Customer Reviews

TrekStor vibez 12 GB MP3 Player (Black/Silver)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For those familiar with Rio Karma which was last made a few years ago, we have long waited for a successor. One that was worthy of the now mythical status of the best sounding DAP on the market. The VibeZ might just be that DAP.
The Rio Karma was way ahead of it's time with reguard to Sound Quality, ability to handle Multiple file formats, Gapless Playback, Crossfade playback and an incredible 6 band equalizer. Many DAP audiophiles still consider it second to none when it comes to sound quality. The chip set used in the Karma was made by Sigmatel. Trekstor has created the VibeZ using the same chip set and Rio Karma like firmware. The result is fantastic!

The Pros:
Sound Quality - It's incredible Deep, Full, Rich and very detailed. Very quiet compared to Rio Karma.

Power - Second only to the Karma, will easily drive all but the most demanding cans. Any IEM's (In Ear Monitors) and portable cans will sing when connected to the VibeZ. By demanding I'm talking the likes of the Sennhieser HD-600's which really open up when connected VibeZ + portable amp. I use a Pimeta with AD8620's that I built.

Equalizer - 6 band parametric equalizer allows tweaking sound to fit each set of cans or genre of music. Each setup can be saved off as a preset and selected from the menu the next time you want that sound.

Playback options - You name it it's here. DJ Random mix, works like shuffle of all tracks on the player to shuffle up tracks in 15 minute incriments up to 8 hr's or unlimited. You can choose to playback songs that haven't been played for x amount of days, playback by Genre, Era, most played tracks etc.

Cons:
Navigation Wheel - The navigation wheel takes a little time to get used to. It is a unique as the player. No problem after a little use.

12gb Size limit - This is a little small for people wanting to take advantage of the Gapless playback in some of the lossless file formats. While it's not an been issue for me others might feel a need for more storage space.

No Line out - for those that need line out sorry. It does perform well through the headphone out and I don't think you'll miss the line out feature. I run my Headphone amp from the Headphone out on the VibeZ without any issues. I think, the upcoming dock will have a line out on it like the Karma dock did.

WARNING DO NOT SELECT "YES" I LIVE IN FRANCE in the initial setup. For some reason mine was defaulted into the French Mode which limits the output. I had to Reset it, reformat the drive and Reload to correct it. It still sounds good in that mode but at full volume you'll still be looking for more. Of course if you're buying for a young person you might want to select "YES" you live in France to help conserve their hearing.

So if your looking for a DAP to play music and not concerned about video and all that crap then look no further or a least put this one on your short list. I can assure you that you will be hard pressed to find one with better sound quality and audio playback features.

This is not really a review it's advice on how to fix a problem.

My Windows XP computer was unable to detect this device. I got the message

There was a problem installing this hardware: MTP Device
An error occurred during the installation of the device
The specified service does not exist as an installed service.

There is very little troubleshooting info online. I emailed tech support and got this answer which fixed the problem for me. I just thought I'd save people the hassle by sharing it.

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) is a new protocol and set of drivers developed by Microsoft to connect portable devices to a Windows PC and synchronize digital media content between those devices and the PC. MTP is geared toward portable devices with hard drives; flash-based devices will continue to use Mass Storage Class (MSC), a broadly supported protocol whose drivers are already included with Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and Me.

If your TrekStor-device is not recognized correctly by Windows or there is something wrong with the MTP-drivers installation, please try to reinstall the drivers. Therefore, please identify your device in the device manager and then:
- Right click on it and choose to UPDATE DRIVER.
- In the new window, select NO, NOT THIS TIME.
- Then, do not use the automatic search but INSTALL FROM A LIST OR SPECIFIC LOCATION (ADVANCED).
- In the following window, choose DON'T SEARCH. YOU WILL CHOOSE THE DRIVER TO INSTALL.
- When SHOW COMPATIBLE HARDWARE is check, you can now choose between a USB Mass Storage device and a MTP-device. Select the USB Mass Storage device and finish the installation.

I've used this product for a day now and I like it a lot.

Owned a Ipod Nano 8gig for a while, but wanted more storage while keeping a small player. The Vibez 12gig fit the bill perfectly. And it is a better player to boot. Excellent sound quality and features. I really like not being tied to Itunes to import music too. Now I just use the windows file manager to transfer music over.
Only quibble is it is a little too easy to jostle the jog wheel, interrupting a currently playing track. But overall the best dap I have owned, by far.

I spent quite a bit of time deciding which mp3 player to purchase, and I had narrowed down my decision to either an iPod or a Zune, but the TrekStor Vibez came along at the last minute, and after reading many online reviews, I decided to purchase a Vibez, and I couldn't be happier.

First of all, my desires in an mp3 player were:

1. Great sound quality
2. Gapless playback
3. multiple file format support
4. usable in Linux
5. user replaceable batteries

From my experience, the Zune has better sound quality than iPod, but the iPod has gapless playback, which the Zune currently does not have. These two items were most important to me, so either choice would have meant I was compromising what I wanted.

The Vibez player has everything I was looking for and more. It has superb sound quality, has true gapless playback, allows playback of mp3, ogg, flac, and wav files, and it does not require any software installation. This is great because I don't have to tie my device to one PC or one software installation. And since I use both Linux and Windows, I can plug the Vibez into either and just drag and drop music files with no hassle, and then the player creates every playlist I could ever want based on ID3 tags.

As far as batteries go, the battery is easily replaced, and new batteries run about $20.

If you're concerned about having a larger screen, the Vibez won't be up to par, but if you just want a great sounding player, with great features and true gapless playback, the Vibez is a great choice. I have absolutely no buyers remorse, and would definitely make the same decision again.

I have owned this player for a little while now and just wanted to share my thoughts.

A few reasons I purchased this player is for the less restrictive offerings it provides. For example, the ability to play many formats, including lossless encoded FLAC. I like to use my players in the home and car more than thru earphones, so good audio reproduction is a must and this can do it. Also, I want full quality audio recordings which I can then compress into my favored mp3/FlAC/OGG codec. This player offers full quality WAV format recording instead of the usual limited 128k mp3 encoded recordings most other players restrict you with.

The form factor and design of this player is great. Fits really well and comfortably in the palm of my hand and is intuitive and simple to use. The only gripe is the scroll wheel could use a little more grip on it's surface as my thumb tends to slide over the surface rather than moving the wheel. And if you press too hard for additional grip it will activate the scroll wheel buttons.

Sound quality and features are awesome also, including a parametric EQ to provide total control over your equalizition preferences.

One thing to note is when trying to transfer FLAC files, I could not use the MTP protocol for hard drive players. I had to reset the driver to the standard usb mass storage device.

The Vibez is a great altenative for those who don't want to partiicpate in the I-Pod universe. I tried out several other other devices from Cowon and Samsung before choosing the Trekstor. The Vibez has more storage than the Samsung and comparably priced I-Pods and it is much faster than the Cowon hard drive device. Its size and weight make it much more convenient to carry than most other devices. The best feature is its menuing. It is quick and easy to get to the music and I can do so with far fewer clicks than I can with my wife's I-Pod. The dial control does take a couple hours to learn to manipulate well.

The Vibez is good looking and well built with a metal back and buttons that feel substantial and durable. Battery life has been very good. The only negatives I can think of are the periferal items that come with the Vibez. There is no wall charger so charging takes place through a standard usb cable when you connect to a computer. Also, Vibez accessories are limited and have not yet reached stores in the USA.

All in all, I am very happy with the Trekstor: good musical reproduction and compatibility with OGG and flac formats, style, ease of use, durability. It does sync with XP Media Player so...if you want a less expensive alternative to the I-Pod and enjoy the beat of a different drummer this is the one for you.

I don't want to say much, this player is simple, what I expect one to be like, and it works great. It has amazing sound quality (I heard pretty much every single other player on the market). Putting music onto it is as easy as drag&drop, the player basically works like a flash drive that plays back music. The interface is comfortable, although the controller takes a bit of time getting used to. I am not worried much about the control as long as I can do it quickly and the player works well (which it does, I had it for about 4 months now). You can use it while jogging, it will not skip. It supports gapless playback for those of you that matters, and gapless it is, I used a continuous album that was just broken up into tracks for comfort, and had my friend listen to (he had no idea what he was listening to). He could not even tell that he listen to 3 tracks, evidently, when he asked me 'how long is this song?'
The player has an excellent EQ, bass/treble or 5-band parametric. I use it to boost the bass on my headphones a little bit, and it does not bloat, just makes it punchier and more audible.

When you get this player, make sure you do not select that you live in France (when starting it up), or the volume will be very quiet. If you think it is quiet, reset it, go through the start up process again and select that you do not live in France =] You will be surprised as to what the 7 mw output can do.

Highly recommended, although it is best if you grab some better phones to go with it. If you need isolation, I highly recommend something from Etymotic, Westone, or Shure to go with this player in order to fully be able to enjoy what it brings to the table.

I do not work for Vibez, I am just an audio enthusiast. If you have any questions with regard to this review, or anything in audio, feel free to contact me at [..]

I have had this product for about a week and am really impressed with it. I had never heard of Trekstor before I started researching my Ipod replacement. After reading the reviews, I decided to give it a try and am happy I did.

Pros:
Intuitive interface - this takes a little bit of time to get used to if are used to an Ipod because it is different, but after a while it is easy to use.

No propriety software - no need to have Itunes or any other software, just drag and drop songs into the player.

Supports FLAC - for those who want lossless playback this is important.

Organization and playback - Organizes sings automatically and allows many types of playbacks based on years, genres, most listened to etc.

Sound - fantastic sound for a digital audio player

Cons:

Interface - I know I listed this under Pros as well, but coming from an Ipod, it does take a some getting used to.

Storage Space - wish it had a bit more space, but a 15gb version will soon be available

Click wheel - can be a little loose and takes some getting used to

Accessories - very hard to find and very few exist

Cool looking player, had it for two days, sounds good, fast download and the price is right. Support got back to me the next day. Only complaints so far is the scroll wheel could have better feedback and almost a whole gig is used for program.

We purchased two of these about a month ago. We were mixed about returning them for our money back, however.

To be fair, first the pro's:
-nice DAP, handles the audio much better than the iAudio players
-drag & drop function
-limited shortcuts to certain functions (may also be considered a "Con",
since the functions that I would've like to shortcut to isn't a
possibility
-looks great (a "Con" too since the fingerprints immediately show up)
-replaceable batteries--important on trips to be able to have some charged
ones ready to go
-all kinds of bells and whistles on the interface, which can be a plus or
a minus (as it takes a few hikes on the system's tree to simply delete a
file).
-love the wallpaper options (or screensavers)--love Rush's "Fly By Night"
owl as wallpaper!
-love the Gapless and the ability to play FLAC! Yeah!
-thing will do Linux (a definite plus!) to Vista to Win98!

Cons:
-hard drive (which fail faster than flash drives)
-no decent cases to purchase (can't access the scroll wheel if used)
-playlist can't be modified, once saved (fixed IF you go to a certain
site update the bios (not Trekstor's site)
-saved Sessions sometimes corrupt other saved Sessions (a bug they
obviously won't be fixing) (fixed IF you go to a certain
site update the bios (not Trekstor's site)
-customer "care" just repeats the same advice (update the firmware--
problem: the item ships with the latest firmware, which they have never
updated in a year to address the obvious bugs; also their "care" doesn't
even have a unit available to work with when speaking to you!)
-unit rolls a bit on its curved back, which is a problem when you want to
work with the controls with one hand, while it is on its back
-scroll wheel drives me batty! it is way too sensitive, and the firmware
offers no way to adjust how fast the unit fast-forwards or reverses. If
one isn't careful, you just either restarted your song or bounced to the
next. When it is a 2 hour concert in length, egad! Getting back to the
place I was takes a while, and it won't FF in smaller increments, as it
will do on a smaller file. It seems to adjust what the FF increment is by
the size of the track---goody...
-I use a Logitech Wireless Music System connected to the item here.
Because the Vibez is curved on its back and because the headphone input
is on the bottom, my Music System doesn't quite fit on right. Also,
the USB input is right next to the audio output, so I have to take off
the Wireless System to hook up the USB (a small pain, but pain none-the-
less.) If you're interested in going almost wireless, your can find the
Logitech Wireless Music System here at Amazon:
"Logitech Wireless Music System" (a great system)
-if I hit a track to play, the player boots me to the main screen, and I
don't always wanna go there! (fixed IF you go to a certain
site update the bios (not Trekstor's site)
-one has to go through the complete tree just to get to some commonly-
used areas and to play a song
-Pro & Con is the fact that you can use Sessions like you'd use the
iAudio playlist function to add/remove songs. I have never owned any
other than these two players, so if other players' interfaces are like
the Vibez, egad! iAudio's=add track to playlist, remove track from list,
delete song. Simple and Voila! This one is a pain, especially when the
player kindly corrupts the session. (fixed IF you go to a certain
site update the bios (not Trekstor's site)
-I am not sure that the volume is on French (it goes as high as 30- so
can someone clue me in?) I have reset it twice now. On some tracks, I
need to get the volume raised a tad more (some audible books) and can't.
-I've moved my books and talk radio shows to my iAudio (which makes me
mad that I had to) and use the Vibez solely for my music. I am shocked
that I have already run out of room though...
-we've had a few episodes where the units have just shut themselves off
for no apparent reason. Then a reformat, upon rebooting them--wonderful
-if Trekstor hasn't come out with bug fixes after more than a year of
this model being out, they will not be doing so. As most electronic
companies, they just don't care to do so. (fixed IF you go to a certain
site update the bios (not Trekstor's site, but Trekstor has finally used
one of this certain site's BIOS updates, so get it!)

Here's a bug the their "care" doesn't seem to be aware of, and possibly has someone wondering what in the world...? I have also figured out its work-a-round.

When saving a playlist, if you have set your player to "repeat", the player never finishes saving the list. Sadly, you'll have to pull your battery! After you do, set the player to NOT repeat! When it is saving your list, it is trying to loop it in a repeating pattern (duh). After you have saved your list, you can stick it back to repeat, if you like. The default is to NOT repeat. Sadly, though not surprisingly, "care" didn't figure this out, when I called (nope, "update the firmware, Ma'am"). ***(fixed IF you go to a certain
site update the bios (not Trekstor's site)***

J&R on this site had this item for $189 (great price), but no one anywhere has them in stock. I am sure that we grabbed J&R's last two (sorry).

Can't comment on the FM (except that it comes separate). I didn't purchase it, as FM barely will come in my home.