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

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Wow, that sucks! But how did you know? Did you test it?

And what should I do with my system? Its a Logitech Z-5450 5.1 speaker system.

I got 2 optical outs and 1 coaxial out (so 3 digital outs); And I have also got 3 analoge outs:


And there is also one 3.5mm jack on the side of my Control Center.


So perhaps I can use that 3.5mm jack on the side to connect to the 3.5mm jack on the laptop, but I wonder if the sound would be as good as when I could have used digital outputs or the 6 ch analogue outputs...

Being that those 3.5mm jacks are unbalanced (but at least well-isolated on the Beats branded products) they are not going to be your best option for signal output audio wise.

However, even a cheap $100 USB interface from the prosumer audio world would solve all of your problems in one shot. You would, depending on what model you chose, gain digital (SPDIF) and/or optical outs, balanced outs, and possibly better D/A conversion than your current system.

With that interface and your laptop you can quite literally link up to any audio system in the world. Even the top tier Skywalker Sound/Oceanway multimillion dollar studios that connect everything with AES/EBU.

I think the audiophile world, particularly companies marketing products to it, don't like to let on to the fact that even bottom-tier pro audio gear can match and exceed it for comparatively tiny amounts of money.

Just as an example, look up the EMU 0404 USB interface.

It can easily be had for around $125 or less, gives you balanced stereo outs, S/PDIF in both coaxial and optical varieties, the option to switch either of those to AES/EBU, A/D and D/A conversion capable of doing 24 bit / 192khz, and the random ability to not only output but also record high quality audio should you ever wish to.

Admittedly that's overkill, Blueray only outputs at 96khz sample rate wise, but it should show how cheap an interface/converter of this kind can be if you go the route of the pro-audio market rather than the audiophile market.

If all you want is digital out and don't need preamps and A/D conversion like on that unit, you can get a USB interface for around the $50 mark.

[amdme127]

I have suspected this for a few days now, but the 15in may come with a 7690m whereas the 17in may come with a 7690m XT, this could account for the difference in performance that the HP blogger saw, ATI used to use these monikers to denote different performance levels within each level (x800, x800Pro, x800XT) of their series and at least from the code names for the next series they have yet again adopted the Pro and XT moniker.

It might make sense that the 17in manages the same battery life about as the 15in when the 15in has an IPS panel (IPS uses quite a bit more power, I think I read somewhere at some point that it used double the power of a normal panel, but don't quote me on that) and the 17in gets a more powerful gpu. We will know soon enough though

[ADNOH]

Being that those 3.5mm jacks are unbalanced (but at least well-isolated on the Beats branded products) they are not going to be your best option for signal output audio wise.

However, even a cheap $100 USB interface from the prosumer audio world would solve all of your problems in one shot. You would, depending on what model you chose, gain digital (SPDIF) and/or optical outs, balanced outs, and possibly better D/A conversion than your current system.

With that interface and your laptop you can quite literally link up to any audio system in the world. Even the top tier Skywalker Sound/Oceanway multimillion dollar studios that connect everything with AES/EBU.

I think the audiophile world, particularly companies marketing products to it, don't like to let on to the fact that even bottom-tier pro audio gear can match and exceed it for comparatively tiny amounts of money.

Just as an example, look up the EMU 0404 USB interface.

It can easily be had for around $125 or less, gives you balanced stereo outs, S/PDIF in both coaxial and optical varieties, the option to switch either of those to AES/EBU, A/D and D/A conversion capable of doing 24 bit / 192khz, and the random ability to not only output but also record high quality audio should you ever wish to.

Admittedly that's overkill, Blueray only outputs at 96khz sample rate wise, but it should show how cheap an interface/converter of this kind can be if you go the route of the pro-audio market rather than the audiophile market.

If all you want is digital out and don't need preamps and A/D conversion like on that unit, you can get a USB interface for around the $50 mark.

Wow, you guys are very detailed in the help and I dont complain so thx!!

But just to simplify it to the basics this is what I would have to do to get audio out of the HP Envy 17 3000 (that hasn't have a S/PDIF) to my 5.1 Logitech system: connect the HP to a USB interface that has a digital out, connect that USB inteface with a coaxial or optical cable to my Logitech system?

So bacially I have to work with an extra piece of hardware between the laptop and my sound system...

If so, I wonder why HP didnt make 1 of the audio outs a S/PDIF, they already had 2 audio outs, it absurd to have 2 identical audio outs to me...
And its even more absurd that this laptop is very much advertised as a premium sound system with all that "Beats audio" marketing surrounding it.

Why oh why didnt they just made a S/PDIF out of 1 of the 2 audio outs.


Enough compaining, but basically this is the kind of harware you were refering too right?

Doesn't look so bad, its basic and simple and its more like a cable with some extra's. I was afraid of a system that would took a fairly amount of space

[Beaverlegion]

Yeah an extra peice of hardware seems liek what you need.
The annoying this is that there are very few DAC only out there that are USB fed ( and dont cost 1k+).
The Udac is a good option, but if youve got the courage you can go for DIY stuff

[stevester]

Just google for Envy 15-3000 or Envy 17-3000 and see what you can find. I found some other links to HP AU site, that listed 2 different model numbers, but said it had a different GPU 7670M HP ENVY 15-3005tx Notebook PC (A9Q57PA) specifications - HP Home & Home Office products

But I will go with what the PDF said. cause that looks like real advertisement printout

As much as I'd like for the pdf to be true I think that the website is correct. The date on the pdf is nov 11 whereas the australian store site has been updated dec 7. Sigh....I guess 7670 for sure then?

[iglaze]

First of all, I'd like to say thanks for all that info Loading... I've wanted to pick up learning about audio and music for a while now, and with this information, I'm going to try again just learning the fundamentals of music production. It will help me more in my day job.

As for ADNOH question, yeah, I do wish that one of the audio jack had SPDIF. I actually took it for granted that this laptop had it and didn't even think about it until you brought it up.

The only reason that I could think of why they just had two plain 3.5 jacks (instead of one) is for travelers. I know that I always carry a splitter with me so that I can listen to music with my girlfriend. Now when it comes to listening to it on the plane, at least that is one less item I would need it for.

But I now know that I have an option for if I want to hook up a 5.1 system up.

Also, remember that this laptop has Kleernet system. Basically a better wireless audio system than Bluetooth is by a long shot. I've been reading about Kleer the last couple of years, and it's cool that HP is adding that to the Envy.

Look here for more information on Kleernet.

And here is some info for a receiver they are release as well: HP Wireless Audio streams audio from your PC, arrives next month for $100 (video) -- Engadget

[Luxferro]

As much as I'd like for the pdf to be true I think that the website is correct. The date on the pdf is nov 11 whereas the australian store site has been updated dec 7. Sigh....I guess 7670 for sure then?

Well IMO web-pages are notoriously wrong, especially between different regions. And then again, sometimes there are subtle differences between products in different regions. So I guess none of this confirms anything until we see an actual review or get the product in our own hands.

If you are familiar with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus then that is a prime example (pun intended )

[stevester]

Just contacted HP and she kinda dodged the question about the graphics cards, here's a log:

... showed her the two conflicting websites

7:16:27 PM Jim Karenskin
thanks, both are hp sites
7:16:34 PM Jim Karenskin
one says 7670 other says 7690
7:16:43 PM Jim Karenskin
both are talking about the envy 15
7:17:03 PM Janna S.
HP Home and Home Office Store aspires to provide a pleasurable shopping experience in our store. Hence, I am delighted to give you the assistance you need tonight, and check this link to give you the information you need.
7:18:37 PM Janna S.
Jim, I am checking on the two links now.
7:18:42 PM Jim Karenskin
thank you
7:19:28 PM Jim Karenskin
lots of people on the forums are confused about this
7:19:37 PM Jim Karenskin
thought id ask hp directly
7:23:24 PM Jim Karenskin
and if interested another link
7:23:26 PM Jim Karenskin
HP Communities - Hands On: New Envy 15, 17 ? And A New Look - HP Communities
7:23:54 PM Jim Karenskin
this one the hp employed blogger says most likely 7690 but sounds unsure
7:24:34 PM Janna S.
Jim, this computer are exactly of different model. The 7690 graphics is for our customizable HP ENVY 15 series, however the 7670 is for our HP ENVY 15-3005tx Notebook PC.
7:25:12 PM Janna S.
The HP ENVY 15-3005tx Notebook PC is only available at our SMB store.
7:25:22 PM Jim Karenskin
ok so if I were to order one it will be the 7690 for sure?
7:25:50 PM Jim Karenskin
I just want to clarify as this is going to be posted online to help out all those confused
7:26:52 PM Janna S.
Jim, we appreciate your suggestions, and I am going to forward your suggestion to my supervisor.
7:26:58 PM Janna S.
Do you have any other questions that I can help you with? I want to make sure that I have completely addressed your concern today and are satisfied with my service.
7:27:17 PM Jim Karenskin
well you didn't answer my last question
7:27:38 PM Jim Karenskin
are you 100% sure that this is the case for this laptop?
7:27:44 PM Jim Karenskin
or more just your opinion
7:29:47 PM Janna S.
I am sorry, if I was not able to answer your question. I actually have other customer on the other line with you. Jim, if you are going to customized the Evy 15, you can get the 7690 graphics.
7:30:15 PM Jim Karenskin
hmmm
7:30:21 PM Jim Karenskin
ok well thanks for your help

[edvb]

One last thing on the SSD.

I reordered the Envy 15 with a 160g SSD for $228.00 more that the 500g HD.

It is for my wife that has an old laptop with 40g HD and WinXP.

What will be nice is how much faster everything will load overall.

This will be plenty of storage space for her so for the overall increase in cost verses speed I think it is well worth it.

I do not think you can find the Intel any cheaper at this time on the web so why not just go for it.

The GPU still bothers me a little but worst case if she does not like it is to return both.

They are both in production now.

[whip_it]

Interesting, what you say completely contradicts everything I know or have read.

I don't really know where to start. Lets get some facts, first, the Intel 320 series is rated at a .4% annual failure rate, roughly half of the standard .8% failure rate reported by most hard drive manufacturers (some studies suggest this is upwards of 13% in reality, moving hard drives fail, A LOT).
AnandTech - The Intel SSD 320 Review: 25nm G3 is Finally Here

Next, SSDs are only limited by the number of times a NAND chip can be rewritten, which on modern SSDs is in the MILLIONS of rewrites. We are talking rewriting the ENTIRE HDD MILLIONS OF TIMES before the NAND chips fail. When they fail you can still read them, just not write them.

SSD Myths and Legends - "write endurance" article in StorageSearch.com
http://www.ramsan.com/files/f000252.pdf
The gist of those 2 websites is that SSDs are more reliable than hard disks, and should last a good 20 years if you don't consider performance degradation an issue.

Finally, why do you know people who have had drives just die? Probably because they went with cheaper SSDs. In the SSD market you really do get what you pay for. Those manufactures cut costs and that leads to reliability problems. Intel is the industry leader in terms of reliability, and pack their drives with multiple backup NAND chips, power loss protection systems, and other features to insure no data loss and excellent reliability.

I would need to see the individual failure cases you are referring to, but I have never heard of a complete loss with an SSD. Even if the controller dies you can still re-mount the NAND chips and dump them, thus recovering all the data. If a NAND chip dies modern SSDs are built to copy the data to a backup chip and continue on as if nothing happened (since as I mentioned, a NAND chip failing to read is an infinitesimally small occurrence, when NAND fails it wont write but still read). I suspect if people you know had total failures it was either a power problem that fried the whole SSD, or they didn't bother trying to recover the data (in the case of a failed controller), since remounting NAND is easy, and you can buy NAND dumping equipment for under $100 if you are less technically inclined.

So your saying I could run perpetual defragging on my INTEL SSD without cutting into it's life?