Digital Trends

Setting up the TrekStor vibez for basic use is pretty simple. After unpacking the vibez, I pressed the power button and the player started right up. I connected the vibez to my laptop with the mini-USB cable and it quickly appeared on my desktop as an external drive. I selected some MP3 files and moved them directly onto the vibez in a matter of seconds. I was also able to move several JPG and PDF files, effectively making the vibez a dual-purpose unit - MP3 player and portable storage device.

 

With my music files transferred, I disconnected the vibez from my computer and plugged in the headphones. Even though the menus on the vibez are different from other MP3 players, I was able to quickly select and play some sample music.

 

The included headphones are made by Sennheiser, though they must be on the lower-end of Sennheiser's product list. The headphones looked pudgy and inexpensive. The foam pads made the earbuds fit tightly, but removing the pads made them fit better (the included black Sennheiser headphones are noticebly larger than the headphones included with the new line of iPods.)

 

 

The vibez has a built-in audio recorder and TrekStor makes a very good point that the iPod does not have such a feature. Of course, the iPod "can" record high quality audio, but only with one of many optional microphones. The vibez records in WAV format, DVI ADPCM, mono 16.000 kHz, and at about 64kbits/sec. A 23 second recording produced a relatively small 182KB WAV file. The recording, when transferred onto a PC, sounds just fine. It's good for in-class note taking, easy in-the-field interviewing and my favorite, "note to self". I also like how easy it is to transfer the vibez recordings to my computer - just plug in the vibez by USB, open the "My Recordings" folder and transfer the desired file(s). Nice and easy.

 

On two of my six recordings I heard some slight mechanical noises, like high-pitched whirring. I couldn't reproduce the sound with subsequent recordings.

 

 

When playing my music, I was very pleased to discover that the playback quality was excellent. I am a picky and critical person when it comes to audio quality, and surprisingly, the vibez/Sennheiser combo didn't disappoint. Bass is deep and free from distortion or "boominess", mids were clear and highs were bright and accurate. 

 

I switched back and forth between my iPod and the vibez (playing the same music) to test for irregularities, but I didn't notice any. The vibez sounded just as good.

 

To give the vibez another shot at some positive comments, I plugged in my beloved Bose and Sony studio headphones. The vibez provided excellent sound quality with both professional headsets. 

The TrekStor vibez