The release of the special 25th anniversary editions of Shania Twain’s “Come On Over” (including triple clear vinyl discs) is an opportunity to take a look back at the best-selling album of all time by a female artist, with over 40 million copies sold. This album contains many hits such as “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”, “You’re Still The One”, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “From This Moment On”.

For this review, you will find 6 versions tested: Vinyl, CD, Amazon Music UltraHD in 24 bits 96 kHz Diamond Edition Super Deluxe, Amazon Special Edition , Apple Music Internationnal Version and Tidal Dolby 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 original album is composed of 16 tracks:

1. You’re Still The One
2. When
3. From This Moment On [feat, Bryan White]
4. Black Eyes, Blue Tears
5. I Won’t Leave You Lonely
6. I’m Holdin’ On To Love (To Save My Life)
7. Come On Over
8. You’ve Got A Way
9. Whatever You Do! Don’t!
10. Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
11. Love Gets Me Every Time
12. Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)
13. That Don’t Impress Me Much
14. Honey, I’m Home
15. If You Wanna Touch Her, Ask!
16. Rock This Country!

Track order is different for Diamond Edition Super Deluxe, Special Edition and Dolby Atmos. Only the original 16 tracks from the different versions are tested for this review.

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: Vinyl – 2023

Presentation

This is the special edition 25th Anniversary Diamond Edition vinyl, which includes 3 transparent LPs in full-colour printed sleeves and also includes a 12-page booklet (ref: 602455654397). This edition also contains 8 additional tracks on the 3rd LP.

Ed 2: CD – 1999

Presentation

This is the CD version released in 1999 (ref: 0 08817 00812 7) and includes a 16-page booklet.

Ed 3: Amazon Special Edition – 2022

Presentation

The Amazon Special Edition is presented in UltraHD in 24 Bits 96 kHz.
The order of the tracks is different from vinyl, CD and Apple International Version. This version contains a total of 42 tracks, including live tracks and remixes.

Ed 4: Amazon Diamond Edition Super Deluxe – 2023

Presentation

The Amazon Diamond Edition Super Deluxe is presented in UltraHD in 24 Bits 96 kHz. This version contains a total of 19 tracks including 3 additional live tracks.

Ed 5: Apple International Version – 1999

Presentation

The Apple International Version is presented in UltraHD in 24 Bits 96 kHz.

Ed 6: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2023

Presentation

The Tidal Dolby Atmos version is the Diamond Edition Super Deluxe presented in Dolby Digital Plus format at 768 kbps or in AC-4 (binaural).
The order of the tracks is different from vinyl, CD and Apple International Version. This version contains a total of 42 tracks, including live tracks and remixes.

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamic comparaisons

Waveform

The waveform represents tracks of the two tracks.

This CD edition is the most dynamically compressed version, with the level increased to its maximum, as confirmed by its DR7.

The three streaming editions (Amazon Special Edition, Diamond Edition and Apple Internationnal Version) show the use of a dynamic limiter. The effect is less significant than for the CD, but still present with its DR8.
Note that on the Amazon Diamond Edition, the penultimate track does not have the same sound level (see yellow zone).

The vinyl does better than the digital stereo versions, with less pronounced waveform. But it doesn’t match the results obtained with Dolby Atmos mixing.

The waveform of the Dolby Atmos version downmixed to 2.0 shows great dynamics. It’s the most dynamic of all the versions tested, as confirmed by the DR measurement (see table below).

The curves below compare the waveforms of the album song for the CD, Apple Music International Version, Vinyl and Dolby Atmos (downmixed in 2.0) versions.
You can clearly see the effect of DR on the rendering of the waveform, which becomes increasingly detailed as you move down the curves from the CD version (DR7) to the Dolby Atmos version (DR13 downmixed in 2.0) [the track order is different for this version].

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

	Vinyl – 2023	CD – 1999	Amazon Special Edition – 2022	Amazon Diamond Edition Super Deluxe – 2023	Apple International Version – 1999	Tidal Dolby Atmos (7.1.4) – 2023
Global	DR10	DR7	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR16
Min	DR9	DR6	DR7	DR7	DR6	DR13
Max	DR11	DR8	DR9	DR9	DR9	DR20
You’re Still The One	DR10	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR17
When	DR9	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR15
From This Moment On [feat, Bryan White]	DR9	DR6	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR17
Black Eyes, Blue Tears	DR9	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR14
I Won’t Leave You Lonely	DR9	DR6	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR13
I’m Holdin’ On To Love (To Save My Life)	DR10	DR7	DR9	DR9	DR9	DR17
Come On Over	DR10	DR8	DR6	DR6	DR6	DR19
You’ve Got A Way	DR10	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR14
Whatever You Do! Don’t!	DR10	DR6	DR9	DR9	DR9	DR16
Man! I Feel Like A Woman!	DR9	DR6	DR9	DR9	DR9	DR15
Love Gets Me Every Time	DR10	DR7	DR8	DR8	DR7	DR16
Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)	DR10	DR7	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR16
That Don’t Impress Me Much	DR10	DR7	DR9	DR9	DR9	DR20
Honey, I’m Home	DR10	DR8	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR19
If You Wanna Touch Her, Ask!	DR9	DR6	DR8	DR8	DR6	DR18
Rock This Country!	DR11	DR8	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR14

CD is the least dynamic version with its DR7, followed by high-resolution digital (DR8) and vinyl (DR10) versions. As is often the case, Dolby Atmos remains the most dynamic version, with a DR16 measured in 7.1.4 configuration and DR12 in 2.0 downmix.

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 of the track Man! I Feel Like A Woman!.

The graph below shows the spectrum of the vinyl version (white curve) and the CD (blue curve), and shows that the two curves are similar, but with two differences:
– A bass accentuation for vinyl between 50 and 200 Hz, up to 3 dB higher.
– A small attenuation for vinyl between 4 kHz and 8 kHz (max 2 dB).
These differences will make the bass more present and massive than on other versions.
Just below 30 kHz, there’s a spike in the spurious frequency that was also visible on the vinyl spectrogram.
The yellow arrow shows that the frequency is limited to 22 kHz for the CD.

The graph below shows the spectrum of the Apple International Version (white curve) and the CD (blue curve), with the two curves overlapping perfectly up to 15 kHz. Beyond that, the Apple version is attenuated by up to 3 dB compared with the CD. In this extract, we see the same drop in level at 22 kHz, which is the frequency limit of the CD (due to its 44.1 kHz sampling frequency).

The graph below shows the spectrum of the Amazon Special Edition (white curve) and Amazon Diamond Edition (blue curve), with the two curves overlapping perfectly.

The graph below shows the spectrum of the Amazon Diamond Edition (white curve) and Apple International Edition (blue curve), the two curves are very different across the spectrum showing a different mastering and remixing between the two versions.

The spectrum of the Dolby Atmos version decoded in 5.1 shows that the front and surround channels are well stressed. The yellow arrow indicates the high-frequency limit of 20 kHz due to frequency optimization and Dolby Digital Plus encoding, which performs processing to optimize bitrate reduction to 768 kbit/s.The LFE channel is filtered at 120 Hz (green arrow).

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 spectrogram of the vinyl version shows that the signal rises above the 20 kHz frequency (yellow arrow), with the signal exceeding this frequency (white arrow). Above 20 kHz, we find the music signal and the distortion generated by the vinyl record’s operating principle. The vertical scale of the vinyl record spectrogram rises to 88 kHz (48 kHz for other spectrograms).

The CD spectrogram is limited to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above (white arrow). This limitation is due to the CD sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz.

The spectrograms for the 3 streaming versions (Amazon Special Edition, Diamond Edition and Apple Internationnal Version) rise above the 20 kHz frequency (yellow arrow), with signal present above 30 kHz (white arrow). This confirms the use of a 96 kHz sampling frequency.

The spectrogram of the Dolby Atmos track downmixed in stereo is limited to 20kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above (white arrow).
This limitation is due to Dolby Digital Plus encoding, which is a lossy encoder that limits bandwidth to optimize data size for a bit rate of 768 kbits/s.

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.

Spatialization is available for Tidal Dolby Atmos .

Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in:

Part 6 : Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Vinyl – 2023

Analysis of the vinyl edition shows a higher bass level between 60 and 300Hz. This discrepancy can be seen when listening to the vinyl version, which offers more presence in the low frequencies, but with a less sharp attack on the drums. The result is a sound that’s less dry and softer at the bottom end of the spectrum compared to the digital versions, which is very pleasant to listen to. How you perceive the vinyl version will depend on how your system sounds. If you have a very dynamic system with fast bass, you will benefit from this sound. If your system does not have this type of bass, the digital version will seem more dynamic.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : ”Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” 16 bits 88.2 kHz:

Ed 2: CD – 1999

The CD version has an energetic rendering with dynamics compression, but doesn’t keep up with the Dolby Atmos version at high listening levels. As always, compared with the versions reworked for the “Special Edition” and “Diamond Edition Super Deluxe” editions, the CD version has a different sound space, with a more integrated voice and a musical space that seems more homogeneous. This is the version, along with the Apple International Version, that seems most consistent with the original mix.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3.5)

Sample : ”Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” 16 bits 44.1 kHz:

Ed 3: Amazon Special Edition – 2022

The mix is different from the CD version, everything is clean, but too clean, and the soundstage is different, highlighting the voices more. But, as is often the case with new reworked versions, some prefer the new version and others the original. So it’s up to you to choose which version you prefer. For my part, I prefer the original.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : ”Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” 16 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 4: Amazon Diamond Edition Super Deluxe – 2023

This “Diamond Edition Super Deluxe” version is identical to the “Special Edition” version.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : ”Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” 16 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 5: Apple International Version – 1999

For this Apple Music International Version, the rendering is similar to that of the CD version, with a slight difference in the extreme treble. This rendering may differ from one system to another depending on the DAC used and the differences in processing it applies according to the sampling frequencies of the media: 44.1 kHz for CD and 96 kHz for Apple Music.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3.5)

Sample : ”Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” 16 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 6: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2023

The Dolby Atmos mix offers a spatialization that expands the soundstage with instruments and voices (choirs) on the side speakers.
The mix is highly dynamic, immersing us in the rhythm of the music. The mix is consistent with the music.
To take full advantage of the Dolby Atmos mix, it’s best to have a 7.1.4 system to better appreciate the wider soundstage provided by the front and side speakers.
Listening to a 9.1.6 system brings out the wider front soundstage even more clearly. The rendering is very successful and adds energy and dynamics to the music.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●ooooo (4.8)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : ”Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” downmixed in 5.1:

The sample is in 5.1 wav format, if you can not play the sample in your navigator, you can save it, right button menu and “Save Audio As…” and play it with an external player.

There are three types of sound rendering for this album.
The digital CD or streaming version, with a sound that emphasizes rhythm, aided by the use of a little dynamic compression. The “Special Edition” and “Diamond Edition Super Deluxe” versions, with different sound rendering and spatialization from the original.
The vinyl version, with a little more bass, has a smoother, more balanced sound, offering a more “analog” listening experience.
The Dolby Atmos version plays on dynamics and spatialization to re-discover this album while immersing yourself in the music.
You’ll be able to choose the version you prefer from among the available samples.

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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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