Beats Audio EQ Setting/ General Sound Advice

[bhallg2k]

You don't have to uninstall Beats; just disable it.  Then control your audio settings from...

Control Panel>Sounds>[highlight your playback device]>Properties

On the Enhancements tab, I tick "Disable all enhancements," because they're just not good ideas for software.

On the Tone Controls tab, I just make sure that both Bass and Treble are kept maxed out.

You will then have the cleanest sound your laptop is capable of providing.

Now, I've noticed Beats Audio has a tendency to re-enabe itself randomly, and when it does, it wrests control of those settings.  So, when you disable it - again - you'll have to reset those settings back to your desired specs.

The best way out of this is to buy a decent DAC/amp combo and just bypass everything so that your computer is simply streaming data to the DAC.  Even mid-grade DACs for well under $100 will easily outperform any laptop.

[tazmo8448]

Well I was hoping against hope that I would retain the EQ part and install a differnt driver to enhance the sound rather than two sliders... from experience going thru the ''enhancements'' I have noticed a drop off in sound reproduction as everyone has stated on this post (and I read em all) so that is the direction I was going in...so...is there beside buying another external EQ box to stream to a way around?

[bhallg2k]

Those two sliders are just about the most an integrated sound processor can do well, because they're essentially volume controls. Full bass and full treble settings mean you're getting all 16, 24, 32, or however many, bits your laptop can dish out. 

Anything else, from Windows' own "enhancements" to whatever it is that Beats attempts to do, just muddies the sound.

Most media players, like iTunes or foobar, have an EQ that will work reasonably well if you need EQ.  Otherwise, I do suggest a DAC, which is not EQ, if you find that you want more from your music.  A digital-to-audio converter replaces the laptop's integrated sound and usually results in a profound improvement in quality.

I had one for a while called the E10 from a company called FiiO, and the difference between it and my laptop's usual fare was a night-and-day improvement.  It even had an integrated headphone amp that rendered EQ unnecessary.

[tazmo8448]

I did download the Breakaway audio 30 day free trial thing and it boosts the sound a tad but would get the same thing by adjusting the volume... didn't really hear any thing other than a little louder...what I am looking for is to use the adjustments to enhance treble and mid range...the bass thing is no big deal to me and you must understand I am old school and a bass is a good base and is appreciated but not something that has to override everything else like the kids these days like...it has its place but not at the front of the band so to speak...why that is still escapes me must be an Ecstasy thing...which in my day we called MDA....think the 60's....I have seen googleing that there is an AC'97 Realtek download that puts the old 31 band EQ back in the controls like the XP days....got any thoughts on that?

[tazmo8448]

http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/get-the-realtek-equalizer-back-in-windows-7-vista/

[bhallg2k]

I don't know the first thing about that Realtek bit.  So, I can't help you there specifically.  But, I will say that software EQ will always be noticeably inferior to hardware EQ, because it distorts data - mostly through subraction - to make adjustments to sound rather than boosting or attenuating the data's analog results, which is what you hear.

Absent an external solution, I'd say your best bet is to make sure the Bass and Treble sliders in Control Panel are maxed out as well as Windows' own volume control.  This way Windows will output everything from your source.  Then if you need to make EQ adjustments, you can do it in whatever program you use to play music.

I suggest subtracting bass if you wish to enhance mids and highs.  Attenuate to make music sound better, boost to make music sound different.

[tazmo8448]

Thanks guy for your timely responses and yeah it seems that in this world of techno advances this thing about enhancing audio is lagging somewhat. I mean here we are in 2012 and some of the older stuff sounds better but between you and I it is all about saving money on the manufacterers end as to promote bonuses so they can go out and buy more stuff for themselves with the bonuses they get from cutting corners..capitalism at its best I suppose.This whole thing is a joke to me...they trot out Beats audio but it doesn't work with HDMI cables (which everybody on earth uses) then you have to connect with a 3.5mm connection to push your sound system like lets say Pandora or what have you and games and streaming movies too then lo and behold there is no way to adjust the thing only with treble and bass which has been around since the 60's heck that was on old AM car radios in the day...treble and bass....what a joke. Its all about selling something else and by the way we'll ship it from overseas because that'll hold the costs down....and see ya at the next board meeting and we'll discuss profits and who gets what...is that bitter? sure it is...going to hell in a hand basket as grandma used to say...the irony of the thing is the more we admire and buy into techno advances the more we the customer take it in places that are not to be mentioned in public...something that use to be common place in the notebook (read laptops) is now something that is no longer offered and shame on all of the people who sit idley by and let it happen...but wait theres more....if you shell out more money we will include it....Beats my butt

[bhallg2k]

There's good digital stuff out there.  That FiiO DAC/amp I mentioned is less than $80, I believe, and it will mollywhop Beats eight days a week.  But, a lot of it's either really expensive or really bad or, worse yet, really expensive and really bad*.  Most CD players are still terrible, even as they're being put out to pasture.

Record players merely read the notes aloud, so to speak.  CDs and MP3s have to be translated, and sadly, the vast majority of translators simply aren't fluent, if you'll forgive the tortured metaphor.

I only recently discovered these truths.  I put some money into a decent pair of headphones - Sennheiser HD650 - and a decent DAC/amp, and then my music came alive.  I was shocked by what I'd been missing for years.

* Beats.  Man, I wish I had come up with Beats headphones.  Who knew you could put a famous face on a pair of terrible $50 headphones and then sell 'em for up to $500?

[tazmo8448]

you are so right my friend....and thats all it was was a money grab...talking about those headphones that don't offer anything better than a pair of Sony ($34) with noise suppression. You would think that for 3-500 bucks people would get Bose which by the way is my sound system.....Paradigm speakers aren't bad either and neither is Denon sound equipment....I have an old 70's 10 band EQ and to this day it sounds head and shoulders above the new stuff....and yes I still have a turntable and LP's (over 200) ...the thing about CD players is no matter what type you get they all work on the same principle so money thrown is money lost....and again I agree with your metaphor...things get lost in translation.
Obvious to all HP bought into the Dr Dre crappola....nothing but a hype to sell to folks thinking they are going to get DJ sounds...what a joke...I still have 70's speakers with 15'' woofers and take atleast 80 rms (watts per channel) to push em....now talk about sounding like a band is playing in tha room. Headphones if they are good ones can recreate this sound and that is what I am talking about.
To me good music is where you can hear every instrument and not be loud doing it...that my friend is nirvanna.

[tazmo8448]

I will look into that FILO amp thing.....