Beats Audio

[MrsSpringsteen]

Hopefully I will be getting a new laptop sometime before the end of the year. I have been looking at some HPs with Beats Audio, since I will probably get an HP and Costco seems to have some good deals on those.

Is the sound really that great, and do you have to get the Beats headphones too? I don't like using headphones in a store, I'm a germophobe about that..even with the disposable covers.

 

[Liesje]

YES and YES! I have the HP Envy 14 (LOVE LOVE LOVE it, totally made the right choice, no other laptop on the market meets my needs). My Beats did take some tweaking to get it equalized the way I like it but it's fabulous! But yes, I do use really nice cans with it. The way I have mine equalized, it's actually pretty quiet coming out of the computer's speakers. I did not get Beats headphones, usually I use Sennheiser but right now I am actually using some Sonys I bought used but love the fit (I have TMJ so I'm picky on how much pressure is right in front of my ears). I'm not an audiophile but I do have a hard time listening to music on my mp3 players after I've been listening on the computer.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Thanks for the reply

So is Envy all the HP's with Beats Audio? I've been confused about that. I'm not an audiophile at all, so I'm not at picky about it. But for whatever the price difference would be at Costco (last month they had 150 off a 17.3 with Beats audio) it would probably be worth it.

 

[Liesje]

I wanted a metal laptop, so that was basically the HP Envy or the MacBook, and I got WAY more bang for my buck with the HP (Apple doesn't have the same level of customization, didn't have some of the specs I wanted, way more expensive given the specs, and not as good a warranty). I didn't get it for the Beats but it's definitely a bonus. I think all the Envy's have Beats (you don't have to get the "beats edition"), but I don't know if any of the lower end models do.

 

[bulltproof]

I was on the fence about the ENVY or a macbook pro.

The Envy cost less, but I had started to get into Macs.
I found a Macbook that was basically new for $900 on eBay. The seller was 50 miles away. So I bought it.

This was the best decision I made. I bought a quad core HP desktop, and have had to reformat it twice. I hate Windows.

All the Envy's have beats on them from what I understand. The BEATS edition has a red lighting scheme, and black finish.

 

[Liesje]

Yeah I didn't like the look of the actual Beats edition (plus it cost more).

I went between Mac and Envy and chose Envy. I use and repair Macs at work (iMac, MacBook, MBP) so I am quite familiar with them. Unfortunately Apple does not offer the level of customization I was looking for, and some of the specs were lacking especially considering the price. I also put in some of my own stuff for cheaper, use my own operating systems (not what the computer comes with). I don't use any of the Mac stuff like iLife so that's not a selling point to me. The software I use for personal projects is the same on Mac and PC so the actual operating system does not matter to me. The software I use for work is PC (Mac versions are either really shitty or non-existent) so the PC offers an advantage there and I use my Envy every day at work even though it's my personal computer, but it's more "comfortable" to use my own computer at work and right now my work Mac is acting like it had some kind of major stroke.

Sometimes the Envy's fan is running pretty high, but I packed an i7 quad core processor (not the introductory level on either) into a 14" form factor so for me that is to be expected.

I also considered the Dell XPS b/c my discount through Dell is better, but am glad I did not get that. I've seen a few on my desk and they are not really a true metal case like the Envy and MBP.