Muse is back with The WOW! Signal, their tenth studio album due on June 26, 2026, its title drawn from the mysterious unexplained radio signal picked up from space in 1977. Two singles have already paved the way: Unravelling (in 2025), a massive track built on 8-string guitars and djent rhythms produced by Dan Lancaster, and Be With You (March 2026), a three-act journey from church organ to cosmic electronica. These two extracts, worlds apart in style, speak to a band that refuses to repeat itself and keeps pushing its own boundaries.

So what can we expect from this new album? Here are the first analyses of both first tracks in stereo and Dolby Atmos versions.

For this review, you will find 2 versions tested:

• Ed 1: Tidal – 2026
• Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026

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 are available here

The album is composed of 2 tracks:

1. Be With You
2. Unravelling

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Tidal – 2026

Presentation

This is the Tidal Max presented in FLAC 24 bits 48 kHz.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR3

The waveform of the Tidal – 2026 version shows a extremely low dynamic range confirmed with DR3.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 24 kHz with no signal above this frequency due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Tidal – 2026.
The spectrum shows that the signal rises to 24 kHz with no signal above this frequency due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency.

Synthesis and listening

This is a good example of sounding loud or rather very loud, as indicated by the DR3 on both tracks. Much of the subtlety present in the Dolby Atmos version is lost here. On streaming platforms, the level will be turned down by about 6 to 7 dB.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●oooo (1)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●ooo (2)

Sample : Unravelling. 24 bits 48 kHz:

Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026

Presentation

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026 version shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11.

The spectrogram of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track in 9.1.6 is limited to 20kHz with no signal above . 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 bass channel (LFE) is filtering at 120 Hz.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026.
The spectrum of Dolby Atmos version decoded in 7.1 shows that all channels are used. The LFE channel is used with a cutoff frequency of 120 Hz (green arrow). The white arrow indicates the high-frequency limit at 20 kHz due to Dolby Digital Plus encoding. The yellow arrow indicates the high-frequency limit at 24 kHz due to encoding at the 48 kHz sampling frequency used.

Synthesis and listening

The dynamic range of the Dolby Atmos version is clearly superior to that of the stereo version, which sits at DR3. While it doesn t reach maximum dynamic range, this remains consistent with Muse s musical style
Not only does the Dolby Atmos version provide a more dynamic presentation, allowing for greater detail and a more energetic sound, but the Atmos mix also delivers energy across all channels. The use of the wide channels is particularly effective, creating a powerful rendering and a spatial distribution of the music that fully immerses the listener in Muse’s sound.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●●●o (9.3)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (3.5)

Sample : Unravelling. 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 : Unravelling. Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :

With a DR3, Muse clearly aims to sound very loud, perhaps too loud. In comparison, the Dolby Atmos version, when played on a 9.1.6 system, delivers far more energy, dynamic range, and overall power thanks to its use of all channels.
One can only hope that the vinyl master won t be sourced from this ultra-compressed stereo version. Verdict in June.

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

	Tidal – 2026	Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026
Global	DR3	DR11
Min	DR3	DR11
Max	DR3	DR11
Be With You	DR03	DR11
Unravelling	DR03

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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