Two problems with new Envy 17-3200

1. I like the double-tap to disable feature on the trackpad, but I constantly enable/disable it on accident while typing. Is there a way to disable this double-tap feature and manually disable the trackpad from Windows?

2. I'm disappointed with the Beats audio (just through the headphone port; no problems with the built-in speakers). Now, I've always been skeptical of Beats and didn't expect anything groundbreaking, but there's something strange going on with the sound coming through the headphone jack. And it's definitely the laptop, not my headphones and external speakers, because I tested with my dv6t-3000 (no Beats gimmick) which actually sounds better.

The only way I can think of to describe it is that the bass is "compressed" sounding. Like, almost muffled. It's as if the computer is turning down the volume to protect the speaker. This would be fine except for the fact that A. I'm playing on external speakers that can handle it and B. the volume is NOT turned up loud. I literally have it below 50 and there are still problems. It is very noticeable on some songs where the bass spikes, because it sounds like the overall volume fluctuates even though I'm not adjusting anything. It does this for vocals as well, but the bass is most annoying.

After playing with the Beats audio control panel and the Windows audio level control panel, I think the issue is with the Beats control panel which is basically the standard IDT control panel but with fewer options. To test, I reset everything in the Windows audio control panel to their defaults on my dv6t and Envy 17 (I also verified that the default settings were the same), and supposedly disabled "Beats Audio" through the Beats control panel. However, the laptops still sound completely different. Is there a way to completely uninstall the Beats Audio Control Panel? I believe Beats is still adjusting some IDT control panel settings behind the scenes; even when disabled, so I need to access IDT by removing Beats ACP, but it's not in the list of Programs on Windows.

 

Anyone?

 

Ok to comment on the first part of your post, with my 3D 32XX i've found that typing disables any response from the touchpad. Ergonomically speaking you're not supposed to rest your hands on the "palm rest" when you type. Doing that only leads to carpel tunnel. Is it the default drivers you have installed? Or did you install something else?

Second part - for some reason i thought that beats would add more power to the sound coming from the internal speakers. I've realised since that it adds volume and space, with a touch of clarity. Perhaps it's toned down some frequencies to make others better heard? What kind of music are you listening to? I listen to a lot of Dubstep, but i've had no issues with the bass... At least IMO. Everyone's different...

 

If you disable beats audio, if you look in the windows default tone settings bass is set to "-12" . If you put it back to a normal setting the speakers sound great. also the leveling problem is gone. BUT if you reset the computer the bass sets itself back to "-12".

IT is definitely a driver issue. Some people have installed "srs audio essentials". The trial edition fixes the problem with the leveling and overrides beats. But for me, I thought the sound was better through beats then the srs audio. I have a DV7 but I dont really noticed the leveling problem unless im using the headphones

 

I have the default drivers. I'm probably just resting my hands incorrectly.

I was using hip-hop in my sound comparisons.

Haha, I actually noticed that and thought it was the problem, but it's not. (sneaky engineers tried to make Beats Audio seem better than it actually is)

I'll look into SRS Audio Essentials then and post my results. Maybe there's some other difference between dv and envy, because like I said, I never had this problem on my dv6.

 

Beats is largely a branding effort, but I'd say I'm overall impressed with the sound. I was like Jstr_MSFT, in that I was expecting it to be all about the bass, but it's not. And I'm really happy that it's not. I would take clarity over bump anyday. In a perfect world, you get both clarity and low-end, but laptop speakers are only capable of so much. Small speakers can be taught to do clarity, but they can't be taught to sound bigger than they are. So, I think they made the right choice.

But, here's something else interesting... If you play around with the EQ sliders in the Beats audio panel, you will notice that when you really start to raise one frequency beyond a certain point, it actually starts to lower the other frequencies to compensate. And when you bring the slider back down, then you hear the other frequencies rise back up to their appropriate levels.

I think the software may be trying to automatically calculate the average decibel level, and adjusting it on-the-fly. Cuz sometimes when I'm listening to a song that has fluctuating volume levels, I'll notice the overall volume on the laptop will tend to swell up louder than it should be, only to drop down to the correct volume. And sometimes, it seems like it's not the overall volume, but only the bass frequencies - they'll bob up and down as the average decibel level of the song changes.

So, it certainly ain't perfect. But, all in all, I'm content with it and generally impressed with the clarity. Just wish the bass were a little bit better.

 

Oh, and on the trackpad...

A lot of people complain about it, but it's honestly sooooo much better than HP's first and second attempts at clickpads.

It's not as good as Apple's, but as far as PC clickpads go, it's about as good as I've seen.

The only thing I don't like about it, is that it's a clickpad, and not a trackpad. I'm so used to resting my thumb on the trackpad buttons, that I am having to relearn how to use the clickpad, without resting my thumb.

In all my years on laptops, I've developed a hand position such that I almost never hit the trackpad while typing - maybe once a week. I simply rest my hands on the heels of the palm, and the rest of the palm is up in the air, kind of arching over the trackpad area.

That's not to say the drivers couldn't be improved a little bit, but the 3200 series drivers seem to be solid enough, imo.