Summer is often the perfect time to get away, to go on multiple trips, to cover miles by car. This atmosphere of the open road and wide spaces immediately brings to mind the album “Autobahn”.
“Autobahn” is the fourth studio album by German band Kraftwerk, released in 1974. This album marks a break with their previous krautrock-influenced work, adopting a more electronic, melodic and structured sound.
The band, made up of Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, explores themes of modernity and technological progress, particularly through the automobile and the industrial era. The central track, “Autobahn” (22:43), is a sonic exploration of the experience of driving on a German autobahn, with sounds of engines and landscapes whizzing by.
This monumental track blends electronic music and minimalism, with repetitive lyrics about car travel.
The album also includes four other tracks: “Kometenmelodie”, “Mitternacht”, and “Morgenspaziergang”, which experiment with different atmospheres and moods, from the darkness of a comet to the tranquility of a morning drive.
Autobahn marks a commercial turning point for the band, becoming an international success. The single “Autobahn” became a hit, exposing the public to electronic music.
The album had a major influence on genres such as synth-pop, techno and ambient, and remains a milestone in the history of electronic music.

For this review, you will find 5 versions tested: blu-ray with tracks in stereo PCM, DTS HDMA 5.1, Dolby Atmos ,Tidal Dolby Atmos and remastered in 2009.

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 5 tracks:

1. Autobahn
2. Kometenmelodie 1
3. Kometenmelodie 2
4. Mitternacht
5. Morgenspaziergang

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Blu-ray Stereo – 2025

Presentation

This is the stereo track from the blu-ray version. The blu-ray contains 3 lossless soundtracks, a PCM stereo track, a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos track (ref:).

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The waveform of the blu-ray Stereo shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR13.

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 Stereo – 2025.
The spectrum shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency.

Synthesis and listening

The stereo version offers a dynamic, enveloping sound experience, with great precision in the rendering of detail. However, despite this undeniable quality, it remains less immersive than the superb Dolby Atmos version, which deploys a wider, three-dimensional soundstage and enables more natural, realistic localization of instruments and effects in space.

Rating:

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

Sample : “”Autobahn” 24 bits 48 kHz:

Ed 2: Blu-ray 5.1 – 2025

Presentation

This is the DTS HDMA 5.1 track from the blu-ray version. The blu-ray contains 3 lossless soundtracks, a PCM stereo track, a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos track (ref:).

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The waveform of the blu-ray 5.1 shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR13.

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 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 are used at a similar level, thus exploiting spatialization. Frequencies rise above 20 kHz. The LFE channel uses a cutoff frequency of 120 Hz (indicated by the green arrow).

Synthesis and listening

The bluray version in DTS HDMA 5.1 offers an immersive sound experience, but lags behind the 3D immersion provided by the Dolby Atmos track.

Rating:

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

Sample : “”Autobahn” 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 3: Blu-ray Dolby Atmos – 2025

Presentation

This is the Dolby Atmos track from the blu-ray version. The blu-ray contains 3 lossless soundtracks, a PCM stereo track, a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos track (ref:).

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

Below the spatialization for all tracks in 9.1.6. Click on the images to zoom in.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The waveform of the blu-ray Dolby Atmos shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR13.

The spectrogram of the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos track downmixed in 7.1 is limited to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above (white arrow). 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 Dolby Atmos – 2025.
All channels are employed at a consistent and balanced level, thereby enhancing the sense of spatialization and creating a more immersive audio experience.
The maximum frequency extends up to 24 kHz (indicated by the yellow arrow), which results from the 48 kHz sampling rate utilized with Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos. The LFE channel uses a cutoff frequency of 120 Hz (indicated by the green arrow).

Synthesis and listening

Released over 50 years ago, the unique blend of instruments and sound effects in this music lends itself remarkably well to Dolby Atmos mixing, as confirmed by the listening experience in this format.
All channels are utilized with precision, and the movement of instruments and sound effects, originally presented in stereo, is now expanded into a fully immersive 3D soundscape that envelops the listener.
The sense of depth and spatial detail is so convincing that, if this album weren’t already half a century old, one could easily believe it was conceived with Dolby Atmos in mind from the start.
This Blu-ray edition stands as a true showcase of Dolby Atmos technology, offering a breathtaking demonstration.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●●●o (8.8)
• Restitution: ●●●●● (5)

Sample : “”Autobahn” 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 : “”Autobahn” 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

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

Below the spatialization for all tracks in 9.1.6. Click on the images to zoom in.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR14

The waveform of the Tidal Dolby Atmos shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR14.

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 LFE channel is filtered at around 120 Hz (as indicated by the green arrow).

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 inferior rendering finesse and spatial precision compared to the Dolby Atmos version available on Blu-ray, which is encoded in the lossless Dolby Digital TrueHD format.
The Blu-ray version delivers greater audio clarity, more nuanced detail, and a more accurate spatial soundscape, resulting in a richer and more immersive listening experience.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●●●o (8.8)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4.0)

Sample : “”Autobahn” 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 : “”Autobahn” Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :

Ed 5: Tidal Remastered – 2009

Presentation

This is the Tidal edition presented in FLAC 16 bits 44.1 kHz

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The waveform of the Tidal stereo remastered in 2009 shows a high dynamic range confirmed with DR13.

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 Tidal Remastered – 2009 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo – 2025 (blue curve).The spectrum shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.

Synthesis and listening

Rendering is comparable to that of the stereo Blu-ray version, offering high-quality sound reproduction with good dynamics. However, it retains the inherent limitations of stereo in terms of depth and immersion, failing to recreate the sense of three-dimensional space of the Dolby Atmos mix.

Rating:

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

Sample : “”Autobahn”:

This Blu-ray edition is a true success, offering three audio tracks in stereo, 5.1 and Dolby Atmos formats.
Each of these tracks boasts a dynamic and precise sound reproduction, highlighting the richness and complexity of the original recording. However, it’s the Dolby Atmos track that, despite the album’s 50th anniversary, manages to deliver exceptional 3D immersion. Spatialization is striking, with a sensation of depth and movement that envelops the listener in a totally natural way.
This Atmos edition, without having the finesse and precision of Steven Wilson’s Dolby Atmos mix on his latest album “The overview”, is a fine technical demonstration of the potential of the Dolby Atmos format, giving the album an astonishingly modern new sonic life.

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 5 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 Remastered – 2009
Global	DR13	DR13	DR13	DR14	DR13
Min	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12
Max	DR14	DR14	DR14	DR16	DR14
Autobahn	DR12	DR13	DR14	DR14	DR12
Kometenmelodie 1	DR13	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR13
Kometenmelodie 2	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12
Mitternacht	DR12	DR13	DR14	DR14	DR12
Morgenspaziergang	DR14	DR14	DR14	DR16	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 :
  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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