Muse The Wow! Signal is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Muse. Conceived as a concept album, it revolves around the themes of cosmic mystery, extraterrestrial intelligence, and human connections, drawing inspiration from the famous 1977 radio astronomy event known as the Wow! Signal.
The album continues in Muse s signature style, blending epic rock with electronic and orchestral elements, while venturing further into science-fiction storytelling. Through its tracks, it explores the idea of potential contact with something beyond Earth, using space and extraterrestrial communication as metaphors for emotional and existential questions.

For this review, you will find 3 versions tested:

• Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026
• Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026
• Ed 3: Colored vinyl record – 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 10 tracks:

1. The Dark Forest
2. Nightshift Superstar
3. Shimmering Scars
4. Cryogen
5. Be With You
6. Hexagons
7. The Sickness In You & I
8. Unravelling
9. Hush
10. Space Debris

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026

Presentation

This is the Tidal MAX presented in lossless 24 bits 48 kHz format. This is also available on Amazon Music an Apple Music.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR4

The waveform of the Tidal MAX – 2026 version shows a extremely low dynamic range confirmed with DR4.

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 compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Colored vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).The two spectral curves almost perfectly overlap across the entire frequency range, with only a slight boost in the vinyl above 10 kHz, varying between 1 and 3 dB.

Synthesis and listening

Unsurprisingly, this album suffers from extremely heavy dynamic range compression, just as we already observed when the first single was released. Some will argue that this is simply a characteristic of this style of music, which is expected to sound loud and powerful. However, with an average DR value of 4 (ranging from DR3 to DR5 depending on the track), the processing is clearly excessive, resulting in a completely squashed sound.
A comparison with the Dolby Atmos version shows that it is perfectly possible to preserve Muse’s signature sound while allowing for significantly greater dynamic range. An excerpt of the Dolby Atmos mix showcasing the 3D spatial audio is also available on YouTube, giving you a good idea of how this album could sound with more dynamic range.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●oooo (1)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●ooo (2.5)

Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026

Presentation

This is the Tidal Dolby Atmos presented in Dolby Digital Plus at 768 kbits/s. This is also available on Amazon Music an Apple Music.

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR14

The waveform of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026 shows a high range confirmed with DR14.

The spectrogram of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track in 7.1.4 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) i filtered 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 high-frequency limit is 24 kHz due to encoding at the 48 kHz sampling frequency used.

Synthesis and listening

With its dynamic and lively mix, the Dolby Atmos version makes full use of all available channels, as illustrated by the spatialization visualization video. The immersive mix varies from track to track, with each song taking a different approach to the placement of sounds and making full use of the three-dimensional soundstage. Muse’s signature sound is fully preserved while benefiting from the added depth and immersion. This is, by far, the best way to experience the album.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization SP: ●●●●●●●ooo (7.1)
• Spatialization SK: ●●●●●ooooo (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Ed 3: Colored vinyl record – 2026

Presentation

This is the Translucent Rosette Nebula vinyl record with one LP at 33 1/3 rpm (ref: 5026854665764)

Waveform and Spectrum: DR10

The waveform of the Colored vinyl record – 2026 version shows a correct dynamic range confirmed with DR10.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz with signal above this frequency containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record s operating principle.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Colored vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).The two spectral curves almost perfectly overlap across the entire frequency range, with only a slight boost in the vinyl above 10 kHz, varying between 1 and 3 dB.

Synthesis and listening

For stereo listening, the vinyl edition offers a more enjoyable experience than the digital version, it s a bit more dynamic with a sound that s slightly less muffled. Beyond the listening experience itself, it s also a beautifully crafted release, available on black and colored vinyl.
As is often the case with analog formats, however, it is difficult to determine with certainty which master was used for the vinyl cut. This uncertainty stems from the inherent limitations of the analog medium, as explained in the article “Does Analog Media Force Dynamics on Music? or Does Analog Media Increase the Dynamics?“.

Rating:

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

With The Wow! Signal, the immersive Dolby Atmos version stands out as the best way to fully experience the album, delivering a more dynamic and enveloping sound. For stereo listening, the vinyl edition offers a more enjoyable experience than the digital version, it’s a bit more “dynamic” with a sound that’s slightly less muffled.

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

	Tidal MAX – 2026	Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026	Colored vinyl record – 2026
Global	DR4	DR14	DR10
Min	DR3	DR11	DR10
Max	DR5	DR16	DR11
The Dark Forest	DR05	DR14	DR10
Nightshift Superstar	DR05	DR16	DR11
Shimmering Scars	DR05	DR13	DR10
Cryogen	DR04	DR15	DR10
Be With You	DR03	DR14	DR10
Hexagons	DR04	DR13	DR11
The Sickness In You & I	DR03	DR15	DR10
Unravelling	DR03	DR11	DR10
Hush	DR03	DR15	DR10
Space Debris	DR05	DR13	DR11

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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