Home         Download         Donate         Register         Forums         Help   
Help: Presets - Stereo Tool 3.0
Stereo Tool Winamp plugin presets

Stereo Tool offers a number of predefined presets, that can be used get fast results.

The presets that are currently offered are:
  • GENERIC PRESETS
    These presets combine several functions, and can often be useful.

    • Constant volume, increased stereo
      Intended for normal listening. Soft passages are made louder, loud passages are made softer, and the stereo is slightly increased.
    •   - Same but smoother peaks
      Identical, but sounds are made "softer". This may sound better on cheap speakers.
    • Watching a movie (low latency)
      Intended for watching movies (DVDs) or TV shows with large volume differences. This preset is a tradeoff between good quality (which requires processing that causes a large delay in the playback) and a low delay (which is very annoying, the sound is played after the movements have been displayed). Not very good for music!

  • VOLUME COMPRESSION
    These presets make the volume and sound color more constant.

    • Very Soft Compression (Classical)
      The multiband compressors operate very slowly, so the dynamics of the sound are almost unchanged. Only a small amount of compression occurs, this mode is not suitable if the goal is to get a really constant volume. Sudden loud peaks are filtered out, though.
      Very suitable for classical music.
    • Soft Compression
      The compressors operate slightly faster than in the Very Soft Compression mode, but they still move very slowly. The output volume is much more constant, but the dynamics of the sound are still very good. (It does not sound "flat").
    • Normal Compression
      The compressors operate at a normal rate. The output volume is very constant, at the expense of loosing some dynamics. (The sound will get more "flat").

  • VOLUME COMPRESSION (LOUD)
    Same as VOLUME COMPRESSION, but these presets aim at a very constant and very loud sound, sometimes at the cost of some of the quality.

    • Normal Compression (pop/rock)
      Same as Normal Compression, but the output of the multiband compressor is amplified before feeding it into the overshoot protectors.
      Loud bass sounds may cause pumping - see Normal Compression (dance) for a similar preset that avoids this.
    •   - Same but louder
      Same as Normal Compression (pop/rock), but the output is made approximately 5.5 dB louder using the Loudness slider. (Requires registration)
    • Normal Compression (dance)
      Same as Normal Compression (pop/rock), but the pumping when loud bass sounds are present is reduced at the cost of having a slightly lower output volume.
    •   - Same but louder
      Same as Normal Compression (dance), but the output is made approximately 5.5 dB louder using the Loudness slider. (Requires registration)
    • Hard Compression (pop/rock)
      Same as Normal Compression (pop/rock), but using more compression. This severely reduces the sound quality. Corresponds to the sound of many commercial FM radio stations.
    •   - Same but louder
      Same as Normal Compression (pop/rock) - Same but louder, but using more compression. This severely reduces the sound quality. Corresponds to the sound of many commercial FM radio stations. (Requires registration)
    • Normal Compression (dance)
      Same as Normal Compression (dance), but using more compression. This severely reduces the sound quality. Corresponds to the sound of many commercial FM radio stations.
    •   - Same but louder
      Same as Normal Compression (dance) - Same but louder, but using more compression. This severely reduces the sound quality. Corresponds to the sound of many commercial FM radio stations. (Requires registration)

  • STEREO EFFECTS
    Some settings that change the stereo in a recording.

    • Repair phasing (AZIMUTH)
      This preset repairs phasing errors (AZIMUTH errors), which are often present in tape recordings, and also on some cheap CDs. Phasing problems causes playing a recording in mono or through a surround system to result in very ugly artifacts. But even normal stereo playback may sometimes sound a bit unpleasant.
    • Mono
      The output is mono, but no sounds are lost in the stereo to mono conversion as would normally be the case. This results in a much fuller sound, without any distortion. Useful when only one output channel is available.
      Works especially well for reverb and synthesizer sounds, but virtually all stereo recordings benefit from this conversion compared to the normal stereo to mono conversion.
      This settings has been reported to be very useful for people who are deaf in one ear, when they listen to music using a headphone.
    • Remove phase differences
      The instruments stay at the same place (so if a drum sounds louder on the left channel than on the right, it will stay that way), but all phase differences are removed. The resulting sound is still stereo, but a part of the stereo effect is removed. The result can safely be converted to mono using an amplifier, radio receiver etc..
      Works especially well for old tape recordings and synthesizer sounds, so if you need a signal that some people will hear in mono, this is a good way of ensuring that they will get a good sound.
    • Put all instruments in center
      All the instruments are played at the same volume at both speakers, but the phase differences remain.
      Useful if some people only hear one speaker: Each speaker plays all the sounds, but if someone hears both speakers the sound is still stereo (although a weaker stereo than the original). Can be useful at a work place, parties etc..
    • Increased stereo
      The instruments move further away from the center, and phase differences are increased.
      Use with care, especially if the original recordings are not very good (low quality MP3s for example), the result will sound very bad.

  • RADIO STATIONS
    Settings intended for radio stations. This means that the target is a very equal volume level (so a lot of compression is used), and a loud sound.

    • Web radio Soft compression (Stereo)
      Soft compression and some stereo widening, made louder using the Loudness filter. (Requires registration)
    • Web radio (Stereo)
      Normal compression and some stereo widening.
    • Web radio (Stereo)
      Normal compression and sound-preserving stereo to mono conversion.
    • FM Transmitter Soft (Europe, Stereo)
      Good sound quality (little compression) FM transmitter preset. AZIMUTH problems in the recordings are repaired, and some stereo widening is performed. The sound is not very loud.
      Frequencies that interfere with the FM pilot tone are filtered out, and the maximum volume level is limited such that it will peak at a constant level after feeding it through a European 50 μs pre-emphasis filter (inside the FM transmitter). (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter (Europe, Stereo)
      Achieves a volume equal to that of the big commercial stations. AZIMUTH problems in the recordings are repaired, and some stereo widening is performed.
      Frequencies that interfere with the FM pilot tone are filtered out, and the maximum volume level is limited such that it will peak at a constant level after feeding it through a European 50 μs pre-emphasis filter (inside the FM transmitter). (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter (Europe, Mono)
      Similar to FM Transmitter (Europe, Stereo), but mono. AZIMUTH correction and stereo widening is not used.
      Frequencies that interfere with the FM pilot tone are filtered out, and the maximum volume level is limited such that it will peak at a constant level after feeding it through a European 50 μs pre-emphasis filter (inside the FM transmitter). (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter Hot (Europe, Stereo)
      Achieves a volume higher than that of the big commercial stations, at the cost of a strongly reduced sound quality. Might be useful for some types of music. AZIMUTH problems in the recordings are repaired, and some stereo widening is performed.
      Frequencies that interfere with the FM pilot tone are filtered out, and the maximum volume level is limited such that it will peak at a constant level after feeding it through a European 50 μs pre-emphasis filter (inside the FM transmitter). (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter Soft (Europe, Stereo)
      Similar to FM Transmitter Soft (Europe, Stereo), but the sound is prepared for a US (75 μs) pre-emphasis filter. (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter (US, Stereo)
      Similar to FM Transmitter (Europe, Stereo), but the sound is prepared for a US (75 μs) pre-emphasis filter. (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter (US, Mono)
      Similar to FM Transmitter Soft (Europe, Stereo), but the sound is prepared for a US (75 μs) pre-emphasis filter. (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter Hot (US, Stereo)
      Similar to FM Transmitter Soft (Europe, Stereo), but the sound is prepared for a US (75 μs) pre-emphasis filter. (Requires registration)
    • FM Transmitter (Mono)
      As FM Transmitter (Stereo), but mono (using the Stereo Tool stereo to mono filters as described above). (Requires registration)
    • AM Transmitter - Europe
      Default settings for an AM transmitter. The sound is made very loud to overcome the noise on the AM band, and the sounds about 4.5 kHz are filtered out. (Requires registration)
    • AM Transmitter - North America
      As AM Transmitter - Europe, but the filtering occurs at 5 kHz instead of 4.5 kHz. (Requires registration)
    • Weird Titan Radio
      The settings of my own internet radio station, Weird Titan Radio, which this program was originally written for. (Tune in if you like hardtrance!) (Requires registration)

  • MISCELLANEOUS
    • Internal PC speaker settings
      Gets the loudest possible sound out of the internal PC speaker. This is done by removing frequencies that most internal PC speakers cannot play, and by using the Loudness filter. (Requires registration)
    • Stereo Tool 1.x default settings
      The default settings of Stereo Tool 1.x.

This website is © Copyright 1999-2014 by Hans van Zutphen
Stereo Tool is shareware. You are free to give Stereo Tool to others, publish it on shareware CDs/DVDs, websites etc.