It s always a pleasure to revisit John Williams greatest hits.
The compilation album John Williams Legacy draws its tracks from three major albums recorded by the composer for the Deutsche Grammophon label between 2019 and 2021.
Decca Records US and Deutsche Grammophon have selected recordings considered to be the finest interpretations, drawn from:
– Historic concerts given at the Musikverein in Vienna in January 2020 with the Vienna Philharmonic.
– Concerts given at the Berlin Philharmonie in October 2021 with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
– Studio sessions recorded in January 2019 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles (featuring Anne-Sophie Mutter).

For this review, three formats will be tested: the high-resolution stereo version, the vinyl record, and the Dolby Atmos version. This will be an opportunity to discover whether there are any differences between the three recording sources.

• Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026
• Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026
• Ed 3: Gold 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 15 tracks:

1. Main Title (Star Wars: A New Hope) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]
2. Hedwig’s Theme (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]
3. Raiders March (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]
4. Flying Theme (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]
5. Theme (Jurassic Park) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]
6. Superman March (Superman) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]
7. Theme (Schindler’s List) [Across the Stars, 2019] (avec Anne-Sophie Mutter)
8. Olympic Fanfare and Theme [The Berlin Concert, 2022]
9. Excerpts (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]
10. Harry’s Wondrous World (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]
11. Yoda’s Theme (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]
12. The Imperial March (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]
13. The Flight to Neverland (Hook) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]
14. Princess Leia’s Theme (Star Wars: A New Hope) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]
15. Throne Room & Finale (Star Wars: A New Hope) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026

Presentation

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

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the Tidal MAX – 2026 version shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11. Despite good dynamics, the red zones reveal the effect of a dynamic range limiter, which would certainly have made it possible to achieve a DR14, just like on the Dolby Atmos edition!

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises up to 48 kHz due to the 96 kHz sampling frequency. There are also differences in the maximum frequency depending on the source of the recording, with a higher frequency (the yellow arrow corresponds to “The Berlin Concert”(2022) and the other tracks having a lower frequency, as indicated by the white arrow, which corresponds to the other recordings.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Gold Vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).The curves of the two spectra overlap almost perfectly from 40 Hz to 14 kHz. Above 14 kHz (yellow area), the level of the vinyl record attenuates, dropping by up to 10 dB at 20 kHz.

Synthesis and listening

A beautiful compilation offering excellent sound quality in terms of precision; the dynamics are clearly present, although they could have been a bit more pronounced in certain passages.
The soundstage varies from track to track depending on the recording source used. It is more open on the Berlin concert recording, offering a more immersive experience with the orchestra.

Rating:

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

Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026

Presentation

This is the Tidal Dolby Atmos (link) 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 Dynamic range of the Dolby Atmos downmixed in 2.0 is DR14 (Between DR12 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 LFE (low-frequency) channel, as well as the LW and RW channels, are used only for the Vienna recordings included in this compilation.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026.
The spectrum of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track 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 green arrow shows the 120Hz filtering of the bass channel (LFE).

Synthesis and listening

The Dolby Atmos version captures all the dynamics of the original recording while also distinguishing between the various sound sources used.
In the recordings from the “John Williams in Vienna” (2020) concerts, the LW and RW channels are utilized, along with the subwoofer. The immersive experience is therefore more front-focused, with a very wide front soundstage (extended by the LW and RW channels).
For recordings from “The Berlin Concert” (2022), the immersive experience is very different; it is in 7.0.4 format and offers greater immersion with excellent use of the side surround channels.
Depending on the recording source, the listening experience shifts from one to the other.
But in both cases, the Dolby Atmos presentation recreates a concert hall experience with sound that fills the room.
It s a shame there isn t a pure-audio Blu-ray edition of this album to take advantage of the lossless encoding quality of Dolby TrueHD and capture all the subtlety of the stereo versions.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization SP: ●●●●●●●●oo (8.3)
• Spatialization SK: ●●●●oooooo (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Ed 3: Gold Vinyl record – 2026

Presentation

A beautiful vinyl edition presented on two stunning GOLD-colored 33.33 rpm records. (Ref:28948690855)

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The waveform of the Gold vinyl record – 2026 shows a high range confirmed with DR13.

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 Gold Vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).The curves of the two spectra overlap almost perfectly from 40 Hz to 14 kHz. Above 14 kHz (yellow area), the level of the vinyl record attenuates, dropping by up to 10 dB at 20 kHz.

Synthesis and listening

This vinyl edition is a pleasant surprise. Although it doesn’t quite match the precision and finesse of the high-resolution digital version, especially in the high frequencies, it offers a wider soundstage and a slightly softer sound, making for a very enjoyable listening experience.
As with the digital version, the differences between the recording sources are particularly noticeable in the soundstage, which the vinyl record accentuates slightly.
As with the digital version, the differences between the recording sources are particularly noticeable in the soundstage, which the vinyl record accentuates slightly.
The pressing quality is good, with acceptable background noise despite the fact that it is a colored record.

Rating:

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

The album John Williams Legacy offers a wonderful compilation across various formats, whether in stereo or Dolby Atmos.
As with any compilation, sources from different origins sound different, whether in stereo (digital or vinyl) or in Dolby Atmos (9.1.4 vs. 7.0.4, resulting in changes to the immersive experience).
However, despite the differences in sound, the quality remains very good.
It is a shame, however, that there isn t a Blu-ray Audio edition to enjoy the lossless sound in Dolby Atmos and the high-resolution stereo track.

Dynamic Range measurements and spectra 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	Gold Vinyl record – 2026
Global	DR11	DR14	DR13
Min	DR10	DR12	DR11
Max	DR12	DR15	DR15
Main Title (Star Wars: A New Hope) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]	DR11	DR13	DR13
Hedwig’s Theme (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR11	DR15	DR15
Raiders March (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]	DR12	DR14	DR13
Flying Theme (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR11	DR14	DR13
Theme (Jurassic Park) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]	DR10	DR12	DR12
Superman March (Superman) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR10	DR13	DR12
Theme (Schindler’s List) [Across the Stars, 2019] (avec Anne-Sophie Mutter)	DR12	DR12	DR12
Olympic Fanfare and Theme [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR11	DR15	DR13
Excerpts (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]	DR11	DR15	DR14
Harry’s Wondrous World (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR11	DR15	DR15
Yoda’s Theme (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR11	DR12	DR11
The Imperial March (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]	DR11	DR14	DR14
The Flight to Neverland (Hook) [John Williams in Vienna, 2020]	DR12	DR14	DR14
Princess Leia’s Theme (Star Wars: A New Hope) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR12	DR14	DR13
Throne Room & Finale (Star Wars: A New Hope) [The Berlin Concert, 2022]	DR10	DR14	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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