Does BEATS audio really make a difference?

Well the title really says it all.

I hear a slightly stronger bass and treble is maybe a little clearer on headphones. Just standard Skullcandy Ink'ds.

But do they really make a difference? On the speakers with JJB's tweak its louder, but for headphones I use the Studio setting.

 

BEATS by default just turns down the treble and turns up the bass, with the BEATS software off it cranks the treble and turns down the bass.

 

Well I know that about the FN + B combo. But I'm talking about the sound card itself. Is it really better than other laptop sound cards?

 

While you'll hear its just some audio tweaking, I think the Beats internal components do make a difference. For Instance, my standard iPhone Mic/Headphones are basically garbage, but in conjunction with my ENVY 14 I must say, the headphones are usable. The gain is of course a bit high on the 14, but I never really thought my little white buds were capable of such sound until I couldn't find my Modas or my Sures one day and just plugged in my Apple last resorts.

If you listen to Bass/String heavy music (Rock/hip-Hop/Orchestra), the Beats Audio will do wonders for your listening enjoyment. if you listen to music that more mid tones and highs, you may find yourself a bit frustrated. As for the Beats recording properties and music composition properties, I've found the internal Mics to be more than adequate for basic recording in conjunction with plugging in an external mic for studio style recording and I haven't noticed much of a difference between making music with my ENVY and the Standard Macbook Pro's sound quality wise.

The Beats Audio to me is one of the strong points of the ENVY. It's definitely better audio than on any other laptop I've ever owned.

 

In my opinion, Beats Audio seems to provide a cleaner signal. I do not hear any popping or hissing with IEMs that have decent impedance. The Envy 17 makes my Triplefi 10s shine.

Is Beats Audio better than the audio of all other laptops? Definitely not. Is the sound free of artifacts and is the audio subsystem latency kept to a minimum? Definitely yes.

 

I do hear better audio quality on my Envy than I do with my desktop. A lot more clarity. (I tried this with both Mp3 and FLAC files, using the same headphones)

I do think, though, it's a little overrated.

 

I have noticed slightly better audio when using headphones. With the E15 speakers, the Beats settings seem to reduce the volume significantly. An older compaq CQ-50 I have laying around has much louder audio output from the speakers. Also, with the Beats, there is one additional level of GUI for adjusting headphones and microphones and at times, I've had difficulty using a bluetooth headset with Skype due to this.

 

I was skeptical of the Beats audio myself. I have a nice set of Beyerdynamic headphones and wanted the best possible sound without spending a fortune. I ordered a Nuforce Icon uDAC from Amazon for $129. I was surprised that there was no difference (that i could hear) in audio quality between the onboard and the external amp / DAC. I returned the product to the manufacturer for a refund. I can tell the difference usually between 320 mp3's original cd so my ears aren't shot yet either.

As far as the speakers on the laptop they sound decent. Not much bass of course but they do seem clearer with more detail than what I've heard on other units.

 

I think it's mostly a marketing ploy. It's not a dedicated sound card so there's only so much you can do.

I can't tell whether the sound is really much better as I have a constant and very pronounced hiss on my earphones.

 

I meant to mention some people have reported a hiss with their sound and forgot. I'm lucky and haven't had an issue except when i goofed the webcam microphone setting up temporarily and had ended up with nasty feedback. I never hear any noise that shouldn't be there except for an occasional slight "pop" at the beginning of a music track on occasion.

 

Does beats audio can be comparable to dolby home theater ?

 

For point of reference, I have Etymotic ER-4S, JH Audio JH-13 Pros, and Sennheiser HD-650s. The Envy audio is absolutely atrocious, and the noise floor is even worse than that of an integrated card in some rubbish Dell desktop that I have at work.

 

Worse than a Dell Sound Card? I think thats a bit much. But I'm pretty sure tat the sound through headphones is great for sure.

 

Mugen, I can't seem to find any posts of your where you own an Envy or tested one? Could you share some more information on which laptop you tested and with what ? Are you speaking of just the speakers or using your Senns on the headphone jack ? Thanks