clear the reason why you use Stereo Tool VST or DSP for that matter. So I am presuming that its for either listening live to your music files or transcoding audio files after processing them through the ST effects chain.
Lately I tried every possible Winamp and VST hosts I could get hold off. So here are my findings. The best audiophile grade hosting solution is JRiver Media Center. The version 15 of this app hosts DX, VST and Winamp plugins flawlessly. And the audio quality is head and shoulders above Breakaway Live. Reason being all internal piping of audio stream is 64 bit IEEE. YES! Difference is very perceptible while comparing with Breakaway Live when using ASIO.
You can also try foobar with the VST host adaptor or Winamp DSP adaptor. Slightly degraded quality albeit less resource consumption. Another one- xmPlay. Similiar to foobar in audio quality. Thought it appears not to normalize the audio streams after decoding from compressed formats and prior routing to ST VST/DSP.
If you're really finicky about quality settle for nothing less than JRiverMedia center 15. Try it with the Winamp DSP.
Lemme know how it goes.

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Phoenix: I'm going to post a question about this on one of the VST plugin developer forums, to see what I should do to reload the same settings (I've tried Google, but couldn't find anyone else who has the same problem - or actually I could, but that post was 2 years old without a useful answer).

Michi: Problem is indeed still there. I made a change for the program mAirList, in which Stereo Tool stopped responding before. The odd thing is that what I did before broke the VST standard, and what I'm doing now should not... That's why I hesitate to restore the old code, I want to know why some hosts crash or hang.

Oh, that actually makes sense... In Winamp, by default I'm processing in-place, which means that I write the audio back to the memory where I read it from. So in Bypass mode I just do nothing at all, the audio is still where it should be.

In VST, hosts can choose between in-place and out-of-place processing; in the latter case I need to copy the input to the output. Which I don't. Easy to fix.