“New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)” is the fifth studio album by Scottish band Simple Minds, released on September 13, 1982. The album is often regarded as one of the band’s finest works, and marked a decisive turning point in their career, propelling them onto the international scene.
The album was recorded between February and August 1982 in several renowned studios, including Townhouse and Rockfield.
The album’s iconic singles, such as Promised You a Miracle, Glittering Prize and Someone Somewhere in Summertime, were not only commercially successful, but also critically acclaimed for their innovation and artistic quality.
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) cemented Simple Minds’ position as one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, and its legacy lives on today, inspiring the re-release of the album with a new Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and stereo mix on blu-ray disc.

For this review, you will find 9 versions tested: CD, SACD, Blu-ray and streaming, with stereo, 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mix. And there are some surprises in the results.

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.

The album is composed of 10 tracks:

1. Someone Somewhere In Summertime
2. Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel
3. Promised You A Miracle
4. Big Sleep
5. Somebody Up There Likes You
6. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
7. Glittering Prize
8. Hunter And The Hunted
9. King Is White And In The Crowd
10. In Every Heaven *

* Only on the track 5.1 mix 2005 in the blu-ray

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: CD – 1983

Presentation

This is the original CD released in 1983 (ref : 5012981223021) with a PCM track in 16 bits 44.1 kHz.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR15

The waveform of the CD shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR15.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo Original Mix – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the CD – 1983 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap from 200 Hz to 6 kHz (green zone). The Blu-ray original stereo version shows a slight increase below 100 Hz of up to 3 dB. Above 7 kHz (yellow zone), the Blu-ray version shows an attenuation of up to 2 to 3 dB. The yellow arrow indicates the maximum CD frequency at 22 kHz, which is normal for the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency used for CDs.

Synthesis and listening

With the original CD version, you get the original sound of the album, with all the balance and dynamics of the original. This is the most balanced and representative version of the original album. What’s more, careful listening reveals a depth and warmth that are lost in the 2025 emix. This version reproduces the very essence of the era, retranscribing it with precision and fidelity. For purists, it remains the essential reference.

Rating:

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

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 16 bits 44.1 kHz:

Ed 2: SACD – 2003

Presentation

This is the remastered hybrid SACD released in 2003 (ref : 724359323121) with a high resolution track in DSD64.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the CD shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR15.

The Tidal Max spectrogram shows that the signal rises well above 20 kHz (yellow arrow), with signal above 30 kHz (white arrow). The black arrow indicates the rise in noise above 30 kHz specific to DSD64 encoding.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the SACD – 2005 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo Original Mix – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra are almost perfectly superimposed up to 4 kHz. Beyond that (yellow zone), the original Blu-ray stereo version is slightly attenuated by 1 to 2 dB. The red arrow indicates a spurious peak just below 30 kHz which is present on both versions, certainly indicating the same source used. However, there is a rise in noise above 25 kHz for the SACD version, as shown by the yellow arrow, due to the DSD64 encoding principle used for SACD.

Synthesis and listening

The sound balance of the SACD version is very close to that of the original stereo Blu-ray version, with the bass more forward with the same emphasis and perhaps a little more detail in the treble. However, there is a slight loss of dynamic range. You’ll notice a difference in rendering between PCM and DSD64, depending on the type of processing performed by the DAC.

Rating:

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

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 24 bits 88.2 kHz:

Ed 3: Blu-ray Stereo new mix – 2025

Presentation

This is the PCM track of the new stereo mix of the bluray (ref:602465870640). 6 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, Stereo musical version, two 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track. This blu-ray is part of the SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio collection.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR15

The waveform of the Blu-ray stereo new mix shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR15.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo new mix – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo Original Mix – 2025 (blue curve).The differences between the two versions are very significant, confirming the need for a new mix.

Synthesis and listening

The new stereo mix presents certain contradictions. While offering a wider rendering, it refocuses some of the music and vocals, which, although more detailed and with a higher level, lose width compared to the original mix, with fewer effects. However, this new mix, although a far cry from the original, gives an impression of simplification of the music, which is intended to be a more modern rendering. It remains a matter of taste.

Rating:

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

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 24 bits 48 kHz:

Ed 4: Blu-ray Stereo Original Mix – 2025

Presentation

This is the PCM track of the orignal stereo mix of the bluray (ref:602465870640). 6 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, Stereo musical version, two 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track. This blu-ray is part of the SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio collection.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR14

The waveform of the Blu-ray origimnal stereo mix shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR14.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal up to 30 kHz (white arrow) .

Synthesis and listening

The Blu-ray’s original stereo version remains very close to the CD version, but with more pronounced bass, as confirmed by the spectral measurements. This offers a more modern rendering, with a more pronounced tempo. However, this approach alters the original sound balance present on the CD. The rendering may be more pleasant on systems with less bass, depending on individual tastes between this remastered version and the original CD version.

Rating:

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

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 5: Blu-ray 5.1 new mix- 2025

Presentation

This is the new 5.1 mix track presented in DTS HDMA of the bluray (ref:602465870640). 6 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, Stereo musical version, two 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track. This blu-ray is part of the SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio collection.

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR14

The waveform of the Blu-ray 5.1 new mix shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR14. The center channel dominates in sound level.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Blu-ray 5.1 new mix- 2025.
The 5.1 remix is comparable to the balance of the Dolby Atmos version, with a sampling frequency of 48 kHz, limiting the bandwidth to 24 kHz (as indicated by the yellow arrow), unlike the 2005 5.1 mix. The LFE channel is filtered down to 120 Hz (as indicated by the green arrow), and has a sound level identical to the left and right channels in the low frequencies. However, the center channel dominates in sound level, as the spatialization graphs also confirm. This level is particularly high, especially below 100 Hz, with 10 dB more than the left and right channels. This is a surprising choice for 5.1 music editing, where a better distribution of levels is generally preferred, even in mono on the stereo channels.

Synthesis and listening

From the very first notes, the difference between the 5.1 version of 2005 and that of 2025 is obvious, in terms of sound balance, spatialization and homogeneity. The 2005 mix offers an enveloping sound immersion, where each element finds its place in a rich, coherent three-dimensional space. The rear channels play an active part in this immersion, adding subtle details that make the listening experience more lively and dynamic. By contrast, the 2025 mix, for all its crystal clarity and precision, focuses more on front-end rendering. The new mix really lacks something of the spirit of the original version, namely the ability to transport the listener by creating a sense of presence and realism.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●oo (2.7)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 5.1 24 bits 48 kHz:

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.

Ed 6: Blu-ray 5.1 mix 2005 – 2025

Presentation

This is the 5.1 mix 2005 track presented in DTS HDMA of the bluray (ref:602465870640). 6 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, Stereo musical version, two 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track. This blu-ray is part of the SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio collection.

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR12

The waveform of the Blu-ray 5.1 2005 mix shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR12.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal up to 30 kHz (white arrow) .

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Blu-ray 5.1 mix 2005 – 2025 .
The 2005 5.1 mix is presented in high resolution, with a maximum frequency spectrum of 48 kHz, thanks to a sampling frequency of 96 kHz. A few spurious peaks can be observed above 20 kHz, but they remain very low, below -95 dB (with the exception of one peak at -82 dB). The LFE channel is filtered at around 120 Hz (as indicated by the green arrow), and has the same low-frequency level as the left and right channels. The center channel has a lower level than the left and right channels, with significant attenuation of low frequencies below 100 Hz.

Synthesis and listening

The 2005 5.1 mix makes perfect use of the different channels, offering a remarkably successful spatial distribution. On the track “Big Sleep,” for example, the sound elements are immersively dispersed, creating a three-dimensional listening experience. By contrast, the new 5.1 mix from 2025, while retaining clarity and precision, tends to be more frontal, with reduced expressiveness in the rear channels. This is the most successful 5.1 version.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Spatialization: ●●●●o (3.7)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 5.1 24 bits 96 kHz:

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.

Ed 7: Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025

Presentation

This is the Dolby Atmos track presented in Dolby Digital TrueHD (lossless) of the bluray (ref:6024658706403). 6 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, Stereo musical version, two 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track. This blu-ray is part of the SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio collection.

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR15

The waveform of the Blu-ray Atmos shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR15.

The spectrogram of the Atmos downmixed in 7.1 version of blu-ray shows that the signal goes down to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) and that there is no signal above this frequency (white arrow), due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency used.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025 .
The Dolby Atmos remix downmixed to 7.1 is comparable to the new 5.1 mix (which is certainly a downmix of the Dolby Atmos version), with a sampling frequency of 48 kHz, limiting the bandwidth to 24 kHz (as indicated by the yellow arrow). The LFE channel is filtered down to 120 Hz (as indicated by the green arrow), and has a sound level identical to the left and right channels in the low frequencies. However, the center channel dominates in sound level, as the spatialization graphs also confirm. This level is particularly high, especially below 100 Hz, with 10 dB more than the left and right channels, as in the 5.1 mix. This is a surprising choice for Dolby Atmos music editing, where we generally prefer a better distribution of levels, even in mono on the stereo channels, or even no central channel at all. The accentuation of this central channel refocuses the sound towards the front center and reduces the spatialization effect of the music.

Synthesis and listening

The Dolby Atmos version provides better spatialization than the 5.1 version (mix 2025), with more presence from the side speakers, but the sound balance is different from the original stereo version or the 2005 5.1 version. The rendering is colder, with a dominant center channel. A Dolby Atmos version, rather disappointing than exciting.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●oooo (6.3)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 7.1 Dolby Atmos (Downmixed in 7.1) :

The sample is in 7.1 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.

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :

Ed 8: Amazon Ultra – 2025

Presentation

This is the Amazon Music Ultra presented in 24 bits 96 kHz for 7 tracks and 16 bits 44,1 kHz for 2 other tracks.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the Amazon Ultra shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR12.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal up to 30 kHz, but not for 2 songs that remain in CD-quality format. (white arrow) .

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Amazon Ultra – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo Original Mix – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra are almost perfectly superimposed up to 4 kHz. Beyond that (yellow zone), the Amazon version is attenuated by up to 5 dB at 20 kHz.

Synthesis and listening

This stereo version, although presented in high resolution, remains less clear, less dynamic and less detailed than the other stereo versions from the original mix.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 9: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025

Presentation

This is the Tidal Dolby Atmos presented in Dolby Digital Plus or AC-4 (link).

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR15

The waveform of the Tidal Atmos shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR15.

The spectrogram of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track downmixed in 7.1 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.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025.
The spectrum of Tidal’s Dolby Atmos version decoded in 7.1 shows similarities to that of the Dolby Atmos Blu-ray version. The LFE channel uses a cutoff frequency of 120 Hz (indicated by the green arrow), although this cutoff is less pronounced than on the Blu-ray version. The white arrow indicates the high-frequency limit at 20 kHz, due to the Dolby Digital Plus encoding. Finally, the yellow arrow shows the high-frequency limit at 24 kHz, attributable to the 48 kHz sampling frequency used for encoding.

Synthesis and listening

The Dolby Atmos version in Dolby digital Plus streaming format is inferior in terms of rendering finesse and spatial precision to the Dolby Atmos version on Blu-ray, which is encoded in Lossless Dolby Digital TrueHD format.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●oooo (6.3)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” 7.1 Dolby Atmos (Downmixed in 7.1) :

The sample is in 7.1 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.

Sample : “Someone Somewhere In Summertimer” Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :

The choice is quite simple: to find the original version, CD remains the most faithful medium. Then there are the remastered versions available on SACD, offering a slightly lower dynamic range than the version on the blu-ray. The blu-ray also features the 5.1 version from 2005. As for the new 2025 mixes (stereo, 5.1 and Atmos), they unfortunately lose the sound and spirit of the original version. The blu-ray remains the preferred choice for tracks from the remastered version of the original and the 5.1 version from 2005.

Dynamic Range measurements are shown below.

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Measurements

Dynamic Range comparaisons

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

	CD – 1983	SACD – 2003	Blu-ray Stereo new mix – 2025	Blu-ray Stereo Original Mix – 2025	Blu-ray 5.1 new mix- 2025	Blu-ray 5.1 mix 2005 – 2025	Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025	Amazon Ultra – 2025	Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025
Global	DR15	DR11	DR15	DR14	DR14	DR12	DR15	DR11	DR15
Min	DR13	DR10	DR14	DR12	DR12	DR11	DR13	DR9	DR13
Max	DR16	DR13	DR16	DR15	DR17	DR14	DR17	DR13	DR17
Someone Somewhere In Summertime	DR15	DR11	DR16	DR14	DR14	DR12	DR13	DR11	DR14
Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel	DR15	DR11	DR15	DR14	DR13	DR12	DR15	DR10	DR15
Promised You A Miracle	DR15	DR11	DR14	DR14	DR13	DR11	DR15	DR11	DR15
Big Sleep	DR14	DR11	DR15	DR14	DR13	DR13	DR15	DR11	DR15
Somebody Up There Likes You	DR16	DR13	DR16	DR15	DR12	DR14	DR13	DR13	DR13
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)	DR13	DR10	DR15	DR12	DR14	DR12	DR16	DR10	DR16
Glittering Prize	DR14	DR11	DR15	DR14	DR17	DR13	DR17	DR9	DR17
Hunter And The Hunted	DR15	DR11	DR14	DR14	DR13	DR12	DR14	DR11	DR14
King Is White And In The Crowd	DR15	DR11	DR16	DR14	DR14	DR13	DR15	DR11	DR16
In Every Heaven *						DR12

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.

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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