Tori Amos – In Times of Dragons (Blu-ray Dolby Atmos TrueHD)

Spatialization SP: ●●●●●ooooo (5.1) , SK: ●●●●●ooooo (5), Dynamique: ●●●●o (4) – Global: ●●●●o (4.5)

This is the Dolby TrueHD Atmos track from the SDE limited edition Blu-ray Audio release of the album. This Blu-ray edition includes five audio tracks: Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24), Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix (48/24), 5.1 Surround Mix (48/24), Stereo Mix (48/24), and Stereo Instrumental Mix (48/24).

The Dolby Atmos mix makes excellent use of spatial audio, particularly during the choruses, where backing vocals and instruments are effectively distributed across the surround channels on tracks such as In Times of Dragons and Provincetown. Some songs, including Ode to Minnesota, feature an even wider, nearly 180-degree soundfield that further enhances the immersive experience. The low end is powerful and well controlled, providing the album with a solid foundation. While the lead vocals remain primarily anchored to the front soundstage, the Dolby Atmos mix adds a new dimension to the listening experience. Overall, this is a highly successful mix. The Blu-ray edition offers the best possible sound quality, with superior dynamic range, greater sonic detail, and more precise spatial imaging.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization SP: ●●●●●ooooo (5.1)
• Spatialization SK: ●●●●●ooooo (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4.5)

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

You can download the 3D spatialization representation file below and open it with the application available on this page.

Waveform ,Spectrum and Dynamique: DR13 (Min: DR8, Max: DR15)

The waveform of the Bluray Dolby ATMOS TrueHD – 2026 shows a high range confirmed with DR13.

The spectrogram of the Atmos in 9.1.6 version of blu-ray shows that the signal goes down to 24 kHz and that there is no signal above this frequency , due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency used with Dolby Digital TrueHD encoding (lossless). The bass channel (LFE) is gently filtered with a low-pass slope at 120 Hz.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Bluray Dolby ATMOS TrueHD – 2026.
The Dolby Atmos remix downmixed to 7.1 is based on a sampling frequency of 48 kHz, limiting the bandwidth to 24 kHz (as indicated by the yellow arrow). The LFE channel is filtered down to 120 Hz (as indicated by the green arrow).The spectrum confirms the dominance of the front channels, followed by the side channels and the rear surrounds.

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.