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Stereo Tool 7.20 Release

All-

Okay, do I dare ask? According to many on this board, ST was once considered inferior to Breakaway. Has ST exceeded, or even replaced, Breakaway in desirability for on-air use.

As for using a 'computer' for processing, I think the Omnia9 changed many views on the subject.
 
A year ago, I would have agreed with that statement. Apparently Hans has been fed only when he is programming this past year.

;D

Check your PM, Chief Operator.
 
Sad thing is (for us) is that one of the big boys is going to go after Hans now and we have an Optimod 8550 or something.

Hans has busted his a** on this program. I know it won't go unnoticed. It will be a sad day when both he and Leif work for the big boys.

Sad for us, not necessarily for them.
 
Well we'll let Hans chart his own path,but without doubt this is the best i've ever heard,PERIOD. Audio is so smooth and non-fatiguing and the composite clipper is so clean,and probably the best on the market.Like i said before,roll your own and get rockin!!!
 
It's been a year since I did anything serious with these processors. The last one I installed used a combination of Breakaway and ST. At the time, I was of the opinion that Breakaway had the better multiband (Hans has suggested this has been a challenge). However, my ears like the ST FM section a lot.

It might seem cumbersome, and due to sample rates, I had to use two cards in the computer. I wasn't sure about leaving it on the mountain by itself, but it's been bulletproof. I'm amazed how this stuff compares with the legacy brands' hardware boxes.
 
Stereo Tool version 7.23 is available!

Changes:
- FM: Improved Stokkemask (ITU-R.SM1268) clipper; less effect on audio (from 2 dB to 0.7 dB loss in highs).
- FM: Added option to remove demodulated L/R spikes above 100% (level is configurable).
- FM: BS412: Fixed small volume calculation bug in composite clipper mode.
- FM: Added RF spectrum analyzer. Warning: Uses a lot of CPU power.
- Bug fix: Some warnings kept coming back after restarting despite selecting 'don't show me again'.
- Updated some presets.
 
I posted an update about it a few days ago but the forum was acting up.
The most important change compared to version 7.20 is the new and greatly improved ITU-R.SM1268 recommendation compliant clipper mode. This makes the RF spectrum less wide, which reduces disturbances to other stations at nearby frequencies and might also slightly improve reception.
 
Sgeirk said:
I must say that ST is a legit major player. Sounds cleaner and like nothing else on the dial.
Click to expand...
I'll second the motion. Anyone who hasn't at least considered playing with ST is either missing the boat or has their head buried in the sand. I've been playing radio for 46 years & it's been a LONG time since anything has got my attention like this has. Like the saying goes...Try It, You'll Like It.
 
I'm so happy with Breakaway Broadcast ( running overall 33%-ish timing, power and speed), then fed through two passes of an
ART Pro VLA amplifier in a two-step process, that I can't even be tempted to test anything else.

The resulting AM signal is so sweet, fat and happy that I'll be very happy for a long time.

But kudos to anyone who can present a product that competes with BBP.

:)
 
How come you don't have the Pro VLA before BBP?

Seems like any peak control you're doing with BBP gets undone by the Pro VLA
 
The music is playing on the same computer that runs BBP, so it makes sense to let BBP run first.
Extensive testing of the VLA first by itself and then with Breakaway convinced me that this is the best
combination for me.

Each step adds to the overall control. Breakaway has wonderful multiband control.
The VLA doesn't. The VLA was nothing special by itself with music.
When the multiband issues have been tamed by BBP, the VLA sounds wonderful.
Between what the oscilloscope shows and my ears hear, I'm as happy as can be.
 
Tom, I respect your posts greatly but I am just not happy with dry voice playing through BBP on any preset. When I heard dry voice through ST, BBP was almost immediately put out to pasture. Maybe that will change if/when BBP is updated as has been promised for years, but for now, ST is my new fave. Oscilloscope on BBP? I sent a low-mid freq sine wave through it...didn't look much like a sine wave after BBP got hold of it. Take it from a fellow engineer....ST is light years ahead of BBP...and it costs nothing to play :)
 
To be honest, I have never sent my live dry mike through BBP. It's "upstairs" and the control room/mike is downstairs....
The mike goes into a tube premamp, then directly to the VLA. The only time I hear (my own) voice through the computer/BBP is
a few elements in the Zara playlist. I'm quite happy with the results of that.

Reverb is on a side channel, and comes after the VLA. Voice gets VLA, and its output splits to two channels.
One is dry audio mike+automation, the other is the Alesis nanoverb, then a seperate input to the modulator.

There's no delay to the mike that way, and I've gotten used to the minimal BBP delay on the music.
 
7.23 v rocking in several large markets.Engs are stunned when they hear it and how it easily competes with (and actually sounds better)than the 10K+ plus boxes . Hans has it going on!! Working on a linux version for those of you who swing that way.
 
Finally got the chance to play with it tonight... WHOA!

Still getting a handle on the various controls, mostly the language to describe the control and what it does.

Sure is smooth. Real smooth.

BBP was the "king" of the downloadable real processor, but ST is blowing it away. Just for the simple fact that I can tweak ALL of the controls alone, it's worth it.

Add to it the "is the clipper really doing anything?" sound when it's buried and it's even more impressive.

I'm thinking of building a box and trying it out for real somewhere.
 
Has Hans had a chance to put assymetry and tilt adjustments in the limiter? He was talking about it, but it's been awhile since I looked.

For AM, that would be nice.
 
Grounded Grid said:
Has Hans had a chance to put assymetry and tilt adjustments in the limiter? He was talking about it, but it's been awhile since I looked.

For AM, that would be nice.
Click to expand...
I completely forgot about that! But... After reading your post here I've just added most of it (I need to remove some remaining small spikes on the side that has a lower peak level, shouldn't be too difficult). And, different from earlier, this time it seems to sound ok too! I should have this available for use within a few days (probably Monday).
 
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