Stereo Tool

Thanks for this - sounds like good for CHR station. I loaded the preset, but I feel like it's so bass-heavy that it completely muddies up the character of the signal. The previous version felt a lot more controlled.

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If the music is the heartbeat of a radio station, imaging is its soul.

Thank you for letting me know. I absolutely agree the changes made things worse. I removed it for now. I'll post an update if I make any real improvements.

Hi Sean!

It's me again (instyleradio) — remember I posted back in
December 2024 about your preset? I've been following this
thread the whole time, watched every update up to v1.30 AIR
and the v1.35 story.

I'm a huge fan of the PulsRadio sound and I'm still looking
for ways to get as close as possible to their on-air signal.
Your v1.28 preset became a fantastic starting point — it's the
best attempt at recreating that "French" character I've ever
heard. But there are still noticeable differences between v1.28
and live PulsRadio, and I keep experimenting to close the gap.

After a lot of A/B comparison with direct PulsRadio recordings,
I made 6 small tweaks that, to my ears, brought the sound
noticeably closer to the original:

1. Hard limit output: 1.000 → 0.944
For final peak control

2. Delossifier Enabled: 0 → 1
Some of my sources are MP3 320 — wanted to restore spectral
holes before processing

3. Pre Compressor Drive: 5.623 → 6.00
A bit more AGC density on quieter/dynamic tracks
(early 2000s trance, for example)

4. Multiband Compressor 3 Drive: 1.778 → 2.05
This is the main "seasoning" — noticeably more density
in the mids, feels closer to PulsRadio on car audio

5-6. True Bass Volume 1 and 2: 0.20 → 0.22
Very gentle low-end boost — translates better to smaller
speakers, exactly what you described in the original notes

It does sound closer to Puls now, especially in the car, but
the reference "magic" of the live signal still slips away.
That's why I'd really love to hear your perspective.

QUESTIONS:
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1. What do you think about these tweaks? Did I push MB3 Drive
(+0.27) and Pre Comp Drive (+0.38) too far? To my ears it
sounds closer to Puls, but I'd love a professional opinion.

2. You mentioned "diminishing returns" at v1.28. In v1.30 AIR,
did you get noticeably closer to the original PulsRadio
sound? And would it be worth porting any of the AIR-version
improvements back into a WEB version for people listening
via streaming/files?

3. The v1.35 experiment (Bass Boost → Bass Clipper) was an
interesting concept. Do you plan to revisit it, or did you
conclude it's a dead end? Maybe with a smaller Drive it
could've worked?

4. The most interesting question to me: in your ears, what's
the main "magic" of the PulsRadio sound? What exactly makes
their signal recognizable from the first seconds? If you
had to point to 1-2 key modules in your preset that deliver
that character — which ones would they be?

5. And one more — there's still an audible gap between v1.28
and the actual PulsRadio broadcast. In your opinion, what's
the hardest part to reproduce in ST? Is it the compression
density, the specific behavior of the IDT clipper, or maybe
something else that's just hard to capture without the
original hardware?

Huge thanks for this preset — it really lets me listen to my
favorite music with that "French" flavor. And massive respect
for keeping this thread alive for almost 2 years and continuing
to refine it.

Best regards,
instyleradio