Mylène Farmer’s new single À tout jamais was released on Friday 26 August 2022. It is the first track from the album due out at the end of the year.
This single is available on all platforms in stereo and also in 360 Reality Audio on Tidal, Deezer, Amazon and in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music.
This album was mixed by Jérôme Devoise. The stereo mastering was done by The Exchange Mastering Studio. And for the first time in France the mixes in Dolby Atmos and 360RA for a French artist were done in the DES studio by Jérôme and Poussin.
If you want to understand how the Dolby Atmos mixes are done, you can find all the information in this report from Studio DES. The DES studio is now also equipped to mix in Sony 360 Reality Audio in addition to Dolby Atmos. The Sony 360 Reality Audio is also an Object format which allows to position the sounds in space like Dolby Atmos, the final result is encoded in MPEG-H for streaming.
We will review the Stereo Qobuz and 360RA Tidal versions.
Another review also available :
You can find the review of the album Histoires de on CD, vinyl and streaming here.
First we will analyze each edition in detail (technical and qualitative analysis), then we will compare the successive editions with their dynamics and assign a final score, and you will be able to listen some samples.
The streaming versions may evolve over time, those presented here correspond to the version tested at the date of publication, or update of the review.
Review of the editions:
Part 1: Presentation of the editions
Part 2 : Waveform and dynamique comparaison
Parts 3 : Spectrum comparisons
Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons
Part 5 : Summary, scoring and Sample
Part 1: presentation of the editions
Ed1: Qobuz Hi-Res – 2022
Presentation
This is the stereo version of the song À tout jamais, the mastering was done in accordance with the studio’s request to provide a mix with a high sound level to match the other current production. For this purpose a dynamic range compression was applied and explains the measured value of the Dynamic Range.
| Label | Sony |
| Reference | Qobuz Hi-Res |
| Format (speed) | Streaming |
| Type | Lossless 24 bits 48 kHz |
| Master | Digital |
| Mastering/Pressing | Mixed by Jérôme Devoise Mastering by The Exchange Mastering Studio |
| Original recording | Digital |
| State | France |
| Year original | 2022 |
| Year production | 2022 |
Ed2: Tidal 360 Reality Audio Binaural – 2022
Presentation
This is the 360 RA version of the song À tout jamais. The mix was made from the tracks used to mix the stereo version (without dynamics compression).
| Label | Sony |
| Reference | Tidal 360 Reality Audio |
| Format (speed) | Streaming |
| Type | Streaming 360 RA (MPEG-H) with binaural listening on phones |
| Master | Digital |
| Mastering/Pressing | Mixed in 360 RA on Studio DES by Jérôme Devoise and Poussin |
| Original recording | Digital |
| State | France |
| Year original | 2022 |
| Year production | 2022 |
Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2022
Presentation
This is the Dolby Atmos version of the song À tout jamais. The mix was made from the tracks used to mix the stereo version (without dynamics compression). The Dolby Atmos version is not tested.
| Label | Sony |
| Reference | Apple Music Dolby Atmos |
| Format (speed) | Streaming |
| Type | Streaming Dolby Digital Plus with Atmos with binaural listening on phones |
| Master | Digital |
| Mastering/Pressing | Mixed in Dolby Atmos on Studio DES by Jérôme Devoise and Poussin |
| Original recording | Digital |
| State | France |
| Year original | 2022 |
| Year production | 2022 |
Part 2 : Waveform and dynamic comparaisons
Waveform
The waveform represents the track.
The graphs below represents the waveforms of the 360RA binaural versions (Ed2).
This version is dynamic without the use of dynamic limiters as on the stereo edition.
The Qobuz version (Ed1) is strongly compressed in dynamic (yellow zone) as confirmed by its DR6.
Comparison between Qobuz and the 360RA binaural of the song adjusted to the same sound level. We can see the effect of the dynamic range compression which limits the sound levels, thus suppressing part of the signal.
Dynamic
Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).
For our 2 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :
| Ed1: Stereo (Hi-Res) | Ed2: 360RA binaural | |
| À tout jamais | DR6 | DR14 |
The DR values are in line with the waveform graphs.
As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.
Part 3 : spectrum comparisons
Spectrum
The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.
The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the track.
The graph below shows the difference between the spectrum of the Qobuz version (Ed1) and the 360RA binaural version (Ed2). The yellow areas show the differences between the two versions. It is not possible to compare these two curves because they come from different mixes, in stereo (blue) and in 360RA (white). The yellow arrow shows the 18.8 kHz limit for the 360RA binaural version, this is due to the MPEG-H encoding which reduces the high frequencies to allow for the smallest possible file size.
Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons
Spectrogram
Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.
The spectrograms of Qobuz Hi-Res (Ed1) shows a limit at 22kHz (yellow arrow) due to the 44.1kHz sampling frequency and the absence of signal above 22 kHz (white arrow).
The spectrograms of Tidal 360Ra binaural (Ed2) shows a limit at 18.8kHz (yellow arrow) due to the MPEG-H encoding used for 360RA and the absence of signal above 18.8 kHz (white arrow).
Part 5 : Spatialization
Spatialization allows you to define the sound distribution of the music on all the channels. The spatialization indicator and the description of the graph are described here.
The mix here plays on the opening of the sound space, the rendering allows Mylène Farmer’s voice to be highlighted and the music to accompany it, creating a subtle sound bubble. The difference between the stereo and the 360 version is important, especially on the binaural version.
Spatialization : ●●●●●ooooo(4.7)
Part 6 : Summary, scoring and Samples
Ed1: Qobuz Hi-Res – 2022
As indicated in the presentation section, the stereo version is in line with the expectations of having a track that sounds strong in the current context, therefore with a significant dynamic compression but which preserves the timbre of Mylène Farmer’s voice.
- Rating:
- Dynamic: ●oooo (1/5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4/5)
- Restitution: ●●●oo (3/5)
- Sample : “À tout jamais” 24 bits 48kHz:
Ed2: Tidal 360 Reality Audio Binaural – 2022
With the 360RA version, we enter another sound world. We find dynamics, space which gives a much wider and more enveloping listening. The voice perfectly matches the instruments which are no longer in front but also on the sides. Very nice mix that brings a listening to headphones or in 7.1.4 much more open.
- Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●●● (5/5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4/5)
- Spatialization: ●●●●●ooooo (4.7)
- Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)
- Sample : “À tout jamais” 360RA binaural for headphone listening:
This first track from Mylene Farmer’s new album brings a new sonic dimension, thanks to the spatial sound (360RA and Dolby Atmos). Listening to the 360RA on headphones or in 7.1.4 widens the gap with the stereo version in terms of dynamics and openness of the sound stage. If you listen to headphones, choose the 360RA version (or Atmos on Apple)!
Subscribe to MagicVinylDigital
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Detail of the ratings :
- Dynamic :
- Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
- Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
- Correct piece DR >=10
- No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
- No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
- Spectrum :
- Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
- Spectrum cut at 15 khz
- Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
- Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
- Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
- Surface noise (only for vinyl):
- Continuous audible noise
- Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
- Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
- Low surface noise, very good quality
- Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
- Spatialization :
- Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
- Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
- For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
- Restitution :
- Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
- Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
- Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
- High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
- Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.
Magic Vinyl vs Digital 