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robenroute
March 31st, 2007, 11:06 PM
For the past six years or so, I've been buying a DAP (digital audio player). Somehow, I never managed; there was always something to complain about: not enough storage (I don't fancy changing my music files every other day, so 8 GBs should be the bare minimum), no support for Ogg Vorbis (a rather substantial part of my collection consists of .oggs and I'm too lazy to re-rip the lot), not portable enough (ideally, it should be half the size of a packet of cigarettes and weigh nothing, but still large and heavy enough to be held and handled properly without blowing away as soon as you come out of the train onto the platform), or it just wouldn't work with Linux because it needed special (Windows) software. I never skipped, however, a single review, write-up or web article on audio players. Tempted I was, several times, but not a single player ever struck the right chord. During my weekly web wanderings I happened upon a short write-up on the TrekStor Vibez. I glanced over the article to quickly dismiss it, out of habit. A few web pages later, it suddenly struck me: didn't that odd-looking little DAP feature all the things I wanted from such a device? Now, where was it? Where did I see it? TrekStor, Philips? Couldn't find the page again, so straight to their website (http://www.trekstor.de). And there it was: the TrekStor Vibez 12GB. I downloaded the manual and went through it while I was rapidly clicking on all Google's suggestions for web pages containing trekstor and vibez. There wasn't a lot. Back to the web page. I Checked the specs again: mp3, ogg vorbis, flac(!), and, explicitly mentioned on the TrekStor website: compatible with Linux (kernel 2.4 and up). It quickly started to seep through: this was the DAP I'd been looking for all that time. Or was it? Well, one way to find out. I ordered it through the Internet and two days later I was actually holding it in my hands.

I've been playing around with it for three days now and these are my initial findings:
The positives
* Loads of storage (12GB). Trekstor expects to release a 15GB version within the next few months.
* Indeed compatible with my Linux box (simple file transfer).
* Smaller than it looks in pictures (alright then, a wee tad bigger than half a packet of smokes).
* Plays mp3s, oggs, flac files, all crystal clear.
* The battery lasts more than 20 hours (I did order a spare battery, just in case; Oh yeah, if you were wondering, you can simply replace the battery yourself!)
* FM tuner (it's an add-on, stick-in little card which you'll have to order separately).
* Navigation through database or folders (you choose). After each file transfer, the database is automatically rebuilt.
* Skipping from one number to the next is very smooth: volume is reduced quickly during skip and turned back up in an instant at the start of the next track.
* Gapless playback (sort of): you can set the crossfade time. I've got it on 1 second and it kind of seems to be a satisfactory solution.
* Fully configurable equalizer.

The not so positive things
* The wheel is a wee bit wobbly: as soon as you exert more pressure on it than the slightest bit, scrolling through the menus and lists becomes nigh impossible. I guess it's a matter of getting used to; once you get the hang of it, the navigation wheel actually works rather well.
* It hung (as in crashed and you have to reset it) after four minutes and ten seconds of playing: I just couldn't wait and after putting just one single track (4m10s) on it, I wanted to try it out. Track finished and so did the Vibez. Had to pry the back off with a bent paperclip and insert the same paperclip into the reset whole. Tried again and guess what, indeed, Vibez died again. After loading more albums onto the Vibez, it's been working along just fine. Hopefully Trekstor will resolve this through a firmware update (currently on version 1.04).
* Switching the player on is too easy: touch the on/off button and it's ready for use. Why they haven't done the same as with the switching it off (press and hold the button for three seconds), is beyond me. Perhaps doable via a firmware upgrade?
* FM reception is dodgy at best. I've tried it inside, outside, standing still, walking around, jumping up and down, all with the same result: pop, crackle and hiss. Hmmm....
* The shiny steel back needs to come off if you want to replace the battery or even reset the player and it doesn't strike me as a construction that can stand swapping your battery regularly. Well, I guess I'll have to wait for this battery to die, so I can have the pleasure of replacing it myself.
* Occasionally, the USB connection between the Vibez and my computer is lost. So far this has only happened after transferring files. Not sure what causes this or how it can be fixed, but it is a bit worrisome.

So, what does the Vibez sound like? I've got no other DAP to compare it to (it is my first DAP, remember?), just a fairly decent NAD audio system with a pair of Impulse! transmission line loudspeakers (and that set-up sounds not too shabby, if I may say so). Mr Vibez produces very pleasurable sounds. Mostly due to the use of a pair of Sennheiser PX100's. My ears don't agree with in-ear headphones, but a pair of Sennheiser in-ear phones come with it. Don't forget to play an album or 10 through your new headphones before you start listening through them seriously; new headphones sound very tinny at first, they need time to loosen up.

By the way, I've read some comments on the smudgeability of the polished steel back. Well, all I can say is I bought this thing to listen to, not to use as a mirror. After just five minutes, it was already covered in big greasy prints. Who cares! This little gem is exactly what I've been waiting for all those years.

:guitar:

ynnhoj
April 1st, 2007, 12:29 AM
looks to be a pretty nifty little device. i wonder if they're available at any canadian stores (the where to buy section of the trekstor site isn't doin' much for me)..? it could be worth a bit of looking.

robenroute
April 1st, 2007, 12:45 AM
If they're not available in Canadia (;-)) yet, you might be able to get them via the US of A. I know Amazon has them on offer....

darweth
April 1st, 2007, 02:53 AM
Preach on.

robenroute
April 1st, 2007, 08:29 AM
Preach on.

Sorry, I don't get it :confused:

robenroute
April 1st, 2007, 09:32 AM
By the way, I've just purchased a little protective bag for Mr Vibez: this (http://www.caselogic.com/pockets_153_small/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=86060) one (but then in crimson).

Because it's nylon, it should also repell a few drops of rain. The fit as rather snug, but not too; it's the "only" pocket/sock that kind of fits nicely. iPod Nano socks also fit, but then again, I don't have an iPod, if you know what I mean ;-)

robenroute
April 1st, 2007, 02:01 PM
....
* Occasionally, the USB connection between the Vibez and my computer is lost. So far this has only happened after transferring files. Not sure what causes this or how it can be fixed, but it is a bit worrisome.


Well, I just did some experiments with a Windows machine and I can't reproduce this particular behaviour. I went back to Linux and it started losing the connection again. It seems to be restricted to Linux use. However, when I connect an external USB harddisk (old 40GB laptop drive), the thing just mounts fine and even after transferring files back and fro, the USB connection is never lost or never gets flaky, not a single moment. So, somehow, it's the combination of my Ubuntu box (Dapper, kernel 2.6.17) and the Vibez. It could have something to do with the firmware. But then again, that's way out of my realm; I wouldn't know how or what.

banjobacon
April 1st, 2007, 03:15 PM
* Gapless playback (sort of): you can set the crossfade time. I've got it on 1 second and it kind of seems to be a satisfactory solution.

Gapless playback is something I look for, too (and I gave it up when I replaced by old iRiver running Rockbox with a Meizu Miniplayer), but I definitely wouldn't call this gapless.

Looks like a pretty cool device, though. It uses flash memory, right?

DoctorMO
April 1st, 2007, 06:02 PM
have you had a look at what dmesg is doing? it could be a HAL problem or a DBus problem or maybe even a usb kernel problem. but you might want to check it out on a fiesty live cd when it comes out.

maniacmusician
April 1st, 2007, 06:12 PM
It certainly looks more appealing than an iPod, though if given the choice, I'd probably opt for a Cowon player instead.

darweth
April 1st, 2007, 07:12 PM
Sorry, I don't get it :confused:

I am a Trekstor Vibes fan and am just encouraging your praise for the product. :popcorn:

robenroute
April 1st, 2007, 08:47 PM
I am a Trekstor Vibes fan and am just encouraging your praise for the product. :popcorn:

I see, sorry for my ignorance... ;-)

Just for the record:

1. The Vibez is a microdisk (1 inch hdd) player

2. Gapless: the Vibez really plays tracks gaplessly; there's no, and I repeat NO (:biggrin: ) need to set the crossfade option. All my oggs are played without gaps, flawlessly! I did notice an issue with the mp3s though: mp3s with a correct lame header (foobar2000 to the rescue!) also played seamlessly, but the not-so-nicely-ripped mp3s do show a very short "click" between two tracks.

Isn't this just fantastic? I'm so impressed (and pleased :cool: )

robenroute
April 1st, 2007, 09:09 PM
have you had a look at what dmesg is doing? it could be a HAL problem or a DBus problem or maybe even a usb kernel problem. but you might want to check it out on a fiesty live cd when it comes out.

Okay, the top part (first 24 lines) of the dmesg output shows the Vibez is recognized as a UMS device. Then I transfer some tracks and soon after the transfer has started, "Unsafe Device Removal" pops up; checking the Vibez shows only 2 tracks went over, the rest was lost. dmesg then shows the rest of the output listed below.

Does anyone have a clue as to what's going on? It seems Ubuntu thinks the device is being fysically removed.



[17181065.272000] usb 1-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
[17181065.404000] usb 1-8: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[17181065.484000] usbcore: registered new driver libusual
[17181065.500000] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
[17181065.500000] scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[17181065.500000] usbcore: registered new driver usb-storage
[17181065.500000] USB Mass Storage support registered.
[17181065.500000] usb-storage: device found at 2
[17181065.500000] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
[17181070.500000] usb-storage: device scan complete
[17181073.072000] Vendor: TrekStor Model: vibez Rev: 2
[17181073.072000] Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 04
[17181073.076000] SCSI device sdb: 23429729 512-byte hdwr sectors (11996 MB)
[17181073.080000] sdb: Write Protect is off
[17181073.080000] sdb: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
[17181073.080000] sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
[17181073.084000] SCSI device sdb: 23429729 512-byte hdwr sectors (11996 MB)
[17181073.088000] sdb: Write Protect is off
[17181073.088000] sdb: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
[17181073.088000] sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
[17181073.088000] sdb:
[17181073.108000] sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi removable disk sdb
[17181073.108000] sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
[17181074.600000] FAT: utf8 is not a recommended IO charset for FAT filesystems, filesystem will be case sensitive!
[17181292.084000] usb 1-8: USB disconnect, address 2
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.088000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] Buffer I/O error on device sdb, logical block 982669
[17181292.092000] lost page write due to I/O error on sdb
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] sd 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to device being removed
[17181292.092000] Buffer I/O error on device sdb, logical block 982670
[17181292.092000] lost page write due to I/O error on sdb
[17181292.092000] Buffer I/O error on device sdb, logical block 982671
[17181292.092000] lost page write due to I/O error on sdb
[17181292.092000] Buffer I/O error on device sdb, logical block 982672
[17181292.092000] lost page write due to I/O error on sdb
[17181292.488000] 4:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to dead device
[17181292.504000] usb 1-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
[17181292.652000] usb 1-8: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[17181292.652000] scsi5 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[17181292.652000] usb-storage: device found at 3
[17181292.652000] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning

ynnhoj
April 1st, 2007, 09:15 PM
If they're not available in Canadia (;-)) yet, you might be able to get them via the US of A. I know Amazon has them on offer....yea, i noticed it on amazon while doing a bit of searching.

but my ipod mini is still going strong (even after a few near-death experiences :o) so i can't really justify buying anything new yet..

robenroute
April 1st, 2007, 10:50 PM
yea, i noticed it on amazon while doing a bit of searching.

but my ipod mini is still going strong (even after a few near-death experiences :o) so i can't really justify buying anything new yet..

I my case, it was simple:

1. I didn't have a DAP
2. A substantial part of my collection is ripped to ogg
3. I've got a Linux box only (weened myself off Windows some 3 odd years ago)

(Listening to a golden oldie: Boulevard (by St. Germain), ogg Q7:biggrin:):guitar:


Anyone like to comment on the dmesg output, please?

robenroute
April 2nd, 2007, 12:44 AM
I've just finished installing Feisty Beta on a separate partition and guess what: the Vibez is actually recognized by Ubuntu as a "TrekStor Vibez", but what's more important, no more flaky, dodgy USB ****! I think we're finally getting a decent kernel with Feisty; I mean, let's be honest, USB support has been a bit of a hit and miss mission until now (I can vividly remember having to delete my USB printer and recreate it every single time when I booted my laptop).

So, in anticipation of the Ubuntu team irioning out the last creases, I humbly remain an avid Ubuntu user (with a face-wide grin on his fizz, because he's over the moon with his Vibez).

Cheers....