PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic HP and Beats Audio

Dear Forum Friends,
I'd like share with you my recent experience dealing with a new HP laptop. It really ticked me off. Bottom line: Don't buy a HP laptop for audio for a while. They've got a lot of reengineering to do.


I recently purchased an HP Split X2 PC. My hope was to use the laptop to replace an older HP laptop in my home recording studio. I was planning to use it to run my Digital Audio Workstation software for recording studio quality audio and perform all the mixing and functions I was able to do on my previous HP laptop. Additionally, I wanted to be able to use the detachable touchpad screen in place of paper sheet music at the piano on musical performances. This purpose is important since it contributes to the inadequacy of the product.

Problem 1: Right out of the box there was a problem with the touchpad and touchscreen. I was able to use a USB mouse as a point devise to work with HP tech support to resolve the issue: Corrupted drivers.

Problem 2: The purchase entitled me to updgrade from Windows 8.0 to 8.1. However, after several attempts and call with HP Tech Support we were never able to complete this upgrade.

Problem 3: Beats Audio!!! Almost immediately I discovered the uncontrollable flaw in the BeatsAudio system that applies automatic volume leveling and compression to the audio output. This was an unacceptable situation since the primary purpose of the machine was to process studio audio recording sessions. I needed absolute control over the audio processing chain and the automated Beats Audio feature did not allow that. Tech Support was unable to resolve the issue. I also discovered that this a know problem discussed by many user on the HP customer forum. Third party solutions did not permanently fix the problem.

Problem 4: TouchScreen video failure. After weeks of wrestling with the other unresolved issues, the video portion of the touchscreen failed. I was able to control the PC using an external monitor as I worked with HP tech support. After being told it was a hardware problem and it would take weeks to correct, I decided to return the PC for a refund while I was still within 30days of the initial purchase.

Problem 5: Video failure. During the process of purging my personal information off the system I attempted a system restart to confirm I was successful. The system rebooted but I was unable to get video to the external monitor or Touchscreen monitor.

The HP Split x2 PC with Beats Audio is flawed product. The deficiencies of the product have been know to HP and their users for since 2012 and yet they continue to advertise it as "Hear music the way artists intend with HP Beats Audio." As an artist, I don't intend my music to sound like it has the dry heaves!!

I've been a loyal HP customer for 20 years. The was about the 5th HP PC I've purchased. To have to endure such difficulties over the holiday season with a gift I was so looking forward to enjoying, is truly infuriating. I may considering buying another HP laptop in a few years if they are able to correct these problems but I'll be watching the product reviews very carefully in the future. They've got a lot of work to do to improve these products.

SD

Check the thread: Brand new MS Surface Pro 2, by Riccled. Earlier in this forum. He seems to very happy with his machine. Later, Ray