Released in June 2026, Night Blooms is the latest collaboration between Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. A follow-up to Still Blooming (2025), this album continues the actor and pianist s exploration of the Great American Songbook, blending elegant jazz arrangements with a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. Featuring Melody Gardot, Charlie Puth, Cynthia Erivo, dodie, Haley Reinhart, Ariana Grande, Maiya Sykes, and Scarlett Johansson, Night Blooms alternates between newly recorded standards and Late Night Sessions that revisit tracks from the previous album with fresh interpretations.
With its rich acoustic instrumentation, expressive vocals, and ethereal arrangements, Night Blooms is an ideal candidate for immersive audio.

In this review, we compare the Dolby Atmos, streaming stereo, and vinyl editions to determine which version offers the most faithful and captivating listening experience.

For this review, you will find 3 versions tested:

• Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026
• Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026
• Ed 3: 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 12 tracks:

1. Misty
2. Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered
3. If I Only Had A Brain
4. Over The Rainbow
5. Mean To Me
6. As Time Goes By
7. Tattoo
8. Lover
9. We’ll Meet Again (Late Night Session)
10. I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) (Late Night Session)
11. Stella By Starlight (Late Night Session)
12. The Best Is Yet To Come (Late Night Session)

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026

Presentation

This is the Tidal MAX presented in lossless 24 bits 96 kHz format. This is also available on Amazon Music an Apple Music.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR9

The waveform of the Tidal MAX – 2026 version shows a low dynamic range confirmed with DR9.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises up to 44kHz due to the 96 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Vinyl Record – 2026 (blue curve).The spectral curves of the two versions overlap almost perfectly up to 12 kHz. Above this frequency (yellow area), the vinyl record exhibits a gradual roll-off in the high frequencies, reaching more than 12 dB below the digital version at 20 kHz.

Synthesis and listening

Compared with the Dolby Atmos mix downmixed to stereo, the digital stereo version immediately reveals its more limited dynamic range. Although this lossless version is capable of reproducing fine detail, its reduced dynamics result in a presentation that lacks precision, openness, and impact. Overall, it delivers a less lively listening experience than the Dolby Atmos mix, which not only preserves greater dynamics but also benefits from a more immersive and spacious soundstage.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

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: DR15

The waveform of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026 shows a very high range confirmed with DR15.

The downmixed Dolby Atmos in 2.0 have a DR13 (between DR11 to 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 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, with higher lever for front and side. 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

I must admit that I was genuinely surprised from the very first listen. I was expecting a soundstage that was primarily front-focused, as is often the case with jazz recordings, but this mix takes a very different approach. It creates a wide 180-degree soundstage, taking full advantage of the surround channels to naturally position the instruments around the listener rather than simply extending the front stage. This well-thought-out spatial arrangement gives the performance remarkable openness and realism, allowing each instrument to breathe while preserving the cohesion of the ensemble. The 3D video on YouTube demonstrating spatialization clearly shows the distribution of sound in space according to the instruments.
This immersive presentation enhances the feeling of being in the presence of the musicians, revealing subtle instrumental details that are less noticeable in traditional stereo.
This spatialization is accompanied by a beautiful dynamic range. The music retains its natural contrasts, bringing the performance to life.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization SP: ●●●●●●●●oo (7.7)
• Spatialization SK: ●●●●●ooooo (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)

Ed 3: Vinyl Record – 2026

Presentation

This is the vinyl record presented in one LP at 33 1/3 rpm (ref: 8820622) with sticker made in Germany.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR12

The waveform of the Vinyl Record – 2026 version shows a very good dynamic range confirmed with DR12.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHzwith 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 Vinyl Record – 2026 (blue curve).The spectral curves of the two versions overlap almost perfectly up to 12 kHz. Above this frequency (yellow area), the vinyl record exhibits a gradual roll-off in the high frequencies, reaching more than 12 dB below the digital version at 20 kHz.

Synthesis and listening

As is often the case, the vinyl edition delivers a more dynamic-sounding presentation compared with the digital stereo version, with very low surface noise despite sides exceeding 21 minutes in length. However, it remains difficult to determine which type of master was used for the vinyl cut: a dedicated, more dynamic vinyl master, or the digital stereo master used as the source. Indeed, vinyl playback can alter the perceived dynamics of masters that rely on brickwall limiting, as explained in this article: “Does analog media force a dynamic on music? or Does Analog Media increase the dynamics?”.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (3.5)

Unfortunately, this album follows the trend of limiting dynamic range in jazz recordings and therefore does not entirely escape the effects of the loudness war. However, the Dolby Atmos version restores the music s full dynamic range while adding a very successful spatial presentation. The Atmos mix creates a truly immersive listening experience, bringing the listener closer to the performance and allowing the music to unfold naturally within a three-dimensional soundspace (see the video 3D of the spatialization).
For those who prefer a stereo listening experience, the vinyl edition remains a very appealing option, offering a more open and lively sound than the digital stereo 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 3 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	Tidal MAX – 2026	Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026	Vinyl Record – 2026
Global	DR9	DR15	DR12
Min	DR8	DR12	DR11
Max	DR11	DR21	DR13
Misty	DR08	DR14	DR12
Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered	DR08	DR13	DR13
If I Only Had A Brain	DR08	DR14	DR11
Over The Rainbow	DR08	DR12	DR11
Mean To Me	DR08	DR13	DR12
As Time Goes By	DR09	DR16	DR12
Tattoo	DR08	DR16	DR12
Lover	DR09	DR12	DR11
We’ll Meet Again (Late Night Session)	DR10	DR15	DR13
I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) (Late Night Session)	DR11	DR14	DR13
Stella By Starlight (Late Night Session)	DR09	DR21	DR11
The Best Is Yet To Come (Late Night Session)	DR09	DR16	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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