Stereo Tool

I think it is basically a good idea at the frayed edge to complete the sound. But I think there's great differences between the compression formats. MP2 has here, in my eyes the most artifacts. that is because the spectral resolution / subdivision is not very good. I think that particularly with mp3 a tough low-cut may not be particularly good, because here tiny details are still present in the higher frequencies. Can you somehow find out which type of compression the music was subjected to?

Yet another question: How do you rate the effort forth to improve the quality of voice on the phone? Can you recognize that it is language, and then add it here sibilance or similar?

Does anybody else notice an odd sounding edgy distortion when using the delossifier / spectral hole filler?
(Absolute highs are not active - noticed while playing audio from YouTube and switching on/off...)

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7262&start=100#p33091

Still have the same problem with the current beta.

I illustrate it with this .WAV:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/4qdax ... _ReMix.zip

It contains the following clips: Original, processed with 7.03, processed with current beta, difference between both clips, processed with current beta without voice protection.



The difference clip shows the added distortions very clearly.

The tops seem to be "flatter" now in the current version (above current beta, below 7.03):

I'm guessing - not sure yet - that what you're hearing and what near05 is hearing is probably the same thing: Not so much the filling of holes, but the filling of the top area. I'll add a setting tomorrow that disables that, that way it still fills the holes but not the top part. That also means that it doesn't repair everything. but that can be the next step if this indeed fixes the issue.

(I haven't tried it on YouTube content yet, but I have noticed it on certain sounds in a 96 kbit/s MP3 file. There the cause was definitely the filling of the top area, which this filter was actually never designed for - Absolute Highs is, but that's a different filter!).

7.85 BETA044

Windows 32 bit:
Windows stand alone: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 85-044.exe
Winamp DSP: http://www.stereotool.com/download/dsp_ ... 85-044.exe
Windows VST 32 bit: http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 85-044.dll

CHANGED:
- Added option to NOT restore highest part of the spectrum.
I'm now considering a completely different reconstruction technique, which I want to try out tomorrow. But for now I expect (?) that the edgy distortion sound should be fixed by this.

OLD CHANGES:
- Simple mode: Natural Dynamics button too small?
- Add OIRT/Polar Stereo ("You probably don't want to use this") warning
- Fixed NAN message caused by Delossifier on startup.
- Fixed crash in 040 stand alone version
- Make Simple mode single overview screen?? - Waiting for feedback, is this usable?
- SPA remove monthly popup
- MP3/MPEG2 input: Added Delossifier Spectral Hole Filler!!! http://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article ... nervt.html
- Fixed crash in Dequantizer caused by the optimizations added in BETA038. So far, didn't see any other issues caused by those optimizations.
- Test "looper" optimization on Raspberry Pi 3 -> No effect
- Command line version doens't like long name (Antenne V. - see mail 2-3-2016 22:24) -> Was already fixed.
- Removed optimization that caused crashes
- Added other optimizations
- Voice protection in classic MB is broken. Check what changed. (Code should not have changed at all). - Hm, more has changed. Check in which version! -> Waiting for reply to question -> Compared again, and the distortion is caused by the singleband compressor that's used afterwards. Which does indeed get a slightly louder input because a (wrong!) filter has been fixed since that version.
- MB: Make Overview window for new Multiband! For main settings. Hide other windows when possible, and also make it for MB1
- Exciter: Improve start of filter (less steep!)
- Fix crash in BETA036.
- Bug in 034 should be fixed again.
- Exciter: Make it possible to choose where in the chain to run it
- Hide Stereo Tool name and THIMEO in help window in specific versions.
- VST plugin level should be ok again
- Did some optimizations for the Raspberry Pi version, not sure yet how much effect they will have (so far only build on Windows).
- Exciter: Make 2 kHz block size configurable, or automatic, or combination. Might work best if it's constant?? --> This should fix the too bright sounds in some cases without introducing distortion in other cases. I hope...
- Exciter: Optimize for LPF setting
- Plugin -> Output level doesn't work in VST version
- MB2: Make Overview window for new Multiband! For main settings.
- Woops, wrong flag set for Exciter, dynamic Squeak mode didn't work. It does now.
- "Input without processing" doesn't work in stand alone version.
- Exciter: Add Volume slider
- Exciter: Add DIFF mode
- Exciter: Try to improve tone behavior (should also reduce whole area around a spike I think - maybe configurable?)
- Add another AM test tone, sawtooth with cut off bottom
- Add 'Forcibly remove' to AM settings? Or is this a problem with the transmitter that the tester on Radioforum uses? -> Regardless, I've added it now.
- Fixed AM sawtooth test tone, adjusted level of other test tones when using AM.
- Fixed bug in HARD LIMIT introduced in BETA027 (caused crashes).
- Added slider to Exciter to choose between a more natural spectrum which however sounds more distorted, vs a very clean sound but with shrill tones in it. Will try to get rid of this slider and automatically choose the correct setting soon!
- Polar stereo: K filter added, but output is not strictly clipped anymore. Waiting for feedback.
- Add AM test tone: Sawtooth with pause at 0, asymmetrical. LPF needed?
- Fixed crackle at startup caused by Ignore high frequencies (even if it was disabled!)
- Loading old preset from before Analog mode was added apparently loads in Analog mode! -> Works now, just no idea why??
- Exciter: Crash should be fixed.
- Exciter: Sometimes you see darker bars in the spectrum, changing the overlap back and forth removes those, so somehow some levels aren't always calculated when a setting is changed.
- Fixed crash when closing
- Exciter: Moved to separate page, for now called Absolute Highs.
- Exciter: Added GUI element to show Absolute Highs effect.
- Exciter: Broken at latency 512
- GUI: Fixed hangups caused by tooltips.
- GUI: Remove dots in changed settings for some buttons on top of the screen.
- Exciter: Made frequency range configurable!!! (Old default numbers were 8000-9000 Hz)
- Blog post pre-processing, MP3 and declipping
- GUI: Added tooltips!
- Added exciter (rest of list removed)
- Added (not yet fully ok) Polar Stereo support for OIRT FM stations.
- Error (crash) on some systems should be solved
- Show something in settings that have been changed (for example a dot next to the name of the setting).
- Add license check function: extern "C" bool stereoTool_IsLicenseValid(gStereoTool* st_instance);
- Make scope skinnable
- Bug: i found one malfunction in the BS412 Section: If your switch off the FM Option and leave the BS412 Limiter in On-Position the Advanced Clipper only works in a reduced way: You can´t change the Clipper drive even if you pull the handle. The BS412 Limiter is greyed out instead so maybe someone doesn´t find the failure. If You switch the BS412 to off everything works fine again! Just a small detail, but maybe someone will have problems… -> I think I have fixed it (but there are a lot of different combinations of settings that can impact the result, I hope I haven't missed any). The next version shouldn't have this problem anymore, also, when BS412 is used I have now disabled the Advanced Clipper Drive slider.
I've been busy hiding a lot more deprecated features (if they are set to their default value). This should make the GUI a bit simpler. Stuff that's now hidden (still there and still functional if you really want to use it):
- "Bass AGC (Old)" panel
- "Classic Multiband Compressor" panel
- "Classic Singleband" panel
- "Pre-limiter" panel (in Advanced Clipper)
- "Leif's clipper efficiency modification" checkbox
- "Composite clipping Strictness (CPU)" checkbox
- Phase rotation: ""At start of processing" checkbox
- AGC "Compatibility & behavior" header
- All Singleband and Multiband "Compressor type" (Analog/Digital) pull-downs
- Multiband and Natural Dynamics "Compatibility mode (bad)" for Flat Frequency Response checkbox
- "Bass protection (Deprecated)" header in Advanced Clipper -> Bass
- "Highs gap protection: *" in Advanced Clipper -> Highs
- "Smooth slope" in Advanced Clipper -> Distortion
- "Upsampled highs clipping (useless)" in Advanced Clipper -> Distortion
- Stokkemask: "Force Stokkemask even if not using Composite Clipping (bad for audio)"
- BS412: ""De-basser non-ITU.1770 compatibility mode (bad)"
- Right clicking now restores default again, mid or double right clicking restores last loaded preset (or startup) value.
Bug: If you use FM and Normal output, with separately processed audio for streaming for Normal output, and for FM output enable pre-emphasis but *not* pre-emphasize output, then Normal output is not processed separately!
- What is the pink line in the BS412 display? Maybe remove it. http://i.imgur.com/70mWvqp.png -> Ah no, it's the adjustment of the compressor thresholds. Needs to be added to Help page.
- BS412 has VERY narrow jump on de-basser from 240 to 250 Hz. (Jump of multiple dB's). -> No, brown line jumps but actual output is smooth, so no problem.
- BS412 bass filter doesn't use ITU1770 as it should but some weird other shape that goes up to about 250 Hz.
- Need to support 2 default values and a RESET TO LAST LOADED VALUE reset option.
- Hide not selected deprecated stuff - partially working!
- Move Copyright stuff etc. also to command line version (maybe just copy it?)

TODO:
- Add Polar stereo viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6233&p=33031#p33031 - Feedback so far is that it works fine
- SPA "This sound is processed by"?
- Simple mode: How to handle clicking on things at bottom?
- Exciter: Try to reduce pre-ringing (maybe by doubling overlap? Or measure on bigger block size, then go back to smaller?)
- Exciter: Add auto-adjust HPF frequency
- Put in Ben Liebrand settings for vinyl cleanup? Asked question on vinyl forum.
- MP3 sandy sound (caused by bad detection?)
- MP3 Propaganda - Duel way too much highs generated on default settings!
- MP3: See discussion with Near05 on the next page. Delossifier highs reconstruction if it's not a gap that needs to be filled sounds much less good than using Absolute Highs there. So stop regenerating top part! (At least add an option for it!)
- License check
- set Encryption : impossible to view or modify all the processing settings
- Preset Demo : an encrypted preset with an audio message and beeps when not registred (same as your plugins)
- Preset Licensing : encrypted preset without beeps unlocked by a license
- Resampler: Predict effect and compensate for that.


LATER:
- Check Dirty Voices bass IMD problem. Maybe also rename to Phat Bass?
- Try adding phase delay compensation
- Also show tooltips for blocks of parameters.
- RDS encoder: Use Mathijs' method with interpolated 0's. Should give a nicer signal! Also I saw a weird jump bug in the raw (unfiltered) RDS output. Shouldn't matter (it gets filtered out) but still better to fix it.
- MB: Add voice volume protection, don't allow mid bands to drop below surrounding (to some extent), protectes voices and it might help to replicate the sound of certain other processors
- Continue with finding parameters to hide
- O skin

Anyone else having troubles with 7.85 BETA044

Windows defender say it's a virus

Categorie: Trojaans paard

Beschrijving: Dit programma is gevaarlijk en het voert opdrachten van een kwaadwillende gebruiker uit.

Aanbevolen actie: Deze software onmiddellijk verwijderen.

Items:
file:C:\Program Files (x86)\Stereo Tool\uninst.exe
uninstall:HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\Stereo Tool
regkey:HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\Stereo Tool

I can't get it (the Winamp Version) to run, I keep getting EXCEPTION OCCURRED: IN Display Two: Got NAN input for gray.
This is not a serious problem but should never happen.

I get no audio.

_________________
I just use ST with liquidsoap to enhance a streaming radio station I like...

I have the same thing here, but if you unable the deflossifier main, then enable the spectral hole filler and the reconstruct top part then you can enable de deflossifier again. Then it works.

Whoops, looks like I introduced a division by 0! For some reason it didn't happen on my end. I've fixed it, new version is building, will upload it tomorrow morning.

I've just added a new feature to my build script, it should automatically upload the new version as soon as the build is ready (probably about 30-60 minutes from now). So, you might be able to find them here, an hour from now:

Windows stand alone: http://www.stereotool.com/download/ster ... 85-045.exe
Winamp DSP: http://www.stereotool.com/download/dsp_ ... 85-045.exe
Windows VST 32 bit: http://www.stereotool.com/download/vst_ ... 85-045.dll

Just ran a rather quick test using the latest beta. To my ear, turning off 'reconstruct top part' makes a big difference in reducing the distortion (as you suspected).
I do, however, still hear a crackly / edgy distortion when using the spectral hole filler. I'm testing using pretty poor quality YouTube material.