I've used this little utility called
WaveEmph which can be found
here. It also tells what pre-emphasizing actually is and gives the fundamentals of the de-emphasizing process. Basically it puts back the treble that was buried owing to the production methods of the time. The utility itself is easy to handle but requires an additional system file
(msvbvm50.dll). Also it must be run under compatibility mode to overcome a critical error.
As for the other question, I'm pretty sure that it accomplishes what it sets out to do as I clearly hear some cues in the tracks (when played through QuakeSpasm's SLD - which were faintly audible before - especially on track6 (e1m1). My older
.mp3s (that were running fine with mp3 supported Fitz) were coming out poor under QS, so I've re-ripped the tracks and de-emphasized them - now they feel like enhanced (albeit slightly). The strange thing is, neither Foobar /w ASIO coupled with an X-Fi Titanium nor my Sony NWZ Walkman produces the same sound.