“The Overview”, Steven Wilson’s eighth studio album, released on March 14, 2025. This concept album is inspired by the overview effect, an awareness observed in astronauts when they view the Earth from space.
It consists of two 20-minute musical suites: “Objects Outlive Us” and “The Overview”.
Musically, Steven Wilson incorporates influences from Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Rush and Vangelis into his distinctive progressive style. “Objects Outlive Us” fuses classic rock and progressive, with lyrics co-written with XTC’s Andy Partridge, exploring the links between everyday life and cosmic vastness.
“The Overview” adopts an astronaut’s perspective, incorporating electronic and space sounds to create a meditative mood.
The music was entirely composed for space sound. For the first time, the stereo version is a scaled-down version of the space version, as this review confirms.
With his mastery of Dolby Atmos mixing, Steven Wilson has created a totally immersive space version of “The Overview”, immersing us in his musical universe.
Review of another Steven Wilson album :
For this review, you will find 6 versions tested: blu-ray with tracks in stereo PCM, DTS HDMA 5.1, Dolby Atmos, Tidal MAX and Dolby Atmos, and vinyl record.
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 2 tracks:
- Objects Outlive Us
- The Overview
Summary, scoring and Samples
Ed 1: Blu-ray Stereo – 2025
Presentation
This is the stereo 24 bits 96 kHz PCM track on the blu-ray version. The blu-ray contains 3 lossless sound tracks, a PCM stereo track, a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos track for the version with voices and the musical version (ref: 602475248378). The musical versions have not been tested.
Waveform and Spectrum: DR11
The waveform of the blu-ray Stereo shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 96 kHz sampling frequency.
The graph below represents the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo – 2025.
The spectrum shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow), with a slight extension to 30 kHz. This confirms the use of a 96 kHz sampling frequency.
Synthesis and listening
The stereo version delivers a dynamic and detailed sound experience with impressive precision. However, despite this undeniable quality, it falls short of the superb Dolby Atmos version in terms of immersion and dynamism. The Dolby Atmos mix offers a broader, three-dimensional soundstage, allowing for more natural and realistic positioning of instruments and effects in space.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
- Restitution: ●●●●o (4)
Sample : The Overview 24 bits 96 kHz:
Ed 2: Blu-ray 5.1 – 2025
Presentation
This is the DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 24 bits 96 kHz track on the blu-ray version. The blu-ray contains 3 lossless sound tracks, a PCM stereo track, a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos track for the version with voices and the musical version (ref:602475248378). The musical versions have not been tested.
Spatialization:
The spatialization of Blu-ray 5.1 – 2025 version varies from track to track, with values between 3.9 and 4.5.
Spatialization : ●●●●o (4.2)
Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.
Waveform and Spectrum: DR15
The waveform of the blu-ray 5.1 shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR15.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 96 kHz sampling frequency. The LFE channel is filtered at around 120 Hz (as indicated by the green arrow).
The graph below represents the spectrum of the Blu-ray 5.1 – 2025.
All channels operate at a comparable level (with the exception of the center channel), which favors good spatialization. Maximum frequencies in the spectrum reach up to 30 kHz. The LFE channel applies a cutoff frequency of 120 Hz (indicated by the green arrow).
Synthesis and listening
The Blu-ray version in DTS HDMA 5.1 delivers an immersive sound experience, but it falls short of the three-dimensional immersion offered by the Dolby Atmos track.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
- Spatialization: ●●●●o (4.2)
- Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)
Sample : The Overview 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 3: Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025
Presentation
This is the Dolby Atmos track on the blu-ray version. The blu-ray contains 3 lossless sound tracks, a PCM stereo track, a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos track for the version with voices and the musical version (ref:602475248378). The musical versions have not been tested.
Spatialization:
The spatialization of Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025 version varies from track to track, with values between 8.9 and 9.5.
Spatialization : ●●●●●●●●●o (9.2)
Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.
Below the spatialization in 9.1.6 for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.
Waveform and Spectrum: DR16
The waveform of the blu-ray Dolby Atmos shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR16.
The spectrogram of the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos track downmixed in 2.0 is limited to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above (white arrow).
The graph below represents the spectrum of the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025.
All channels are used in a coherent, balanced way (with the exception of the center channel, which is slightly lower in level), enhancing the perception of spatialization and offering a more immersive audio experience. The maximum frequency is 24 kHz (indicated by the yellow arrow), reflecting the 48 kHz sampling rate used with Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos. The LFE channel applies a cutoff frequency of 120 Hz (indicated by the green arrow).
Synthesis and listening
Steven Wilson is a master of Dolby Atmos mixing, as demonstrated by his remixes of many of today’s classic albums. With this album, he brings us the composition and mixing of his music in Dolby Atmos (after “The Harmony Codex”).
It’s into space that he takes us, not only the theme of his album, but also the 3D spatial rendering of his music that we find here in Dolby Atmos.
The music surrounds us totally, it’s as if it were alive, and Steven Wilson offers us a true 360-degree sound experience. It’s a true benchmark in the use of this spatial format!
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
- Spatialization: ●●●●●●●●●o (9.2)
- Restitution: ●●●●● (5)
Sample : The Overview 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 : The Overview Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :
Ed 4: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025
Presentation
This is the Tidal Dolby Atmos edition presented in Dolby Digital Plus or AC-4 (link). Also available on Apple Music and Amazon Music
Spatialization:
The spatialization of Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025 version varies from track to track, with values between 9.1 and 9.5.
Spatialization : ●●●●●●●●●o (9.3)
Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.
Below the spatialization in 9.1.6 for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.
Waveform and Spectrum: DR16
The waveform of the Tidal Dolby Atmos shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR16.
The spectrogram of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track downmixed in 2.0 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). The white arrow marks the high-frequency limit at 20 kHz, due to Dolby Digital Plus encoding. 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 offers less fine rendering and spatial precision than the Dolby Atmos version available on Blu-ray, encoded in lossless Dolby Digital TrueHD. This is due to the difference in encoded data rates, which are limited to 768 kbits/s for Dolby Digital Plus Atmos, whereas data rates can rise to 10,000 kbits/s for Dolby TrueHD Atmos!
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
- Spatialization: ●●●●●●●●●o (9.3)
- Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)
Sample : The Overview 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 : The Overview Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :
Ed 5: Tidal Max – 2025
Presentation
This is the Tidal MAX edition presented in FLAC 24 bits 96 kHz.
Waveform and Spectrum: DR11
The waveform of the Tidal stereo remastered in 2009 shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 96 kHz sampling frequency.
The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal Max – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra are perfectly superimposed, confirming the use of a master common to both versions.
Synthesis and listening
Rendering is comparable to that of the stereo Blu-ray version.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
- Restitution: ●●●●o (4)
Sample : The Overview 24 bits 96 kHz:
Ed 6: Green vinyl record – 2025
Presentation
This is the green vinyl record with one LP at 33.33 rpm (ref:602475245681).
Waveform and Spectrum: DR14
The waveform of the vinyl record shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR14.
The spectrogram below indicates that the signal exceeds 20 kHz (white arrow) and includes a component above 30 kHz (white arrow) made up of both music and distortion caused by the operating principles of the vinyl record.
The graph below compares the spectrum of the Green vinyl record – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra show an almost perfect superposition up to 4 kHz. Beyond this frequency, a slight attenuation in level is perceptible on the vinyl record, varying between 1 and 3 dB. This finesse in the sound rendering shows the quality of the lacquer cutting work, underlining the technical mastery and particular attention paid to preserving the original master.
Synthesis and listening
This pressing is of the highest quality, enabling this vinyl disc to deliver a version that is both dynamic and rich, offering a full, immersive soundstage comparable to that of the Blu-ray stereo version. The sound rendering is distinguished by a subtle warmth, bringing a touch of authenticity and depth absent from the digital versions, while maintaining good precision and clarity.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
- Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
- Restitution: ●●●●o (4)
Sample : The Overview 24 bits 96 kHz:
Conceived and designed for spatial rendering, the Dolby Atmos version of the blu-ray is the reference for this album, immersing us in a 360-degree sound universe.
It’s a truly immersive sound experience, designed to be listened to on a 7.1.4 system to fully appreciate the spatial rendering of Steven Wilson’s composition. The stereo version, while very pleasant to listen to, is merely a reduction of this spatial version.
The stereo versions, while successful, lack spatialization compared to the Dolby Atmos version.
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 6 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :
| Blu-ray Stereo – 2025 | Blu-ray 5.1 – 2025 | Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025 | Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025 | Tidal Max – 2025 | Green vinyl record – 2025 | |
| Global | DR11 | DR15 | DR16 | DR16 | DR11 | DR14 |
| Min | DR10 | DR14 | DR16 | DR16 | DR10 | DR13 |
| Max | DR12 | DR16 | DR16 | DR16 | DR12 | DR14 |
| Objects Outlive Us | DR10 | DR14 | DR16 | DR16 | DR10 | DR13 |
| The Overview | DR12 | DR16 | DR16 | DR16 | DR12 | DR14 |
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 :
- 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.
Thank you very much for this review. One small note: Did you mix up DD+ and TrueHD in the following sentence:
“The Dolby Atmos version in Dolby Digital Plus streaming format offers finer rendering and spatial precision than the Dolby Atmos version available on Blu-ray, encoded in lossless Dolby Digital TrueHD. This is due to the difference in encoded data rates, which are limited to 768 kbits/s for Dolby Digital Plus Atmos, whereas data rates can rise to 10,000 kbits/s for Dolby TrueHD Atmos!”
Also, there is no such thing as “Dolby Digital TrueHD”, it’s either Dolby Digital (Plus) or Dolby TrueHD.
Thanks!
There is indeed a mistake, I wanted to say:
“The Dolby Digital Plus streaming Dolby Atmos version offers less fine rendering and spatial precision than the Dolby Atmos version available on Blu-ray”
Hi,
I recently discovered your site and I find your work fascinating and very interesting. I recently entered the world of audiophiles with the acquisition of a hi-fi system with an amplifier. I’m still undecided between Tidal and Qobuz for streaming. The main difference is that Tidal offers Dolby Atmos while Qobuz doesn’t. According to your review, the Dolby Atmos version is more dynamic than Steven Wilson’s Max version on Tidal, . Can this be heard on a 2.0 stereo system, or should I choose the Max version? Thank you in advance for your feedback. And again, congratulations on the quality of your work.
Thank you!
To listen to the Tidal Atmos stereo version, you need a home cinema amplifier to decode Dolby Atmos. On a 2.0 system you can only access the MAX version.
Otherwise, Apple Music has just announced that the Windows application allows access to Dolby Atmos, I have not tested it, but it seems that it is only in binaural mode.
Thank you for the feedback. To give you more context, I have a Yamaha RN 600A Hi-Fi amp that has a built-in streamer and I use the Musiccast app. When I’m on Tidal, I can choose the Max version or the Dolby Atmos version depending on the albums. The sound comes across very well in stereo even with the file in Atmos. I imagine that the amp does a 2.0 downmix. So I was wondering if I could still benefit from the dynamics of Atmos compared to a Max file even in stereo…
I don’t know how your Yamaha RN 600A amplifier works with Musiccast app. If you can select the Dolby Atmos version of an album, and the sound is different from the MAX version, then it does take Dolby Atmos into account. In this case, there are 3 possibilities: 1 – It uses the Dolby Digital Plus Atmos version with a stereo downmix. 2 – Or it uses the Dolby Digital Plus Atmos version with a binaural downmix. 3- or It uses the Dolby AC-4 version, which is binaural.
These versions are generally more dynamic than the Tidal MAX version.
Thanks again for your clarification. Sorry if we’re moving away from the original topic, but I find it very interesting to talk with an expert like you. The only information I have at my disposal is the Atmos logo that appears on Tidal when the sound is compatible and the sampling quality (bit, khz etc…). At low volume I hear almost no difference, however when turning up the volume I have the impression that the Dolby Atmos versions are more ample and dynamic. Even if it is not day and night with the Max version.