Composed by Ludwig Göransson for Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, the soundtrack is a bold and immersive musical journey that perfectly reflects the scale and intensity of Odysseus legendary voyage. Rather than relying on a traditional orchestral approach, Göransson developed a unique sonic identity built around ancient Greek-inspired instruments, deep percussion, powerful low frequencies, and experimental textures, creating a sound world that feels both timeless and modern.
From intimate atmospheric passages to massive cinematic crescendos, the score plays a central role in shaping the film’s emotional impact.
While the IMAX 70mm presentation is regarded as the definitive theatrical experience for The Odyssey, does its soundtrack remain equally faithful across all available home media formats?
This is what we will discover in this review, comparing the different versions to determine which one best preserves the artistic vision, dynamics, and immersive experience of the original film soundtrack.

For this review, you will find 2 versions tested:

• Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026
• Ed 2: Apple Music 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 23 tracks:

1. Zeus’s Law
2. Ithaca
3. Penelope
4. Telemachus
5. Calypso Agamemnon
6. Let’s Go Home
7. Cyclops
8. Menelaus, Husband of Helen
9. Troy
10. Laestrygonians
11. Circe (feat. Samantha Morton)
12. Hades
13. Loyal to the Future
14. Sirens
15. Apollo’s Island
16. 7 Years
17. Another Name
18. Bringing It All
19. Welcome Home Stranger
20. Odysseus
21. The Trial of the Bow Vengeance
22. Chasing the Escaping Sun
23. When I’m Home

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 and Apple Music.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR6

The waveform of the Tidal MAX – 2026 version shows a very low dynamic range confirmed with DR6.

The spectrogram shows that the musical content extends up to approximately 24 kHz. Beyond this point, the signal consists primarily of noise up to 48 kHz, which is the maximum representable frequency resulting from the 96 kHz sampling rate used for this stereo edition.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026.
The spectrum of the Telemachus excerpt clearly shows audio content extending up to 24 kHz, with no meaningful signal present above that frequency. As a result, the 96 kHz sampling rate used for this release provides no additional high-frequency musical information, leaving the available bandwidth above 24 kHz effectively unused.

Synthesis and listening

The analysis reveals the album’s full low-frequency energy and its very wide stereo image. Unfortunately, the stereo release suffers from a significant reduction in dynamic range, despite the fact that the original theatrical mix and the Dolby Atmos version both preserve a much greater degree of dynamics. It is regrettable that the stereo master does not remain faithful to the dynamic character of the music as presented in the film.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●oooo (1)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Ed 2: Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2026

Presentation

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

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The waveform of the Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2026 shows a high range confirmed with DR13. The Dolby Atmos downmixed in 2.0 have a DR11 (with Dynamic Range betwenn DR10 and DR15).

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 fitrered at 120Hz. The wide channels are not used with 9.1.6 decoded Atmos.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2026.
The spectrum of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track in 7.1 is limited to 20kHz white arrow) 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. There is not bass channel (LFE) in this part of Telemachus. A particularly high level can be observed in the low-frequency range around 35 Hz.

Synthesis and listening

This Dolby Atmos version fully restores the dynamic range of The Odyssey film score. Powerful low frequencies provide the music with impressive energy, while the level of immersion varies from one track to another. The soundstage extends well beyond traditional stereo, creating an approximately 180-degree presentation. During the quieter, more atmospheric passages, where the low-frequency content is less prominent, the sense of spatial immersion becomes even more pronounced.
For listeners seeking the closest experience to the film’s original musical presentation, this Dolby Atmos edition is the recommended choice, faithfully preserving both the soundtrack’s dynamics and its full emotional impact.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization SP: ●●●ooooooo (3.3)
• Spatialization SK: ●●●●oooooo (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Powerful bass, outstanding dynamic range, and an immersive soundstage are the defining qualities of the Dolby Atmos version of The Odyssey soundtrack. It is by far the best way to experience the film’s musical atmosphere as intended. Even if you don’t have the power of an IMAX theater, this is the best medium for getting the closest possible sound experience.
In contrast, the stereo edition, while available in a lossless format, suffers from a substantial reduction in dynamic range. This heavy dynamic compression significantly diminishes its fidelity to the film’s original musical presentation, making it a much less faithful listening experience despite its technically lossless encoding.

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 MAX – 2026	Apple Music Dolby Atmos – 2026
Global	DR6	DR13
Min	DR4	DR10
Max	DR12	DR16
Zeus’s Law	DR07	DR14
Ithaca	DR07	DR13
Penelope	DR08	DR15
Telemachus	DR05	DR13
Calypso Agamemnon	DR06	DR14
Let’s Go Home	DR04	DR11
Cyclops	DR04	DR15
Menelaus, Husband of Helen	DR06	DR13
Troy	DR05	DR13
Laestrygonians	DR05	DR13
Circe (feat. Samantha Morton)	DR10	DR14
Hades	DR04	DR15
Loyal to the Future	DR12	DR13
Sirens	DR09	DR12
Apollo’s Island	DR08	DR15
7 Years	DR07	DR11
Another Name	DR05	DR10
Bringing It All	DR06	DR15
Welcome Home Stranger	DR07	DR13
Odysseus	DR07	DR10
The Trial of the Bow Vengeance	DR05	DR14
Chasing the Escaping Sun	DR06	DR16
When I’m Home	DR04	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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