NOW AVAILABLE - Updated ENVY 15, ENVY 17 / ENVY 17 3D

I'm sure this is probably an unanswerable question at the moment, but on a couple of the HP design videos I noticed a few references to a new dedicated headphone amp. I don't suppose anyone would know the wattage/impedance/opamp model used for this?

I'm also wondering if on the 17 (since it has two dedicated headphone jacks) if both jacks share that amp or are powered independently.

I would love to use 280-600ohm headphones straight into the machine and still manage to get some level out of them. That would be quite awesome.

And on the MBP clone side, I'm incredibly happy they're doing their best to clone the exterior! That's something Apple got very right. Ignoring the monetary aspect, that exterior (and trackpad) was almost enough for me to make the move to Mac despite their shortcomings in the professional audio role. Thank the Lord that about the time our label refreshed our road budget HP also refreshed the best PC laptop in the game. Thanks for making my mind up for me HP!

Back on the onboard sound note, what do you current 17 owners think of the speaker/subwoofer system of the current generation? Our 14's obviously don't have a subwoofer (if you can call something you put in a laptop that) and I've never experienced a laptop that did. Is it more novelty/marketing than anything else? Can you actually get decent low frequencies out of it? Any audio guys know where in the frequency range the crossover sits? Will it actually go down to the sub-60hz area?

 

I am assuming that it's a single amp, possibly two on the 17 - you will have to ask someone within HP for that info.

Same for the wattage, etc.

 

For what it's worth I called HP and spoke to two different people concerning the headphone amp specs and as expected they have no information on it.

Oh well, worth a shot!

Does anyone with current 17's use high impedence headphones directly into the machine? Any luck with them?

 

I am mainly amazed why would people buy Macbooks... The 17" model for instance is over $1k more and you get less features then Envy...

 

I agree with what you say. Though, the macbook is a good laptop and I can see why people buy it.

I would prefer not to have the HP logo on the cover though but that's just me

 

MBP like all Apple products carries a huge brand premium that is 'justified' from their design, which is (love it or hate it) the top of the industry. Same reason people buy super-fancy sunglasses or designer gear. Is it better than the competition? Sure, usually in some small but significant way. Is it $1k better? There isn't an objective way of looking at stuff like that. Given the number of people willing to pay $1k more for it, the market would seem to say 'it sure is!' even though us NBR geeks looking at specs may not think so.

So I don't blame anybody who spends the dough for an MBP. I'm just too much of a miser to ever do it myself!

 

I think that it's all up to the person. If a person wants to spend 1K more on the Apple name and Mac OS, so be it. If a person would rather have a stylish, cheaper, powerful PC alternative, so be it.

It's all up to what the person wants, not what we think they should have.

 

HP would sell a lot note Envy's if they advertised them on TV, made there webpage easier to navigate and compare products, and actively market that they offer a lot more than Apple does at a better price. No PC maker that I know of actively markets there laptops as competing against Apple in form factor or features. Would it cost a lot, would it be a risk, yes? But I think that it would be worth it.

Personally, I don't think Apple is that innovative with their products, they are just better than everyone else. They also know how to market changes to their lineup better than all the others.

 

the verge show is up for those interested.

On The Verge, Episode 002: John Gruber | The Verge

if anyone watches it, let me know what point of the video shows the envy. its 1.5 hours of topolsky, so i wont be watching the whole thing.

 

All I know is that I will be able to brag that I'm the only one with one of these new ENVYs at my college until they show up in Canada a few months from now.

 

Well I'd try to skip through it to get to the Envy part but I'm still at work.

 

It's a problem of differentiation. People just think of the notebook market as being broken down just into PCs and Macs. Commercials as you suggest would probably solve part of the problem. Then there's also Apple's brick and mortar stores, which gives Apple a bit more branding power and a higher profile in the minds of the consumer wandering around at a town center.

 

i tried doing that but their servers and player are terrible when compared to engadget. you cant just jump around til you find it as it stays stuck on a frame for quite a while.

 

just talked to HP support. they said when ordering the dual-SSD/HD drives on an envy 17 it uses the HD drive to boot up? booooo. how hard would it be to transfer all the windows files to the SSD? would u have to reinstall windows completely or can it be done quickly/easily?

PS; they also said they will be coming out with a 'beats' version (ie; all black with red keyboard) in the future but couldnt give me a timeframe. yay! i'll probably wait till windows 8 comes out to order one anyway.

 

I seriously doubt, since laptops are consumer electronics, that any of them have high impedance headphone outs on them. They're probably no more than 40 ohms, and more likely in the 16-32 ohm range for use with consumer grade headphones.

A simple, passive impedance matching transformer will probably give poor results too, so an active impedance matching headphone preamp would be in order if you're really wanting audiophile results from high-impedance, pro-gear headsets.

 

Most people on this forum will recommend that you reinstall Windows anyway - there is a sticky in this forum about that process. It's pretty fast nowadays.

That does seem bizarre, that they'd load the OS on the HD and not the SSD. Doesn't make a difference to me, though, create restore DVD and format is always my first move.

 

Hello all, first post here:

For the Verge video, it looks like the laptop reviews start at 1:14 (One hour and fourteen minutes). As for the envy, go a little further to 1:18:55 for the Envy.

I can't believe they talk about a minute how it rips off the Macbook. Oh well... I still ordered mine.

Editing again: Not really a review. Not really much of anything. Kinda disappointed with the Verge on this. The only thing they keep mentioning is the Beats volume control.

Ah well, we'll have to keep waiting for a real review.

 

So it doesn't say the name or specs of the GPU?

 

Lol they say nothing about it all basically. the host calls looks at it, calls it a shameful ripoff of the macbook, and the "windows laptop guru" girl points out that it also has a volume dial. end of story

 

please dont bother watching the 20 seconds of envy in that video.

dont give them clicks when all topolsky does is knock it as a ripoff.

 

Windows 8 probably won't be out until sometime next fall.
Heck next Envy refresh should be coming out by then!

 

Yeah, too late for me, but definitely steer clear of it, they couldn't possibly be riding apple any harder.

 

What was even the point of having it in the video? Jeez, they get a hold of a laptop no one else seems to have, and all they do is rip on it with no valid arguments. AT LEAST RUN CPU-Z SO WE KNOW WHAT GPU IT HAS!!!

 

In this video, whats that app called the gmail taskbar?

On The Verge, Episode 002: John Gruber | The Verge

At 1hour 21mins

 

For those who want ACTUAL impressions on the new ENVY line, I just found this.

Impressions on the HP ENVY 15.

 

Thanks!

He said there's 2 sub woofers? I thought it was 6.1, meaning only one sub woofer...

They seemed to focus mostly on aesthetic points.

 

Says 7690M as was suspected. Still nothing on the clock speeds though.

 

It looks like we'll need to wait a bit longer for those.

 

Based on what little info we have of the rebadged GPU... what is the likely equivalent in the Nvidia line of GPU's?

 

I am assuming the equivalent would be just under a 560M - possibly a 555 or 550 - or at least I am hoping. I had the 560M in the laptop I returned to get this one.

If I am wrong, what would it be equivalent to?

 

Well the 6750m/6770m are generally matched around the GT 550m/GT 555m so I imagine it will be pretty much the same.

Considering the 7690m is on the same 40 nm, it can't really be clocked all that much higher than the 725 MHz of the 6770m, unless they're cherry picking the very best chips, but I really don't see anyone going to that much trouble for such a run of the mill gpu.

 

Thanks for the input. Gives me a much better idea.

This new Envy line has everything I want... except for a high-end GPU. I would gladly pay more $$ to upgrade I realize it's not a gaming laptop... but still.

 

Won't upgrading the GPU cancel any warranty you have? I wish it had a better GPU, but I don't need anything over what a 560M could do.

 

I'm right there with you. I like premium notebooks that look good, but just wish there was an option to upgrade to a 6870m or something similar. I don't really mind if battery life takes a bit of a hit it would be worth it to me.

Basically waiting to see what the clock speeds are like to see if ill be getting this or the Samsung 7 Chronos with a 6750m.

If they're about even, then the samsung for $1099 is lighter and thinner with the same performance (but without the 1080p radiance screen, which is another decent option).

If the 7690m comes out clocked up near 800 MHz (which is unliklely) and it's something of a noticeable differnce in performance then the HP goes all the way.

 

These can't do nearly what a 560m can do. It's a completely different tier of GPUs. GT 550m/555m are a whole lot slower then the 560m.

 

Sorry, I meant upgrade as an option when configuring the machine

I'm actually in the same boat as you in that I won't really need anything over 550M/555M. I just want something more powerful, just because.

All this waiting to find out the details and waiting for the laptop itself is killing me

 

Is it that bad? If I wanted to play Skyrim in 1080p on my ENVY 17, what settings would I be able to get to if I wanted ~30fps minimum?

I'm suddenly rather nervous...

 

High.

I am running it on the 6770m in dv6t in 1080p on high/1080p. works at around 35-40 fps.

 

Thank god, Skyrim @ 1080P would be the only pressing tech I plan on running other than playing encoded 1080p anime movies with subs, so I should be fine.

I don't plan on using this for anything too extreme otherwise, so all the features and things I get over my old laptop for the same price makes this a good deal for me

 

I dont know if this has been asked before but does the HP Envy have dual HD bays? I have a brand new Crucial m4 sitting here and was wondering if i could switch the HDD's? I have a DV6t brand new and i had to remove the optical bay to fit a second HDD but obviously we cant do it with the Envy.

 

The 17 and 17 3D both have dual HDD configs available, but we're not sure exactly how accessible these are going to be if you want to put your own in.

 

The Envy 15 has only 1 HDD bay. The Envy 17 has 2 regular sized HDD bays and a option for a mSATA.

 

well im interested in the envy 15, would that come with dual bays?

 

oh ok that blows, i cant stand mechanical HDD's anymore but i cant deal with these small drive space on the SSD's either, and external drives are really a PIA to carry around small spaces

 

The 2nd Gen Envy 15 had two bays (like the one for sale in my sig!). They added the DVD drive back for the 3rd gen.

 

I see what you did there.

 

yes you can. you might need to get a 9.5mm bay instead of 12.7mm

 

Are there any reviews up of these yet? I couldn't find any anywhere.

 

Doesn't seem like it yet, but hopefully there'll be some by the end of the week.

 

Those tech blogs that got the new Envies are probably prevented by HP's non-disclosure agreements from publishing their reviews until a given date. Strange seeing how you'd think HP would want the reviews out the door ASAP to drive interest.