Pre-Emphasis help

I've been up most of the night trying to de-emphasis ripped CD .wav files. I've read most of the threads here and on other sites. I have used Foobar2000, dBpoweramp, EAC, WaveEmph, and a couple others and I can't seem to get it to work.
A lot of the guides here I believe were done on older versions of said programs as I reach a point where I'm told to do something and that option simply isn't there, or the links to programs or DSP effects are dead.
The closest I seemed to get was using "cddeemph.exe" where you simply put the exe in the folder and click it. It seemed to work but the new files dynamic range was FAR lower than the original files so I have my doubts.

Can a knowledgeable person PLEASE post a step-by-step current guide on how to do this? I don't mind what program you use I just want it to work. I am in your debt. Thanks.

 

Adding the EQ will lower DR. So the .exe probably worked.
You can try this walk through I did for a member a couple years ago using foobar
Pre-emphasis Michael Jackson ‎– Thriller Epic ‎– 35・8P-11 (Again)

 

While I appreciate your help, the files are already ripped so your walk through isn't possible. I tried cddeemph.exe on Dark Side Of The Moon and the DR was so low afterwards, there is no way people say it is the best sounding version.

 

That one I'm not sure about.
You could burn a redbook compliant cd and rip.

 

Install Foobar, then install the "Effect DSP" component: foobar2000: Components Repository - Effect DSP
In Foobar: File > Preferences > DSP manager > IIR filter > CD De-emphasis > apply. (everything played through this will have De-emph applied)
Play the files. Voilà!

 

Do you have access to a Mac? I could tell you a super easy solution on there.

 

With Foobar you use the "Convert" function in the menu to re-encode the files and make sure the appropriate DSPs are selected and they have been configured with the settings you want. You should end up with a new set of WAV or FLAC files in the folder the original album was in if you did it correctly, with de-emp applied. If you really have trouble with this, PM myself or another member and maybe we can decode the files for you. I don't really have time to post a detailed guide with all the screenshots and baby steps. Perhaps someone else can help you with that. That's the best I can do right now, hope it's helpful.

 

Could you post that here for the rest of us?

 

Absolutely. Will do it when I get home from work tonight.

 

If you want super-simple, just rip it using iTunes. It will automatically apply de-emphasis to any ripped CD tracks that have the pre-emphasis flag set. Configure it to rip into uncompressed WAV and then you can retrieve the files from your iTunes Music Library folder.

 

That's super simple but only if ripping from the CD. It doesn't work with files already ripped with another program. It also doesn't output anything except 16-bit. Even possibly doing the process at 16-bit.

 

Sorry. I got home from work and then went drinking. Ok, here goes...

The super simple Mac way is to download xACT. It has a de-emphasis filter under the "util" tab. As simple as loading the files in and hitting "execute".

However, if you want some extra quality, you can do this first...

Download XLD. Under "output format" select WAV. Then "options". Change bit depth to 32-bit and click "floating point". Drop your CD files (with pre-emphasis intact) onto the program and it will convert them to 32-bit floating. All it does is add blank bits for now. We just need to do this so that when xACT processes the files, it does so at 32-bit and saves them out that way. Once you have your 32-bit files now, you can do what I described above to de-emphasize them. After that, you have de-emphasized files at 32-bit. To end up with 24-bit files, simply change the XLD options to 24-bit and resave them. If you want 16-bit files, you will need to open them in other software which can dither. Also preferably you would increase gain if there is any decent amount of headroom left after the de-emphasis, before dithering.

 

Does this decoding only occur during the playback of pre-emphasized files, or does this process permanently overwrite the original file with the new deemphasized file?

 

No, you have to convert files in foobar with IIR filter selected & configured in Prosessing tab.
In Foobar: right click on songs/album you want to convert > Convert > ... > Processing > select from DSPs

 

DR is not a measure of audio quality or a reliable way to determine the best or preferred mastering. This album is a great demonstration of why.

I assume you're trying the holy grail version of DSOTM

Here's the DR for the CD with pre-emphasis

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Pink Floyd / The Dark Side of the Moon [Holy Grail] preemph
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR11      -7.97 dB   -22.31 dB      3:57 01-Speak to Me / Breathe
DR10      -7.25 dB   -23.16 dB      3:32 02-On the Run
DR13      -3.08 dB   -19.74 dB      7:05 03-Time
DR11      -5.16 dB   -21.54 dB      4:47 04-The Great Gig in the Sky
DR12      -2.81 dB   -19.12 dB      6:24 05-Money
DR10      -7.02 dB   -22.11 dB      7:49 06-Us and Them
DR12      -5.36 dB   -19.35 dB      3:26 07-Any Colour You Like
DR11      -5.24 dB   -22.35 dB      3:50 08-Brain Damage
DR10      -4.26 dB   -18.48 dB      2:07 09-Eclipse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  9
Official DR value: DR11

Here's the DR for the CD after de-emphasis processing

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Pink Floyd / The Dark Side of the Moon [Holy Grail] deemph
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR11      -8.65 dB   -22.52 dB      3:57 01-Speak to Me / Breathe
DR10      -8.33 dB   -23.33 dB      3:32 02-On the Run
DR9       -8.14 dB   -20.56 dB      7:05 03-Time
DR9       -7.46 dB   -21.91 dB      4:47 04-The Great Gig in the Sky
DR11      -5.04 dB   -20.02 dB      6:24 05-Money
DR10      -8.31 dB   -22.41 dB      7:49 06-Us and Them
DR12      -5.96 dB   -19.69 dB      3:26 07-Any Colour You Like
DR11      -6.95 dB   -22.81 dB      3:50 08-Brain Damage
DR9       -5.59 dB   -19.08 dB      2:07 09-Eclipse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  9
Official DR value: DR10

 

Only on playback, this way you don't have to take up some space with the decoded files. But everything played will be de-emphasized, not just pre-emphasized files.

 

Thanks rnranimal - very helpful. I have a handful I’d like to rip.

 

You're welcome. If you're ripping from the CD, as vwestlife pointed out, you could just use iTunes. It will automatically de-emphasize on rip. However, the quality does/could suffer in multiple ways.

 

Only if the tag is located in the table of contents.
I was never happy with their filter. Something seemed off about it.

 

To my ears SoX is the most transparent way to do it. Even better than any CD player's de-emphasis that I have heard.

 

Never heard about that. Usually de-emphasizing lowers the DR value only marginally, just like shown in Ham Sandwich's example DR 11 -> DR 10.

What do you exactly mean with "FAR lower"? What was the original DR? What was the DR after de-emphasizing?

 

Yes, true about the tag. All of known PE discs I've tried worked in iTunes but I haven't done extensive testing with it, because I also wasn't happy with the filter. xACT uses the Sox filter, which I like.

 

It went from an 11 to an 8. There were others as well but that one stands out. I already deleted the whole report or I would post it. I'm gonna try that Foobar method tonight when I get the chance.
I needed to get this right as I ripped a bunch of CD's and took them to 2nd Hand Tunes thinking I had copies. Well I do but many have pre-emphasis.
Since then, I have switched to dBpoweramp for ripping and I haven't sold a CD in some time but my problem remains. The above method seems pretty straight forward. I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thanks to all for your help.

 

The Foobar IIR filter also uses SoX and I agree it is great. The only one better I have heard was in the iZotope mastering suite, but they erased it from the most recent versions unfortunately.

 

Here is a ZIP containing WAV files and a cue sheet for making your own pre-emphasis test disc. Burn it using a program that supports burning a disc from a .CUE file, such as Exact Audio Copy:

http://www.amstereo.org/files/pre-emph.zip

Track listing:
1. 20-20 kHz sine wave sweep (flat)
2. 20-20 kHz sine wave sweep (with pre-emphasis)
3. Music test (flat)
4. Music test (with pre-emphasis)

It also contains CD Text so you can also use it to test if your player supports that.