The band Yes has had a long and successful career with many successful studio albums and memorable stage performances. Their 1983 album “90125” is often considered one of their most memorable albums, which produced hits like “Owner of a Lonely Heart”. After a break of a few years, the band started to release new albums again, with “The Quest” in 2021 that received positive reviews for its return to a more progressive sound. The song “Cut from the Stars”, released in 2023, is the first single from their upcoming album “Mirror To The Sky”, which will be their 23rd studio album.For this album, a boxed set is also available, including vinyl discs, CDs and Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos tracks.

For this review, you will find 7 versions tested: Qobuz Hi-Res, Apple Dolby Atmos, Vinyl, Blu-ray in Stereo, 5.1 and Atmos.

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.
The synthesis of the review and the samples are available here

The album is composed of 9 tracks:

1. Cut from the Stars
2. All Connected
3. Luminosity
4. Living Out Their Dream
5. Mirror to the Sky
6. Circles of Time
7. Unknown Place
8. One Second Is Enough
9. Magic Potion

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 : Spatialization

Part 6 : Summary, scoring and Sample

Part 1: presentation of the editions

Ed 1: Qobuz Hi-Res – 2023

Presentation

Digital release from Qobuz presented in Hi-Res 24 bits 96 kHz

Ed 2: Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2023

Presentation

Dolby Atmos release from Apple Music reviewed in 7.1.4 and binaural. This Dolby Atmos tracks are encoded in Dolby Digital Plus (768 kbits/s)

Ed 3: Clear blue vinyl Deluxe Edition clear blue – 2023

Presentation

Included in the box (ref: 196587775315 ) with 34-page booklet and limited edition. Here are the two Clear Bleu vinyl discs. 2 LP in 33RPM. The distribution of tracks on the sides of the two discs is based on the distribution on the CDs, so the second vinyl disc contains 16 minutes of music, while the first vinyl disc contains over 40 minutes. A better distribution of the music tracks would have reduced the length of the sides, and therefore made it possible to increase the level of the tracks, which is 4 to 5 dB lower than the usual level.

Ed 4: CD Deluxe Edition – 2023

Presentation

Included in the box (ref: 196587775315 ), here are the two CDs of this album.

Ed 5: Blu-ray (BR) Stereo Deluxe Edition – 2023

Presentation

Included in the box (ref: 196587775315 ), here are the stereo tracks of the blu-ray. The stereo track is in 24-bit 48 kHz, while the stereo music track is in 24-bit 96 kHz.

Ed 6: Blu-ray (BR) DTS-HD 5.1 Deluxe Edition – 2023

Presentation

Included in the box (ref: 196587775315 ), here are the 5.1 DTS-HD MA tracks of the blu-ray. This track is presented in 24 bits 96 kHz.

Ed 7: Blu-ray (BR) Dolby Atmos Deluxe Edition – 2023

Presentation

Included in the box (ref: 196587775315 ), here are theDolby Digital TrueHD Atmos tracks of the blu-ray. This track is presented in 24 bits 48 kHz with a throughput that can exceed 8000kbits/s, compared with the 768kbits/s streaming version. Digital TrueHD is a Lossless codec.

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamic comparaisons

Waveform

The waveform represents tracks of this album.

The waveforms of the stereo versions (Qobuz, CD and Blu-ray) have been mastered with a Brickwall limiter, but in a reasonable way, as shown by the signal and the DR value, which is between DR8 and DR12 depending on the song.

The waveform of the vinyl edition is dynamic, with a nice variation in levels. Without further information, it’s difficult to know whether the master used for cutting.

The waveform of the DTS-HD 5.1 (of the blu-ray) version is a specific mix which shows a slight use of limiter or compressor on the front channels, particularly visible on the last two songs, unlike the Dolby Atmos version.

The waveform of the Apple Music Dolby Atmos represents the Binaural decoding. The channels are dynamic, as confirmed by the DR measurement, this is the most dynamic version of this album with Blu-ray Atmos track.

The waveform of the Dolby Atmos Blu-ray version represents the 7.1 decoding. All channels are dynamic, as confirmed by the DR measurement: this is the most dynamic version of this album.

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 7 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	Qobuz Hi-Res – 2023	Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2023	Clear blue vinyl Deluxe Edition clear blue – 2023	CD Deluxe Edition – 2023	BR Stereo Deluxe Edition – 2023	BR DTS-HD 5.1 Deluxe Edition – 2023	BR Dolby Atmos Deluxe Edition – 2023
Global	DR11	DR14	DR14	DR11	DR11	DR13	DR14
Min	DR9	DR13	DR12	DR9	DR9	DR11	DR13
Max	DR12	DR16	DR15	DR12	DR13	DR15	DR16
Cut from the Stars	DR12	DR16	DR15	DR12	DR12	DR15	DR16
All Connected	DR11	DR14	DR14	DR11	DR11	DR13	DR14
Luminosity	DR11	DR14	DR14	DR11	DR11	DR13	DR14
Living Out Their Dream	DR12	DR16	DR14	DR12	DR11	DR13	DR16
Mirror to the Sky	DR9	DR14	DR13	DR9	DR9	DR12	DR13
Circles of Time	DR12	DR15	DR12	DR12	DR13	DR13	DR14
Unknown Place	DR10	DR14	DR13	DR10	DR10	DR12	DR14
One Second Is Enough	DR11	DR14	DR14	DR11	DR11	DR12	DR14
Magic Potion	DR11	DR13	DR14	DR11	DR11	DR11	DR13

The DR measurement confirms the waveform analysis, with an average DR11 for the stereo version and an average DR14 for the Dolby Atmos and vinyl versions.

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 balance of the spectra between the stereo version and Dolby Atmos are very different, with an attenuation in the low end of the spectrum (green zone) and in the high end of the spectrum (yellow zone) for the binaural version, favoring more the midrange in this Atmos mix with Binaural rendering. The yellow arrow shows that the Dolby Atmos version shows less high frequency due to the use of the Dolby Digital Plus encoding.

Here we find a perfect superposition of the spectrum of the Qobuz version (blue curve) and the Blu-ray stereo version (white curve). There’s a slight nuance at 24 kHz, where the Blu-ray version cuts at 24 kHz due to the use of a 48 kHz sampling frequency for the Blu-Ray, whereas the Qobuz version is at 96 kHz. On the other hand, the Blu-ray music version is in 96 kHz!

Here we find a perfect superposition of the spectrum of the Qobuz version (blue curve) and the CD version (white curve). But the CD cuts at 22 kHz, due to the use of a 44.1 kHz sampling frequency for the CD format.

Here we find a superposition of the spectrum between 100 Hz and 10 kHz of the Qobuz version (blue curve) and the vinyl record (white curve). The yellow zone shows a slight treble boost for the vinyl between 10 kHz and 15 kHz (white curve above the blue curve), with a maximum of one dB. The yellow arrow shows a signal above 24 kHz, due to background noise and distortion caused by vinyl playback. The green area shows a slight bass attenuation for vinyl below 100 Hz, up to 3 dB at 40 kHz.

The spectrum of the Blu-ray DTS-HD 5.1 version shows all 6 channels. The front left and right channels have the highest level (yellow arrow). The bass channel is very low in level, with low frequencies mainly delivered by the right and left channels (green arrow), the center channel being more attenuated below 60 Hz.

The spectrum of the Dolby Atmos Blu-ray version decoded in 7.1 represents all 8 channels. We can see that the front left and right channels have the highest level (yellow arrow) compared to the center and surround channels. The bass channel is higher than on the DTS-HD 5.1 version, but bass is mainly carried by the right and left channels (green arrow), the center channel being more attenuated below 60 Hz.

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 the Qobuz and Blu-ray 2.0 versions show that the signal is limited to 24 kHz overall, as indicated by the yellow arrow, despite the use of a 96 kHz sampling frequency for Qobuz. For CD, the limiting frequency is 22 kHz, due to the CD sampling frequency (yellow arrow). Above this, there is no signal (white arrow).

The spectrogram of the vinyl record shows that the signal rises above 24 kHz (yellow arrow). Above this frequency, the signal is made up of distortions generated by the vinyl record’s playback principle.

The spectrogram of the Blu-ray 5.1 versions show that the signal is limited to 24 kHz overall, as indicated by the yellow arrow, despite the use of a 96 kHz sampling. Above this, there is no signal (white arrow), the green arrow shows that the LFE channel is filtered around 120 Hz

The spectrograms of the Dolby Atmos Binaural Apple versions show that the signal is limited to 20 kHz (yellow arrow) due to the Dolby encoding. Above this, there is no signal (white arrow).

The spectrogram of the Blu-ray Atmos versions decoded in 7.1 show that the signal is limited to 24 kHz overall, as indicated by the yellow arrow, due of the 48 kHz sampling. Above this, there is no signal (white arrow), the green arrow shows that the LFE channel is filtered around 120 Hz.

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 spatialization is fully exploited with sounds and chorus that are distributed on the different channels with positions that are not static throughout the song.

Below the spatialization for the 9 tracks of Apple Dolby Atmos version. Click on the images to zoom in.

Below the spatialization for the 9 tracks of Blu-ray DTS-HD 5.1 version. Click on the images to zoom in.

Below the spatialization for the 9 tracks of Blu-ray Dolby Atmos version. Click on the images to zoom in.

Part 6 : Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Qobuz Hi-Res – 2023

Beautiful rendering of the album, with dynamic range and precision of the instruments. Even if a limiter was used, it’s a moderate use that allows to keep a nice restitution. Beautiful, natural rendering. The difference in rendering with the 96 kHz sampling frequency compared with the 44.1 and 48 kHz versions may be due to the processing carried out by the DAC.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : ”Cut from the Stars” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 2: Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2023

Listening to the Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 version brings a spatialization of the music, with instruments and choirs exploiting the 360-degree space. The music has been designed to make the most of sound space, and the spatial mix is superb. On “Luminosity”, the exploitation of the spatial distribution of the instruments and the choir voices. On “Circles of Time”, the vocals start on the front channels, with the choir returning on the other channels, with the exchanges between the main front voice and the choir on the rear channels. On “Unknown Place”, the instruments are at the front, with the choir exchanging on the surround channels.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●ooo (6.8)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : ”Cut from the Stars” Dolby Atmos Binaural:

Ed 3: Clear blue vinyl Deluxe Edition clear blue – 2023

Nice vinyl version, even if the distribution of the tracks on the vinyl discs is not optimal, and leads to a drop in sound level when the lacquer is cut. The pressing is of good quality. The reproduction is very dynamic, a sensation also due to the less present bass than on the digital versions. The airiness of the reproduction is typical of vinyl.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)

Sample : ”Cut from the Stars” 24 bits 88.2 kHz:

Ed 4: CD Deluxe Edition – 2023

The CD version is similar to the Qobuz version, with a correct rendering of dynamics, which still lags behind the Dolby Atmos versions.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : ”Cut from the Stars” 16 bits 44.1 kHz:

Ed 5: BR Stereo Deluxe Edition – 2023

The stereo Blu-ray version is similar to the Qobuz version, despite the use of a 48 kHz sampling frequency. An odd choice when the musical version of the album is in 96 kHz.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : ”Cut from the Stars” 24 bits 48 kHz:

Ed 6: BR DTS-HD 5.1 Deluxe Edition – 2023

Very nice 5.1 mix, which brings a very nice rendering of the music on 5.1 systems. We find here a track with a sampling frequency of 48 kHz encoded in DTS-HD Master Audio. Highly accurate music and vocals.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Spatialization: ●●●●o (3.9)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)

Sample : ”Cut from the Stars” 5.1 16 bits 48 kHz:

Ed 7: BR Dolby Atmos Deluxe Edition – 2023

The Dolby Atmos version of Blu-ray is encoded with Dolby Digital TrueHD, a so-called Lossless encoding that does not degrade the signal during data compression to reduce data size. By way of comparison, the data rate rises to over 8,000 kbits/s, compared with 768 kbits/s for the streaming version of Apple Music (encoded in Dolby Digital Plus). We find the same distribution and spatialization of the Atmos mix, but with much more finesse and precision on instruments and voices than on the Streaming version. On “Luminosity”, for example, we find greater precision on the guitar at the start of the track, followed by more natural, precise spatialization in the Dolby TrueHD Blu-ray version. Dynamics are the highest of all versions tested.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●ooo (7)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)

Sample : ”Cut from the Stars” 7.1 16 bits 48 kHz:

The surprise of listening to the first track is confirmed: we have a dynamic digital album with its DR11. Even if we can note the use of a limiter, it remains moderate, and we can only congratulate the mastering team for not having provided us with an album with a DR6 like so many other productions. The vinyl version offers a warmer sound for those who prefer this medium. But it’s above all the Dolby Atmos Blu-ray version that offers the most beautiful rendering, with a very successful mix. The spatialization, separation and precision, dynamics and finesse of music and voices are all there. This is also due to the sheer quantity of information contained in this Dolby Atmos track, with bit rates of up to 8,000 kbits/s, compared with 2,800 kbits/s for the Qobuz stereo version. All these versions will be available in a beautiful boxed set including vinyl discs, CDs, blu-ray, a book and a poster.

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Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. 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 :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

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