Stereo Tool

Output clips because it's about 18dB louder than input - even if everything is turned off individually,
ak. not in bypass mode.

makes it impossible to use the enhancement features/effects alone without agc and/or processing

We have the latest version, but this has been like this in all previous version we have used.

Side note:
I know a feature similar to this has been requested in the forum,
but having a block diagram of the audio chain that can be limited to active components,
would really help in diagnosing problems like this.
It's really hard and frustrating to be running around all the menus, wondering what is affecting the audio.
There is no oversight of what components are affecting the audio, if any in our case.
I can't help but wonder if there is an old component that has be depreciated, still running in the background
with no menu associated to it, causing issues like this.

Let's see if I understand correctly:
With bypass on, everything is fine? But when you turn off bypass (enabling any active filters), the output is suddenly much louder?

That would eliminate sound card settings (like input gain).

Have you already found the overview page? It's under the little meter symbol (top left, between the home button and back/forward arrows) and should show meters for all active filters.

Also useful: the "Processing overview..." on the main page for "Processing" would show you everything that's on or off.

Hi. While on the Processing main page, make sure to expand the Levels cell and see if anything is set above 0db. This cell was removed from the standard "Home page" quick-adjust and only exists on the "Processing page" quick-adjust, like the Processing Overview menu TJ mentioned.

Have you found what it is? I expect it to be "Pre Amplication", which is found where MrKlorox said.