Genesis - Trespass on CD: Blind Listening Test

Maybe it's not as flawed-sounding as Wind & Wuthering or And Then There Were Three, but Trespass is probably the one Gabriel-era album that could use the most improvements. The albums from Nursery Cryme thru Lamb may not sound perfect either, but I've seen more complaints about Trespass's production than those. Hopefully this thread will help you decide which version to look for (or re-evaluate if you already own one of them.)

These FLAC samples come from 4 different CD masterings. Each file is approximately 3 minutes and contains excerpts from Looking for Someone, Stagnation, Dusk, and The Knife. I didn't pick these sections to give certain masterings an edge over the others. They're just fragments that I thought would be good for the poll, nothing more and nothing less. Replaygain has been applied through Audacity so that each mastering of the songs is around the same volume.

Rules and notes:

• Please refrain from guessing which mastering a sample uses so we can avoid confirmation bias. This wasn't much of an issue with my previous blind tests, but I feel it bears repeating.
• If you intend to vote, it's recommended to read other people's posts after you have listened to the samples and voted, in order to escape confirmation bias.
• It's recommended that you listen to the samples and discuss what you heard. Discussion of compression (without referring to DR values), EQ, and different tape speeds is fair game.
• Comments based on visual inspection of waveforms, spectral plots, DR values, and noise reduction might condition the poll results while the poll is open. I strongly urge you to avoid discussion of these things until the poll has closed.
• You can't view the results before you vote.
• You'll be unable to vote after the poll ends.
  
• Votes are publicly displayed.
• If you want to change your choice, you can do so as much as you please until the poll's expiration.
• This is entirely optional, but I'd appreciate if you could point out if you're listening on speakers or through headphones. If you don't, then that's totally fine. It does help a bit though.

Dropbox links

• Sample A
• Sample B
• Sample C
• Sample D

My previous blind listeing polls:

• Rush - Signals
• The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
• Genesis - A Trick of the Tail
• Yes - 90125

You've got 2 weeks to vote, after which, you can no longer vote.

I'm looking forward to seeing your opinions!

 

I didn't like the EQ of sample A, in particular the boomy bass. Same for sample D, it's a bit bright for my taste.
Sample B has a very laid-back sound, which is probably fine when listening to the entire album. But I voted for sample C, which is slightly more detailed than B.
B and C are actually both fine by me.

 

I went with B as it has the best midrange and smoothest bass. It's also the most consistent of the 4 samples. The vocals and pianos are very realistic and rich. C is similar to B, but with a slight upper-mid boost. That approach works pretty well on Looking for Someone and especially Dusk. A is decent, but a little smiley-faced and forward. I can see myself preferring it over C depending on the day, though. D is dead last for me. Way too much treble and weak bass. The Knife is painfully bright here.

B > C > A > D

 

I find that I generally like them in the order in which they're presented, from most to least. That said, C still has some merits over A & B (a little better high end on the first three tracks, but too much on the last).

 

BTW, I used Viso NAD HP50 headphones for my initial listening. I'll do another comparison with a different set later.

I think all of these are good enough except for D. Given how obnoxiously trebly it is, I'm not sure how it was deemed acceptable for release.

 

I haven't listened to the album for some time so I didn't remember what the versions I have sounded like. I enjoyed B the most, it sounds a bit muddy first but clearly the most balanced and full sound. C comes next but is a bit less natural. A is harsher and D too bright.

 

I did another listen using AKG EO-IG955BR earbuds and my opinions from the first comparison are basically the same. I love B's consistency, but A and C are good alternatives if you want some added sparkle.

 

Anyone else want to try?

 

Having listened on speakers :

A: good at low volume, but fatiguing higher . Some lows are a bit boosted.
B: natural sound . Can be cranked up
C: sounds harsh (on vocals & cymbals)
D: open sound but not great on my speakers. It could be good on earphones or high end system.

My vote goes to B

Thank you Diablo for this new test. It's great to be able to compare different masterings.

 

I'm hoping this gets some more votes (at least 20 overall). Otherwise, I'll probably only make polls for the more popular albums (Foxtrot thru Wind and maybe Duke). Thanks to everyone who voted so far.

 

Diablo Griffin
I would Love to take the test
I will come back tomorrow to make the test Because right now here it's 4 in the morning and I want to be focused.


Trespass is one of my favorite Genesis albums, An album filled with so much emotion and beauty.

 

One week left.

 

I listened with my Shure srh940 headphones

A: As someone who likes mild bass the bass in A is too boomy and hard , the beautiful sounds Swallowed by the bass.
B . Very natural sound , Very nice , I like it
C. clear ,open sound, sharp treble but in a good way for my taste. My favorite sample
D. I love open, clear treble...but the treble is too much for me here ( 1:33

I vote for C but I also like B

Thank you Diablo Griffin for this very interesting test

 

albertop
by reading your post I can see that
We actually have the same taste !

 

Hi.

Listening on Genelec studio monitors. Probably shouldn't be evaluating after a day of using my ears. Nice samples, and nicely laid out test.

Like many others not my favourite sounding Genesis album, mostly due to the ghastly drum sound. I have a first UK pink scroll among other versions.

Sample C is an easy win for me. Yes it may be harsher at times, but I can hear considerably more in the timber of the instruments and the sound of the room and the mix feels less cluttered. I think I know which this one is.....

From there it's B > A > D, with (aside from the lousy bass boost of sample D) diminishing returns. The differences between these three don't sound too substantial to me.

Look forward to more Genesis CD cage matches. I have a good selection of their CDs with some choice early versions.

 

Listening with my admittedly 68 year old ears, I found the following:

A: decent, but maybe slightly boomy. Dusk and The Knife sounded most natural here
B: muddy, not enough detail. Sounds like the life has been sucked out of the music
C: decent, slight treble boost over A. Looking For Someone and Stagnation benefited from this and sounded their best here
D: too much treble, most unnatural

 

Looks like B and C are equal. Does anyone wanna try breaking the tie?

 

I plan to. Hopefully before the end of the week!

 

Diablo Griffin , so we will have an extension like in basketball ?
can you wait until the extension will bring a win of C ? and if B will win can you make another extension even until 2030 until C will win?

 

Listening on headphones, I voted B, sounds most natural to me. I'd say B, C, A, D

 

Mirroring the forum's results, I was torn between B and C... Urgh, what a flawed mix! Makes you wish for a Steven Wilson salvage operation. None of the samples sounded completely satisfying to me, either on speakers or headphones...

In the end I voted for C (although it was overall a bit too bright for my taste -especially The Knife) because it seemed to me a bit better transfer than B, or if slight compression was used it was judiciously applied.
B seemed more natural but perhaps a bit too laid back and weedy. As you said it is more consistent overall.
A had a strong presence in the mids but the lower frequencies were muddy. Too bad.
D was simply too sizzling for me and was soon disqualified!

But frankly depending on the day and sytem I am listening on, I could go with either B, C or A.

 

Now I can't wait for the reveal. Trespass is one of my favourite Genesis albums.
I thought there were only 3 masterings of the original mix, so I'm eager to find out which one I didn't know about.

 

4 days left.

 

3 days left. Hopefully someone can break the tie so we'll have a clear winner!

 

2 more days!